Chamber pitches second Battle of the Bands at Piper Park; commissioners want a parking plan first

The Larkspur Chamber of Commerce came to the Parks and Recreation Commission Thursday with plans for its second annual Battle of the Bands at Piper Park on Sunday, June 7, roughly noon to 5 p.m. Chamber representative Marty Murphy described six bands, about 700 expected attendees, food and drink from the Silver Peso, Corner Bar, Tam Tavern and Squid Pizza, an expanded kids zone run by Andrew's Camps, a zero-waste partnership, private security from Shea Management and an EMT on site. Ticketing is simplified from last year: $45 general, $20 for under-21, free for under-5, and no VIP section. Murphy said city support and existing revenue do not fully cover the cost of putting on events, which is why the fundraiser matters to the Chamber.

“I saw security that day... I saw people leaving the event with alcohol, leaving the event with drinks, going out publicly, which I never allowed them to do, and they walked right past security doing that.”— Commissioner Sunshine, on last year's Battle of the Bands

The item was informational, with no vote — but the feedback was pointed. Commissioner Harrison returned to last year's parking complaints, noting that 700 people will not fit in Piper's lot; Murphy agreed it was a fair point and said he needs to check with the Redwood High School Foundation and Spark about parking availability and permitting. Harrison also asked whether sound would be managed, and offered a practical note about the site.

Commissioner Sunshine was the sharpest critic, raising doubts that the city has the infrastructure for an event this size and saying a real parking plan should be in hand before a permit moves forward. Sunshine also questioned the event's timing and format — it lands in the middle of the Music in the Park series, breaking up the continuity of free summer concerts — and described watching attendees walk out of last year's event carrying drinks, past security. A public comment submitted online, attributed to "Nuri," asked how an event that isn't business-focused helps Magnolia Avenue merchants.

Chair Baxter closed by asking the Chamber to bring back a parking plan and to think about integrating with the existing Music in the Park series rather than competing with it. Director Stone said conversations between city staff and the Chamber will continue.

Measure A money would go to a basketball court, dugout shade and cracked tennis courts next year

Staff walked the commission through the parks projects proposed for the FY2026-27 capital improvement program, all funded with county Measure A parks money. The largest single item is roughly $160,000 to resurface and level the tennis courts at Piper Park (~$120,000) and Centennial Park (~$40,000), combined into one contract for cost efficiency. That work includes crack sealing, pulling out the invasive oleander bushes near the courts, and installing root barriers and deep-root irrigation so the roots stop buckling the surface. Commissioner Harrison asked whether a waiting area for pickleball players could be folded in; Public Works Director Julian Skinner said that once the oleanders come out, expanding some of the hardscape there is already under discussion.

At Green Bay School Park, a roughly $120,000 project would resurface and repair the basketball court, fix pathways, swap mismatched pathway bollard lights for matching high-efficiency fixtures, and replace some turf with drought-tolerant natural grasses. Skinner said community outreach found little appetite for new marquee features but a strong desire to fix the basketball court — and some pushback on removing turf, which residents wanted to keep.

A third item would spend about $50,000 on slatted shade structures over the four softball dugouts at Piper Park, two per field, possibly requiring rebuilt fence posts. Commissioner Harrison suggested approaching girls softball — which has previously asked for a scoreboard — as a funding partner while the dugouts are being worked on. Skinner said the city could "open that discussion with them if they wanted to help fund it in a partnership."