Montgomery takes steps to shut down Snowdoun's Latino Festival

Sara MacNeil
Montgomery Advertiser
Rancho El Paraiso, where the Latino festival, was held.

The city of Montgomery is working to prevent a Latino Festival planned for this Saturday in the rural Snowdoun community. 

Wednesday night, the city filed a civil complaint against festival organizers that would prevent owners of the property and event organizers from violating the zoning code. If the event still happens, event organizers could be prosecuted.

The festival's location, at 1890 Snowdoun Chambers Road, is zoned for agricultural instead of commercial use, which they say is the reasoning for the city's order to stop the event. The city denied the event organizer's request for the zoning to be changed at a public hearing Tuesday morning. About 20 people from Snowdoun came to the hearing to protest the rezoning effort. The Board of Adjustment voted to keep the land zoned for agriculture. 

More than 100 Snowdoun residents had signed a petition in support of an abatement order issued Tuesday. "I'm the voice for the 102 people that signed the petition," Snowdoun resident Mike Crutchfield.

More:Snowdoun residents protest Latino Festival, call it a noise nuisance

In July, some people who live in Snowdoun protested a previous Latino Festival, citing noise and traffic issues. The festival, which includes bands, a rodeo and professional bull riding, has been held twice in the rural area south of Montgomery. The third festival was scheduled for Saturday.

After the event occurred, there were questions about how the city would enforce zoning regulations on a property that is not within its limit. Although the property is within police jurisdiction and the city has zoning authority over the property, the police don't enforce zoning regulations. The city has since followed protocol to shut down the festival through the Board of Adjustment, a nine-person board appointed by the City Council.

Latino Festival

At the public hearing in front of The Board of Adjustment, one of the Latino Festival organizers complained the Snowdoun community, that has been relaying messages to him through County Commissioner Doug Singleton, has not contacted him directly. The Advertiser was unable to reach the event's organizer for comment.

"He don't need to be talking to us. He needs to talk to the city. The city is the one who controls all the rules and he's not following the rules," Crutchfield said.

When asked if the Snowdoun community was predominantly white, Crutchfield said the neighborhood was diverse but wasn't sure if there was a Hispanic population.

"We have people of color, we have people of Asian decent. I'm not sure about whether there is a Hispanic population in the neighborhood," Crutchfield said.

Commissioner Singleton tried to get the city to enforce zoning regulations in July when the event first took place. Commissioner Dan Harris voted against the request saying the time couldn't be worse with the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas.

After arguments as to how the city would stop the event, the city's only known course of action at the time was to deny a liquor license to event organizers. The August event took place with an increase in security. The organizer of the Latino festival hired seven deputies and private security.

There were no incidents and organizers made requested accommodations to make the festival less intrusive for the Snowdoun community. They ended the event earlier and changed the position of the stage, yet when advertisements for another event surfaced the community took issue with it.

More:Complaints prompt organizers to hire off-duty deputies, private security for Latino festival

Sara MacNeil can be reached at smacneil@montgome.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter.