City Council members in Daly City on Monday night approved a resolution pushing for state legislation aimed at bestowing local control over the Cow Palace.
Over the past six months, two music festivals at the Cow Palace have landed drug-using partygoers in the hospital. Overdoses at a May event claimed the lives of two attendees.
According to the resolution approved at Monday night’s meeting, events at the venue dating back to 2002 have resulted in criminal activity, injuries, and deaths of patrons.
The property, located along Geneva Avenue just across the San Francisco border, is currently owned and governed by a division of the state Department of Food and Agriculture.
Five months ago, nine victims were hospitalized following the “etd.POP 2010” music festival on May 29. Two later died.
Police suspected those illnesses were caused by overdoses of the drug ecstasy, Daly City police Lt. Jay Morena said in May. The overdoses sparked a debate among county officials and police about whether to institute a ban on raves at the venue.
Undercover law enforcement officers from local, state, and federal agencies, including the FBI, confiscated about 800 tabs of ecstasy from “etd.POP 2010” attendees, according to the draft resolution presented at Monday night’s meeting.
Most recently, at least 17 people who attended the Live 105 “Subsonic Spookfest” on Oct. 29 were hospitalized, with two of those victims in critical condition and requiring extended care.
Two arrests were made at that event for possession of drugs, and a third arrest was made for suspected assault, according to city officials.
Citing a drain on police and emergency resources, the resolution claims the events have negatively impacted the quality of life in adjacent neighborhoods.
In September, two people were shot inside the Cow Palace while attending a private party held by a motorcycle club.
The City Council voted to request that state Sen. Leland Yee and state Assemblywoman Fiona Ma draft the legislation and take whatever steps necessary to grant local control to Daly City.
“I’ll be willing to work with our legislators to draft out language when the Legislature goes into session to introduce bills in January,” Daly City Councilman David Canepa said.
Canepa and local community leaders rallied outside the venue Saturday morning to push for creation of the legislation.
“I am very pleased with the response from the City Council,” Canepa said in a statement released Monday. “By working together, with the support of my colleagues, we are one step closer to ensuring the safety of our residents and guests at the Cow Palace.”
