The cost of policing and otherwise overseeing a pair of 4/20 protests in Vancouver skyrocketed this year, according to a rundown released Thursday by the city.

Last month’s events, held separately at Sunset Beach and outside the Vancouver Art Gallery, cost $245,379 combined, the bulk of which went to law enforcement.

The beachside rally, which is estimated to have drawn 40,000 people at the height of the protest, racked up $127,245 worth of policing resources, as well as $34,630 from the city’s parks department, $5,760 from engineering and $2,370 from emergency management.

“Notwithstanding the non-sanctioned nature of these events, a significant planning effort and operational response was undertaken… to ensure public safety,” the city said in a news release.

The comparatively small event outside the art gallery, which is believed to have been attended by up to 300 people at its peak, cost $43,425 in policing and $20,189 in engineering services.

The overall price tag is roughly $100,000 more than the combined cost of the two events in 2016, which came to $148,000. It also does not include costs beared by the BC Ambulance Service or Vancouver Coastal Health.

The city didn’t explain what caused the spike in costs, but said the park board will be invoicing organizers of the Sunset Beach event for their share of the expenses, as was threatened prior to the protest.

The main event used to be held at the art gallery as well, causing some traffic disruptions and other headaches due to the massive crowds.

Jodie Emery, who helps put the event on every year, questioned how the bill could have ballooned so much after organizers moved further out of the way.

“I don’t understand what these costs are,” Emery wrote on Twitter Thursday.

“Now that #420Vancouver is at Sunset Beach and no longer clogging up the entire #Vancouver downtown core, how can it cost more?”

Billing organizers would have been easier had the park board approved a permit for the event, but commissioners said they didn’t feel the location was appropriate given the surrounding West End neighbourhood and the no-smoking bylaw that applies to all beach and park spaces.

The city and park board have both said they will be working with organizers to find a better venue for future events, potentially at a covered venue where they could control who gets inside.