A. Compliance Required. No person or group may hold, conduct or allow, and no person shall participate in, any picnic, celebration, parade, event, gathering, assembly or meeting at which seventy-five (75) persons or more are in attendance in any public park, public facility or public right-of-way within the City unless such activity is conducted in accordance with the. provisions of this Section, in addition to any other applicable provisions of this Code.
B. Permit Required. Except as provided in subsection (C) of this Section, a special event permit must be obtained from the City Manager for any picnic, celebration, parade, event, gathering, assembly or meeting to be held in any public park, public facility or public right-of-way if seventy-five (75) persons or more will be in attendance.
C. Exempt Activity. The following activities are exempt from the permit requirement set forth in this Section:
1. Celebrations, parades, events, gatherings, assemblies or meetings which take place on streets, sidewalk or other public rights-of-way owned or controlled by the City, if such activities are conducted in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, traffic and safety regulations.
2. Filming and videotaping activity governed by, and conducted in accordance with, Chapter 13.45 of this Code.
3. Activities conducted by a governmental agency acting within the scope of its authority.
D. Issuance of Permits. The City Manager is authorized to issue special event permits pursuant to the procedures set forth in this Section. Issuance of a special event permit pursuant to this Section does not obligate or require the City to provide services, equipment or personnel in support of an event. The City Manager may, however, cause such services, equipment or personnel to be provided if such are reasonably available and the event organizer agrees to reimburse the City for the cost thereof. The City Manager may reduce or waive any portion of such costs associated with the provision of City services, equipment or personnel in support of an event if the payment of the full costs will create an undue financial hardship on the person or group obtaining the permit.
E. Permit Application Timing. Applications for a special event permit required under this Section shall be filed with the City Manager at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the time the special event is proposed to be conducted. The City Manager shall have the authority, if good cause is shown and the nature of the application reasonably and feasibly lends itself to expedited processing, to consider, grant or deny and application for a special event permit which is filed later than seventy-two (72) hours prior to the time the special event is proposed to be conducted.
F. Contents of Application. Applications for a special event permit shall be upon a form which is furnished by or acceptable to the City Manager. Each application shall contain full, complete and detailed information including, but not limited to, the following:
1. The name, address and telephone number of the event organizer;
2. The nature of the event and the proposed location of the event;
3. The date(s) and time(s) when the event will be conducted;
4. A certification that the event organizer shall be financially responsible for any City fees, departmental service charges or costs that may lawfully be imposed for the event;
5. Insurance information, if applicable; and
6. Any other information reasonably required by the City Manager.
G. Permit Issuance. The City Manager shall issue a special event permit if the City Manager finds that all of the following criteria have been met:
1. The event will not substantially interrupt public transportation or other vehicular or pedestrian traffic in the area of its location;
2. The event will not conflict with construction or development in the public right-of-way or at a public facility;
3. The concentration of persons, animals, and vehicles for the event will not unreasonably interfere with the movement of police, fire, ambulance and other public safety or emergency vehicles within the public rights-of-way in the area of the proposed event location;
4. The event will not unreasonably interfere with any other event for which a special event permit has already been granted, or with the provision of City services in support of any other scheduled event or scheduled government function;
5. The event will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on residential or business access and traffic circulation in the area of the proposed event location;
6. The event will not adversely affect the City's ability to reasonably perform municipal functions or furnish City services;
7. The proposed event will not have a significant adverse environmental impact; and
8. The insurance provisions required by this Section, if applicable, have been or will be satisfied.
H. Permit Denial or Revocation. The City Manager may deny an application for a special event permit or revoke a special event permit if the City Manager finds any of the following:
1. One or more of the findings set forth is subsection G. of this Section cannot be made;
2. The application contains incomplete, false or misleading information;
3. The applicant fails to comply with all terms of this Chapter;
4. The proposed event will violate any federal, state and/or local law or regulation; or
5. The proposed event will present an unreasonable danger to the health or safety of the applicant, spectators, City employees and/or members of the public.
I. Notice of Denial or Revocation. A person or organization whose special event permit application is denied, or whose permit is revoked, shall be immediately notified of the denial or revocation in writing, which notification shall contain a statement setting forth the reasons for the denial or revocation, as well as reference to the appeal provisions set forth in subsection M. of this Section.
J. Permit Conditions. The City Manager may condition any special event permit issued pursuant to this Section with reasonable requirements concerning the time, place and manner of holding the event as is necessary to coordinate multiple uses of public property, assure preservation of public property and public places, prevent dangerous, unlawful or impermissible uses, protect the safety of persons and property, and control vehicular and pedestrian traffic in and around the venue. Possible conditions include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Conditions designed to avoid or lessen interference with public safety functions and/or emergency service areas;
2. The number and type of vehicles, animals or structures to be displayed or used in the event;
3. The inspection and approval by City personnel of stages, booths, structures, vehicles or equipment to be used or operated during the event to ensure that such items are safely constructed, can be safely operated and conform to the requirements of all applicable laws and regulations;
4. The provision and use of traffic cones or barricades;
5. The provision of a waste management plan, and the cleanup and restoration of the event site;
6. The obtaining of any and all business licenses or other necessary permits required by this Code for the sale of food, beverage or other goods or services at the event; and
7. The manner by which alcohol sales and service, if any, shall be conducted during the event.
K. Insurance and Indemnification. The organizer of a special event shall possess or obtain, and maintain for the duration of the event, comprehensive general liability insurance to protect the City against loss from liability imposed by law for damages on account of bodily injury and property damage arising from the event. Such insurance shall be in a combined single limit of at least One Million dollars ($1,000,000), shall name the City, its officers, employees, and agents as additional insureds, and shall be effectuated through an insurance endorsement. If the special event is of a demonstrated high or low risk category, according to recognized insurance and risk management standards, the City Manager may authorize a greater or lesser amount of coverage than set forth in this subsection, or may require a particular type of insurance coverage different from that specified in this subsection. In addition to obtaining and maintaining the required insurance, each permittee shall execute an agreement in a form approved by the City agreeing to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the City against any and all losses and liabilities arising from the conduct of the permittee, or its officers, employees or agents, relating to the permitted event.
L. Waiver of Insurance Requirements. Except for special events where the sale of alcoholic beverages is authorized, the insurance requirements set forth in subsection K. of this Section may be reduced or waived by the City Manager. If insurance is reduced or waived, the City Manager may still require the permittee to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the City from any claim or liability arising from the event. In making the determination of whether to reduce or waive insurance requirements, the City Manager shall consider the following factors:
1. Whether the special event is constitutionally protected speech and/or expressive activity;
2. Whether the applicant has determined that the cost of obtaining insurance is financially burdensome and would constitute an unreasonable burden on the right of constitutionally protected speech and/or expressive activity;
3. Whether it is objectively impossible to obtain insurance coverage;
4. Whether the event will involve the use of equipment, vehicles or animals, or will pose an unreasonable danger to participants or the public; and
5. Whether a fee or donation is charged or required as a condition of admission or participation in the event.
M. Appeals. Any person aggrieved by the denial or revocation of a permit pursuant to this Section may appeal such decision to the City Council by filing a written notice of such appeal with the City Clerk within ten (10) business days of the decision of the City Manager giving rise to said appeal. Such appeal shall set forth in detail the facts upon which the appeal is being made. The City Council shall, within ten (10) business days of receiving such notice of appeal, hold a hearing. When the necessity for a timely response so requires, the appeal may be referred by the City Clerk to a neutral Hearing Officer. Costs for the neutral Hearing Officer shall be borne by the appellant, if any costs are incurred. At the appeal hearing, the aggrieved party and the City shall be entitled to be heard and present evidence they believe to be relevant. Upon conclusion of the hearing, the City Council or the Hearing Officer may, with findings, approve, reverse or modify the decision of the City Manager. Any decision of the City Council or the Hearing Officer shall be final.
[Ord. No. 533, Section 2, 3/11/15.]