A. Statement Of Purpose: The purpose of these regulations is to set forth the standards of issuance for a parade, public assembly, or block watch event permit. It is further the purpose of these regulations to:
1. Assure that emergency services such as police, fire, and ambulance services are available for a parade, public assembly, or block watch event taking place within the corporate limits of the City of Coeur d'Alene;
2. Assure that emergency services such as police, fire, and ambulance services are not unreasonably inhibited in their ability to travel on and cross public streets and sidewalks by parades, public assemblies, or block watch events; at a minimum, an emergency access twenty feet (20') wide shall be required to all parts of the event;
3. Assure that business activities in the City are not unreasonably impacted by parades, public assemblies, or block watch events; and
4. Assure that traffic is not unreasonably disturbed by parades, public assemblies, or block watch events.
B. Permit Issuance: The City Clerk may issue a permit on a first come, first served basis for a parade or public assembly as follows: for each calendar day, only one high impact event, or up to two (2) medium impact events, or one medium and one low impact event, or up to two (2) low impact events. The issuance of any permit is dependent upon available staffing by the City. Block watch events are exempted from any limitation as to the number of events per calendar day.
C. Application Form; Approval: The City Clerk may request such information from the applicant as is necessary in their sole discretion to determine whether to approve the application. A public safety plan shall be submitted and approved prior to issuance of a permit. The information may be requested in the permit application form, through written instructions available from the City Clerk or by written or oral inquiries addressed to the applicant. The time for considering the permit shall be extended by the time taken by the applicant in responding satisfactorily to any inquiry. The required public safety plan, or parts thereof, may be waived by the Chief of Police, Fire Chief, and/or their designees.
D. Discrimination Prohibited: There shall be no discrimination in granting, denying, or conditionally granting permits under this chapter, and a permit shall not be denied based upon the content of the applicant's message or political, religious, ethnic, racial, disability, or gender related grounds.
E. Permit Denial: The City Clerk may deny a permit if the applicant, or the person or organization on whose behalf the application is made, has on prior occasions made material misrepresentations regarding the nature or scope of a parade, public assembly, or block watch event previously permitted or has violated the terms of prior permits; or if the applicant, or the person or organization on whose behalf the application was made, has on prior occasions damaged City property and not paid in full for such damage or has other unpaid debts to the City. Further, the City Clerk may deny a permit if the proposed parade, public assembly, or block watch event is for the primary purpose of commercial benefit to a private party or parties, and it would disrupt streets or sidewalks ordinarily subject to great congestion during the time of the parade, public assembly, or block watch event, or would be detrimental to public safety due to the City personnel required. The applicant shall be given an opportunity to modify the proposed parade, public assembly, or block watch event to address the reason(s) for denial, and any proposed modification shall not be unreasonably rejected.
F. Additional Reasons For Denial; Halting Of Assembly: A permit may be denied where the City Clerk determines that the parade, public assembly, or block watch event would unreasonably disrupt traffic, vehicular or pedestrian, or public services, or where there is substantial evidence that the applicant, the applicant's agents, or participants in the parade, public assembly, or block watch event intend to engage in violence. A parade, public assembly, or block watch event may be halted by the Chief of Police if at any time the participants fail to comply with the requirements of the permit or violate the law. (Ord. 3606, 2018)