(Title and Section amended by Ord. No. 176,617, Eff. 6/6/05.)
(a) Purpose. This Section establishes the standards and procedures for the issuance of permits for special events consisting of parades and assemblies in the City of Los Angeles. The purpose of this Section is to preserve and protect the public health and safety of the citizens of Los Angeles, the rights of individuals to engage in expressive activity protected under the First Amendment, and to provide for the recovery of costs to the City directly flowing from these events. This Section shall only apply to events that fall within the definition of "Parade" or "Assembly," as set forth below. All other street closures, including Athletic Events (as that term is defined in this Section), shall be governed by the procedures set forth in Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 41.20.
(b) Definitions. As used in this Article:
"ASSEMBLY" means any stationary formation, assembly, or gathering for the purpose of Expressive Activity upon any public street, sidewalk, alley, or other public place which does not comply with normal or usual traffic regulations or controls. This term does not include block parties, street festivals, carnivals or other Street Closures, as that term is defined in this Section.
"ATHLETIC EVENT" means an event, not involving as a primary component, "Expressive Activity," as that term is defined in this Section, in which a group of people collectively engage in a sport or form of physical exercise, including but not limited to jogging, bicycling, walking, roller skating, or running, upon any public street, sidewalk, alley or other public place, which does not comply with normal and usual traffic regulations and controls.
"BOARD" means the Board of Police Commissioners for the City of Los Angeles.
"DEPARTMENT" means the Los Angeles Police Department.
"DESIGNATED POLICE COMMISSIONER" means the Board Commissioner designated by the President of the Board to act on behalf of the Board to grant or deny event permits.
"EVENT" means a parade or assembly, or both, which is the subject of a permit application under this section.
"EXPRESSIVE ACTIVITY" includes conduct, the sole or principal object of which is the expression, dissemination or communication by verbal, visual, literary or auditory means of opinions, views, or ideas. It includes public oratory and the distribution of literature.
"PARADE" means any march or procession, other than an Athletic Event, consisting of persons, animals or vehicles, or combination thereof, upon any public street, sidewalk, alley or other public place, which does not comply with normal or usual traffic regulations or controls. This term does not include Street Closures, as that term is defined in this Section, funeral processions, or official governmental motorcades.
"PERMIT APPLICATION FEE" means a nonrefundable fee to be paid by the applicant at the time the permit application is submitted to the Department. The amount of the fee will be set from time to time by resolution of the City Council. The fee will be used to defray the direct costs of processing and investigating the Event application.
"STREET CLOSURE" means the closure of streets by the Department of Public Works for an Athletic Event or other activity pursuant to Section 41.20 of this Code.
(c) Permit Required. No person shall conduct, manage or sponsor any Parade or Assembly without a written permit from the Board. No person shall participate in any Parade or Assembly with the knowledge that its sponsor has not been issued the required permit.
(d) Interference with Event. No person shall knowingly join or participate in any Parade or Assembly conducted under permit from the Board in violation of any of the terms of the permit, or knowingly join or participate in any permitted Parade or Assembly without the consent and over the objection of the permittee, nor in any manner interfere with the progress or orderly conduct of a permitted Parade or Assembly.
(e) Application for Permit.
1. Submission of Application.
A. Written applications for permits should be submitted to the Department at least 40 days prior to the date of the requested Event. However, all applications for permits shall be acted upon by the Department and the Board so long as they are received by the Department not less than five days before the date of the requested Event. The five-day time limitation shall be waived by the Designated Police Commissioner if the occurrence giving rise to the permit application did not reasonably allow the applicant time to file within the time prescribed, and imposition of the time limitation would place an unreasonable restriction on the right to free speech.
B. An application will be accepted by the Department only if it is fully completed, legible, and is accompanied by a receipt from the Office of Finance of payment of the Permit Application Fee as required pursuant to Subdivision (e)(2)C. below.
C. Applications shall be submitted no more than six months before the Event date.
2. Form of Application.
A. An application for a permit shall be made on a form provided by the Department and shall contain the following:
(1) the name, address, and telephone number of the applicant;
(2) the name, address, and telephone number of the sponsoring organization;
(3) the specific date(s) of the Event, including date(s) for set-up and tear down;
(4) the starting and ending times;
(5) the exact location of the assembly and disbanding areas, indicating the particular portion of a street, corner of an intersection, portion of private property or park area, etc., if appropriate;
(6) the exact route and direction of travel of the Parade;
(7) the portion of the street needed for the Event;
(8) the total number and type of bands, marching units, vehicles, animals, structures, or other elements/props which will be used in the Event;
(9) the estimated number of participants and spectators expected at the Event;
(10) a description of any sound amplification equipment which will be used in the Event;
(11) the number of floats, if any, which will be used in the Parade and their size, type and method of power;
(12) the cleanup activities planned; and
(13) the parking contingencies planned.
B. If the Event is designed to be held by and on behalf of or for any organization other than the applicant, the applicant for the permit shall file a communication in writing from the organization authorizing the applicant to apply for such permit on its behalf.
C. The application for a permit shall be accompanied by a receipt from the Office of Finance evidencing payment of the requisite Permit Application Fee.
(f) Application Processing Procedure.
1. Timing of Action on Permit. The Board shall approve or deny an application as set forth in this subsection no later than the earliest date of the following: (i) 15 days after the complete application and receipt for payment of the Permit Application Fee were received by the Department, or (ii) three business days prior to the date of the scheduled Event; provided however that in the event that the Designated Police Commissioner waives the five-day notice requirement as set forth in Subsection (e), the application shall be approved or denied no later than 24 hours prior to the date of the scheduled Event.
2. Processing by the Department.
A. Written Report. Applications for permits shall be filed directly with the Department. The Department shall investigate the application and prepare a written report, including recommendations of whether the permit should be granted or denied and any conditions which should be imposed.
B. Notification of Affected Agencies. Upon receipt of the complete application and Permit Application Fee receipt, the Department shall notify and transmit a copy of the application to the following:
(1) Chief Engineer of the Fire Department;
(2) General Manager of the Department of Transportation;
(3) General Manager of the Department of General Services;
(4) Director of the Bureau of Street Services and Director of the Bureau of Sanitation, Department of Public Works;
(5) CalTrans (where appropriate);
(6) General Manager of the Metropolitan Transit Authority;
(7) California Highway Patrol, only if a state highway is involved;
(8) Entertainment Industry Development Corporation (EIDC);
(9) General Manager of the County of Los Angeles Department of Beaches and Harbors (where appropriate);
(10) General Manager of the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks (where appropriate);
(11) The Mayor's Office of Special Events; and
(12) The Office of the Council Member of the affected Council District.
This notification and transmittal shall be for the purpose of identifying any logistical or public safety issues surrounding the granting of the particular application, and to enable the Department of Transportation and the Bureau of Street Services to determine the traffic control and clean-up services that will be required and the costs to be paid by the applicant for those services.
Immediately upon the granting of a permit, the Board shall transmit a copy thereof to each of the above agencies.
3. Action on Application.
A. Recommendations of Department.
(1) If the recommendation of the Department is to approve the application without conditions or with conditions to which the applicant agrees, the Executive Director of the Board, on behalf of the Board, shall approve the permit.
(2) If the recommendation of the Department is to approve the application with conditions to which the applicant disagrees, the contested conditions shall be set forth in a report. The application, report, and recommendations shall be referred to the Designated Police Commissioner and a copy shall be provided to the applicant.
(3) If the recommendation of the Department is to deny the permit, the grounds for the recommendation shall be set forth in a report. The application, report, and recommendations shall be referred to the Designated Police Commissioner and a copy shall be provided to the applicant.
(4) If the Department simultaneously receives two or more applications from applicants requesting the same date, time, and location for the same or similar events, the Department will complete the processing on the applications and forward them to the Designated Police Commissioner for action on each application.
B. Action by the Designated Police Commissioner. If an application is referred to the Designated Police Commissioner, the Designated Police Commissioner shall act to grant or deny the application in compliance with Subdivision (f)(1). The applicant shall be notified in writing of the decision by the Designated Police Commissioner by facsimile or overnight courier and shall be informed that the applicant has the right to appeal the decision as set forth in Subsection (j) below.
(g) Issuance of the Permit. The Board shall issue a permit following:
1. Final action on the permit pursuant to Subsection (f);
2. An agreement by the applicant or sponsor in writing to comply with any conditions imposed on the Event by the permit, including payment of traffic control and clean-up costs; and
3. Compliance with all of the applicable requirements of Subsection (h) below.
(h) Conditions to Issuance of Permit. The Board may condition the issuance of a permit by imposing reasonable requirements concerning the time, place, and manner of the Event, as necessary to protect the safety of all persons and property, provided that the conditions shall not unreasonably restrict the right of free speech. These conditions include, but are not limited to:
1. Alteration of the date or time of the Event proposed on the application;
2. Alteration of the location of the Assembly, route of the Parade, and/or the area and manner of assembling and disbanding of the Parade;
3. Accommodation of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including restricting the Event to only a portion of a street or highway;
4. Compliance with all ordinances or laws and obtaining all legally required permits or licenses;
5. Requirements for the training and use of volunteers, monitors, or parade officials;
6. Restrictions on the number and type of vehicles, animals, or structures at the Event, and prior inspection and approval of floats, structures, and decorated vehicles for fire safety by the Los Angeles Fire Department;
7. Requirements for the use of garbage containers, cleanup, and restoration of City property;
8. Requirements for providing notice of permit conditions to volunteers, monitors, parade officials, and event participants;
9. Requirements for providing a certain specified number of parade officials or volunteers to ensure a safe and expeditious parade;
10. Requirements for the provision of adequate first aid and sanitary facilities;
11. Requirements for the use of amplification devices or amplified sound; and
12. Requirements to provide proof of automobile insurance (where the Event involves the operating of vehicles, including motorized floats, upon the streets or highways).
(i) Grounds for Denial of Application or Revocation of a Permit.
1. The Board, through either the Executive Director or the Designated Police Commissioner, shall approve an application for a permit unless it determines from a consideration of the application or other pertinent information, the existence of any of the following, any of which shall also be justification for the Board to revoke a previously issued permit:
A. Information contained in the application, or supplementary information requested from the applicant, is false in any material detail;
B. The applicant failed to provide a complete application after being notified of the requirement of producing additional information or documents;
C. The Event will interfere with another Event, street closure or other activity for which a permit has previously been granted;
D. The concentration of persons, animals and/or vehicles at the site of the Event, or at the assembly and disbanding areas, will prevent proper police, fire, ambulance, or other public services to areas contiguous to the Event;
E. The time, route or size of the Event will disrupt to an unreasonable extent the safe and expeditious movement of traffic contiguous to the event site or route, or unreasonably disrupt the use of a street or highway when it is usually subject to great traffic congestion;
F. The size or duration of the Event will require the diversion of so great a number of police officers of the City that providing the minimum level of police services to other areas of the City is jeopardized. Nothing in this paragraph authorizes denial of a permit because of the need to protect Event participants from the conduct of others;
G. The Event will substantially interfere with any construction or maintenance work scheduled to take place upon or along the affected City streets or highways, or a previously granted encroachment permit;
H. The parade will not move from its point of origin to its point of termination in five hours or less;
I. The length of the parade route exceeds 3 miles from its point of origin to its point of termination; or
J. The applicant fails to conduct the Event in accordance with the information contained in the permit application, or any terms and conditions imposed on the issued permit.
2. When the grounds for denial of the application for a permit specified in Subdivision (i)1. can be corrected by altering the time, place and/or manner of the Event as authorized by Subsection (h), the Board shall, instead of denying the application, conditionally approve the application provided the applicant accepts such conditions for permit issuance. The conditions imposed shall provide for only such modifications of the applicant's proposed Event as are necessary to achieve compliance with this subsection.
(j) Appeal Procedure.
1. Right to Appeal. The applicant shall have the right to appeal any permit conditions imposed upon an Event or the denial of a permit application. The applicant shall also have the right to appeal the amount of traffic control fees or clean-up deposits imposed pursuant to subsection (l).
2. Notice of Appeal. A notice of appeal stating the grounds for the appeal shall be filed with the Board no later than three days after delivery of the notice of the denial of the application or notice of the contested/disputed permit conditions.
3. Hearing by the Board.
A. If an applicant files a notice of appeal, the Board shall conduct a hearing on the appeal at the next scheduled meeting of the Board. The Board shall render its decision at the hearing unless the permit applicant or sponsor agrees to a continuance. The decision of the Board is final.
B. If the date of the next scheduled meeting of the Board following the receipt of a notice of appeal is later than two business days before the date of the scheduled Event, the Board shall convene a special meeting within 24 hours of the delivery of the notice of appeal. Notice of the time and place of said special meeting shall be given to all parties at least 24 hours prior to said hearing. The Board shall render its decision at the hearing unless the permit applicant or sponsor agrees to a continuance. The decision of the Board is final.
C. No Board member who did not hear the evidence or who was not read or heard the record or proceedings shall vote on the decision.
(k) Contents of Permit. In each permit, the Board shall prescribe:
1. The assembly area and time therefor:
2. The start time;
3. The minimum and maximum speeds for the Parade;
4. The exact route of the Parade;
5. What portions of streets to be traversed may be occupied by the Event;
6. The maximum number of units and the maximum and minimum interval of space to be maintained between the units of the Parade;
7. The maximum length of the Parade in miles or fractions thereof;
8. The disbanding area and disbanding time;
9. The number of persons required to officiate and/or monitor the Event;
10. The number and type of vehicles, if any;
11. The material and maximum size of any sign, banner, placard or carrying device therefor; and
12. All conditions imposed upon the Event pursuant to Subsection (h) of this Section.
(l) Fees and Indemnification.
1. Each applicant, and any other person, organization, firm or corporation on whose behalf the application is made, shall be required to agree in writing to jointly and separately indemnify, protect and defend and hold harmless the City of Los Angeles, its officers and employees against all claims, damages, expenses, loss or liability of any kind or nature whatsoever arising out of, or resulting from, the alleged acts or omissions of the permittee, its officers, agents or employees in connection with the Parade or Assembly.
2. Traffic Control Costs.
A. Prepayment of Costs. Upon approval by the Board of a permit for a Parade or Assembly but prior to the date of the scheduled Event, the Department of Transportation, through the Bureau of Street Services, shall provide the applicant with a statement of the estimated cost of providing traffic management at the Event. The applicant/sponsor shall be required to pay the traffic control costs either prior to the date of the Event or within 15 days thereafter. Traffic control consists of clearing the parade/assembly route of unauthorized vehicles, posting any parking restrictions necessary for the Event, diverting traffic around the Event, and directing pedestrian and vehicular traffic along the route of a parade.
B. Computing Traffic Control Costs. The traffic control costs shall be computed by determining the number of LADOT personnel who will be required for traffic control beyond that which would otherwise be required at that time, multiplied by the number of hours for which such additional service is rendered at the rate of the City's full cost of providing officers on an hourly basis as established by the Department of Transportation.
C. Refunds or Additional Charges. If the actual cost for traffic control on the date of the Event is less than the estimated cost pursuant to Subdivision (l)2.A. above, the applicant/ sponsor will be refunded the difference by the City. If more traffic officers' hours are required than originally charged, the applicant/sponsor will be billed the additional costs.
D. Traffic control costs shall not be assessed if the size of the parade/assembly can be controlled by 5 or fewer traffic officers over a two-hour period, as determined by LADOT.
3. Clean-up Deposit.
A. The applicant/sponsor of an Event involving horses or other large animals, the sale of food or beverages, or the erection of any structure shall be required to provide a clean-up deposit prior to the date of the Event, paid to the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Street Services. The clean-up deposit shall be in the amount established in a cleanup fee schedule adopted by the City Council.
B. The clean-up deposit shall be returned after the Event if the area used for the Event has been cleaned and restored to the same condition as existed prior to the Event, as determined by a representative of the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Street Services.
C. If the property used for the Event has not been cleaned or restored, the permittee shall be billed for the actual cost of the clean-up and restoration by the Office of Finance, and the clean-up deposit or portion thereof shall be applied toward the payment of the bill.
D. If the permittee disputes the bill, he or she may appeal to the Board of Public Works within 5 days after receipt of the bill. Should there be any unexpended balance on the deposit after completion of the work, this balance shall be promptly refunded to the permittee. Should the amount of the bill exceed the clean-up deposit, the difference shall become due and payable to the City upon the applicant's receipt of the bill.
4. Waiver of Fees for Traffic Control and Clean-up Services. Upon receipt of an application therefor to the Bureau of Street Services One Stop Special Events Permit Office, Traffic Control and Clean-up Services costs shall be waived for non-commercial Parades and Assemblies, so long as the particular event would qualify for a waiver applying all of the requirements, conditions and criteria set forth in Municipal Code Sections 41.20 and 41.20.1. Applications for such waivers shall be processed as set forth in Municipal Code Sections 41.20 and 41.20.1.
(m) Waiver. Except as specifically set forth herein, no requirements of this Section shall be waived.
(n) Violation. Willful violation of any of the provisions of this Section, or the terms or conditions of an Event permit by the permittee or any participant in said Event is a misdemeanor.
(o) Severability. If any subsection, subdivision. sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this section, or the application thereof to any person, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Section or its application to other persons. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this section and each subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more subsections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions, or the application thereof to any person, be declared invalid or unconstitutional.