No person shall conduct or cause any parade on any street except as provided herein:
1. “Parade” Defined. “Parade” means any march or procession of persons, with or without vehicles, organized for marching or moving on the streets, sidewalks, or other public ways in an organized fashion or manner, or any march or procession of persons or vehicles represented or advertised to the public as a parade, which requires a street closing or the stoppage or rerouting of vehicular traffic because the participants in the parade do not comply with the normal and usual traffic regulations or controls.
2. Permit Required. No parade shall be conducted without first obtaining a Special Event Permit from the City. City staff shall be responsible for the issuance of Special Event Permits. Following receipt of a recommendation from City staff, Council shall decided by resolution whether to approve street closures associated with a parade in accordance with the Code of Iowa. The permit application must be made in writing not less than sixty (60) days in advance of the parade and shall state:
A. The date, starting time and anticipated ending time of the parade;
B. The name, address, e-mail address and telephone number of the applicant;
C. The route of the parade; and
D. The approximate number of persons and vehicles in the parade.
3. Issuance. The City shall issue the applicant a permit unless:
A. The Police Chief determines that the time, route, or size of the parade will unreasonably disrupt the use of any street or sidewalk that is ordinarily subject to significant congestion or traffic;
B. The conduct of the parade will require the diversion of so great a number of City police officers to properly police the line of movement and the areas contiguous thereto as to prevent normal police protection by the City;
C. The concentration of persons, animals and/or vehicles caused by the parade will interfere unduly with the proper fire and police protection of or ambulance service to areas contiguous to the parade or other areas of the City.
D. Another parade permit has already been issued for that day;
E. An event is scheduled elsewhere in the City where City resources required for that event are so great that the deployment of City services for the proposed parade would have an immediate and adverse effect upon the welfare and safety of persons or property;
F. The proposed parade will interfere with previously scheduled maintenance or repair work to be carried out on the streets or public ways to be used; or
G. The proposed parade violates any other governing law or ordinance.
4. Such permit granted to the person organizing or sponsoring the parade shall be permission for all participants therein to parade when such participants have been invited by the permittee to participate therein.
5. Hours. No permit shall be granted for a parade through a residential district, except during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
6. Fee. The applicant shall pay the applicable nonrefundable Special Event Permit application fee in the amount set by resolution of the Council. The application fee must be paid at the time of submittal of the application.
7. Parade Not a Street Obstruction. Any parade for which a permit has been issued as herein required, and the persons lawfully participating therein, shall not be deemed an obstruction of the streets notwithstanding the provisions of any other ordinance to the contrary.
8. Control of Parade. Persons participating in any parade shall at all times be subject to the lawful orders and directions in the performance of their duties of law enforcement personnel, members of the Fire Department, and staff and volunteers of the Parks & Recreation Department.
9. Permit Revocation. A permit for any parade in progress may be revoked and the event terminated by the Police Chief or the Fire Chief, or their respective designees, if the safety of the public is imminently endangered by activities generated during the parade, the participants or attendees engage in violent or destructive behavior causing injury to persons or damage to property, or if there is a major violation of the conditions of the permit such that the standards of issuance have not been satisfied.
10. Penalties. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this article may be charged with a simple misdemeanor criminal offense or receive a municipal infraction civil citation, pursuant to Title 1, Chapter 4 of this Code. The City shall have the discretion to enforce this article either as a simple misdemeanor or a municipal infraction.
(Section 60.08 – Ord. 3127 – Oct. 24 Supp.)