A. The City Manager shall issue a special event permit if he or she determines the following criteria have been met. Provided, however, such criteria shall not be applied in a manner that will unreasonably restrict expressive activity or other activity protected by the Montana or the United States Constitutions.
1. The preparation for, the conduct of and the conclusion of the proposed event will not unreasonably burden City resources necessary to preserve the public's use of the street(s) in the area contiguous to the street(s) or other City property being used for the event.
2. The preparation for, the conduct of, and the conclusion of the proposed event will not unduly impede, obstruct, or interfere with the operation of emergency vehicles or equipment in or through the permit area or adversely affect the City's ability to perform Municipal functions or furnish services in the vicinity of the permit area.
3. The proposed event does not otherwise present a substantial or unwarranted health, safety, noise, or traffic hazard.
4. The proposed event will be of a nature and size appropriate to the proposed venue or site and will occur during approved hours for that venue or site.
5. The proposed event will not cause other adverse impacts on health or safety to surrounding residential or commercial uses, which cannot be effectively mitigated.
6. The applicant has obtained all permits required elsewhere in this Code or by other applicable laws, rules, or regulations.
B. The City Manager may place reasonable conditions on any special event permit concerning the time, place or manner of holding the event as is necessary to coordinate multiple uses of City property, assure preservation of City property, prevent dangerous, unlawful, or impermissible uses, and protect the safety of persons and property. Provided, however, such conditions shall not be imposed in a manner that will unreasonably restrict expressive activity or other activity protected by the Montana or the United States Constitutions. Conditions the City Manager may impose include, but are not limited to:
1. Establishment of an assembly or disbanding area for a parade or like event.
2. Accommodation of an event's pedestrian and vehicular traffic, including restricting events to City sidewalks, portions of a City street, or other public right-of-way and implementation of a parking or transportation plan.
3. Conditions designed to avoid or lessen interference with public safety functions and/or emergency service access.
4. Number and type of vehicles, animals, or structures to be displayed or used in the event and their locations.
5. Provision and use of traffic cones or barricades.
6. Provision or operation of sanitary facilities, including handicap accessible sanitary facilities.
7. Provision of a waste management plan, and the cleanup and restoration of the site of the event.
8. Use of sound amplification equipment, and restrictions on the amount of noise generated by motors and other equipment used in the course of the event.
9. Manner of providing notice of permit conditions to permit participants and those businesses or residents who may be directly affected by the conduct of the event.
10. Reasonable designation of alternate sites, times, dates, or modes for exercising expressive activity.
11. 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.
12. Manner by which alcohol sales and service, if any, shall be conducted at the event.
13. Limitations on the use of spray paint or chalk paint as directional cues for participants.
14. Provisions for public safety and the preservation of public property such as traffic/pedestrian control, fire safety, the closure of streets or intersections, the diverting of traffic, etc.
The City Manager shall provide the applicant a written explanation for any decision that imposes conditions on the special event permit.
C. The City Manager shall deny an application for a special event permit or revoke a permit if the City Manager finds any of the following:
1. One (1) or more of the approval criteria specified in subsection 7-4-5A of this chapter is not met.
2. The applicant has knowingly made a false, misleading or fraudulent statement of fact to the City in the application process.
3. The application does not contain the information required by this chapter.
4. The application does not satisfy the requirements of this chapter.
5. The applicant has damaged City property and has not paid in full for such damage or has other outstanding and unpaid debts related to a prior special event permit issued by the City.
6. The applicant has failed to meet conditions and operate within the parameters of a previous special event permit granted by the City.
The City Manager shall provide the applicant a written explanation for any denial of a special event permit.
D. In deciding whether to approve an application for a special event permit, no consideration will be given to the message of the event or activity, the content of speech, the identity or associational relationships of the applicant, or to any assumptions or predictions as to the amount of hostility which may be aroused in the public by the content of speech or message conveyed by the event or activity. (Ord. 17-23, 8-21-2017)