(a) When Required. Any person or nonprofit organization that wishes to conduct or hold a special event or assemblage that is expected to include more than twenty-five (25) persons and that is either not-for-profit and is open to the general public without charge, or that is not-for-profit and is by invitation only without charge, within any municipal park, facility or other public space, including streets or rights-of-way, must first make application for a special event permit from the City Manager.
(b) Permit Applications. Applications for such permits shall be made on such forms as may be prescribed and shall contain such information as is reasonably necessary to make a fair determination of whether a permit should be issued. Applications for special event permits will be considered by the City Manager, or his designee, only if the following conditions are met at the time of application filing:
(1) The application must be filed not less than sixty (60) days before the date of the special event;
(2) The application shall contain all information required therein and shall be signed by the person or person authorized to do so on behalf of the organization. The applicant shall also submit any supplemental information deemed necessary by the City Manager;
(3) Each application must be accompanied by an application fee, as set forth in the City's Fee Schedule, Appendix A to the City Government Code.
(c) Consideration of Applications. Consideration of applications for special events will be made in the order they are received. Events requested for the same day and time at the same or similar location will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Scheduling preference may be given to long-standing community festivals with recognized annual dates.
(d) Denial or Revocation. A special event permit may be refused, canceled or revoked by the City Manager for any of the following reasons:
(1) The time, place, size, location or conduct of the special event would create a significant public safety hazard, would unreasonably interfere with the movement of police vehicles, firefighting equipment, or emergency medical services to other areas of the City, or would unreasonably interfere with the public convenience and safe use of a municipal park, facility and other public spaces;
(2) Adequate policing of the special event would require such a number of police officers so to as to deny normal police protection to other areas of the City;
(3) The applicant fails to secure any additional permits for operations or activities related to the special event including, but not limited to, public health permits, temporary occupancy permits, or permits for temporary structures;
(4) The special event would unreasonably interfere with another special event for which a permit has already been issued or would, because of another special event permit that has already been issued, cause a violation of divisions (d)(1) or (d)(2) of this section;
(5) The information contained in the application is found to be false, misleading or incomplete in any material detail;
(6) An emergency including, but not limited to, a fire, flood, severe weather, riot or storm would prevent the proper or safe conduct of the special event; and/or
(7) The applicant has been found guilty of any violation of this section within the prior two (2) years.
(e) Conditions. In issuing a special event permit, the City Manager may limit or prescribe conditions he or she deems reasonable or necessary including, but not limited to, the hours or times the event may be conducted, the locations or portions thereof at which such events may be held or conducted, and safety and security requirements for the special event.
(f) Facilities Agreement Required. Before a special event permit is formally issued, the applicant shall be required to execute a facilities' use agreement with the City whereby the applicant agrees to:
(1) Indemnify and hold harmless the City, its employees, agents, servants, boards and commissions from any and all liability arising from or connected with the special event and the participants of the special event;
(2) Reimburse the City for any costs incurred by the City if the applicant fails to leave the City property in a clean and orderly fashion, free of all debris and litter;
(3) Reimburse the City for any costs incurred by the City if the City's Police Division or Fire & EMS Division are called to the special event in response to the applicant's misuse of the City property.
(g) Alcohol. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1040.06
(d) of this Chapter, the applicant may be permitted to sell or serve alcohol at its special event, but only if the applicant has obtained the necessary permit from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control and only upon the approval, by procedural motion, of the City Council, which approval shall be within the sole discretion of the City Council and upon any conditions and limitations set forth by the City Council.
(Ord. 11-06. Adopted 01/27/11; Ord. 18-22. Adopted 07/26/18; Ord. 2023-33. Adopted 11/21/23; Em. Ord. 2024-01. Adopted 02/08/24; Ord. 2024-02. Adopted 02/22/24)