City of Cortland, NY
Cortland County
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Chapter 194: NUISANCE PARTIES

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Cortland 4-15-2008. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 11.
Curfew — See Ch. 113.
Graffiti — See Ch. 150.
Littering — See Ch. 181.
Noise — See Ch. 193.
Parks and recreation areas — See Ch. 202.
Peace and good order — See Ch. 208.

§ 194-1 Title.

This chapter shall be known as the "Nuisance Party Ordinance."

§ 194-2 Definitions.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms are defined as follows:
NUISANCE PARTY
A gathering which is conducted on premises within the City of Cortland and which, by reason of the conduct of the persons in attendance, results in any one or more of the following conditions or events occurring at the site of the gathering, or on neighboring public or private property:

A. Disorderly conduct.

B. Unlawful possession of an open container of alcoholic beverage.

C. Outdoor urination or defecation in public view.

D. Unlawful sale, furnishing, dispensing or consumption of an alcoholic beverage.

E. Sale or furnishing of an alcoholic beverage to an underage person.

F. Unlawful possession, sale or use of a controlled substance.

G. Unlawful deposit of litter or refuse.

H. The damage or destruction of real or personal property.

I. Unlawful pedestrian or vehicular traffic.

J. Standing or parking of vehicles that obstructs the free flow of traffic on the public streets and sidewalks or that impedes the ability to render emergency services.

K. Unlawfully loud noise.

RESPONSIBLE PERSON
Any person who is an owner, occupant, tenant, or otherwise has rightful possession or possessory control, individually or jointly with others, of any premises, who either sponsors, conducts, hosts, invites or permits a gathering on said premises.

§ 194-3 Nuisance parties prohibited.

No responsible person shall sponsor, conduct, host, invite, allow or permit a nuisance party.

§ 194-4 Police authorized to cease nuisance parties.

Any police officer, peace officer, or Code Enforcement Officer who observes a nuisance party occurring may order that the nuisance party be ceased and order all nonresidents on the premises where the nuisance party has occurred to leave the premises immediately.

§ 194-5 Remaining on premises prohibited.

No person shall remain on the premises where a nuisance party has been ordered to be ceased by an officer of the City of Cortland Police Department unless the person resides at the premises where the nuisance party has occurred.

§ 194-6 Penalties for offenses.

Any person violating any provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of an offense punishable by a fine not to exceed $500 in amount, or imprisonment not to exceed 15 days, or both such fine and imprisonment, or a civil penalty of $500 for each offense. Nothing herein contained shall prevent the City of Cortland from taking such other lawful action as necessary to prevent or remedy a violation.

§ 194-7 Severability.

In the event that any section, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter is held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, the invalid or unconstitutional portions of the chapter shall be deemed severable from the chapter and shall in no way affect the validity of the rest of the chapter.