This chapter establishes the standards for the issuance of a
permit for parades, athletic events, and other special events in the
City of Garfield in order to recover the full cost of such events
to the City and to preserve and protect the public health and safety.
The power of a municipality to enact ordinances to regulate processions
and parades through its streets and highways: see N.J.S.A. 40:67-1.
See also N.J.S.A. 39:4-93 for traffic regulations affecting processions.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
APPLICANT
Any person or organization who seeks a special event permit
from the City Clerk to conduct or sponsor an event governed by this
chapter. An applicant must be 18 years of age or older.
ATHLETIC EVENT
An occasion in which a group of persons collectively engage
in a sport, or form of physical exercise, and which is conducted on
any City street, sidewalk, alley, or other public right-of-way or
other property owned or controlled by the City which obstructs, delays,
impedes, impairs or interferes with the usual, normal and free pedestrian
or vehicular use or does not comply with traffic laws and controls.
Athletic events include bicycle and foot races.
BLOCK PARTY
A festive gathering on a residential street requiring a closure
of a street, or portion thereof, to vehicular traffic and use of the
street for the festivity, including barbecues, picnics, music, games
or dances.
CITY MANAGER
The Chief Executive of the City of Garfield or his designee.
EVENT
A parade, athletic event, or other special event.
OTHER SPECIAL EVENT
Street fair, art and craft show, carnival, block party, or other neighborhood activity, picnic, dance, rally, promotional or fund-raising activities, community celebrations and observances, and other special events which occur on any City street, sidewalk, alley, or other public right-of-way or other property owned or controlled by the City or any event so as to impede, obstruct, impair, delay, or interfere with the usual, normal and free pedestrian or vehicular use or which requires, in the judgment of the Chief of Police, the deployment of peace officers for crowd control. See §
224-3.1C for application of permit requirement to First Amendment events.
PARADE
Includes a parade, march, procession, pageant, review, ceremony,
or exhibition consisting of persons, animals or vehicles, or a combination
thereof, which is conducted in or upon or along any portion of any
City street, sidewalk, alley, or other public right-of-way or other
property owned or controlled by the City which obstructs, delays,
impedes, impairs or interferes with the usual, normal and free pedestrian
or vehicular use or does not comply with traffic laws or controls.
PERMIT APPLICATION FEE
The fee to be paid by the special event permit applicant
at the time the application is filed with the City Clerk. A fee schedule
shall be authorized or established by resolution of the Council and
shall cover the actual full costs (or a portion thereof) of processing
and investigating special event applications. The fee may be waived
at the discretion of the City Manager.
PERMITTEE
Any person or organization who or which has been issued a
special events permit by the City Clerk.
Any person desiring to conduct or sponsor a parade, athletic
event, or other special event on public property in the City shall
first obtain a special event permit from the City Clerk.
A special event permit is not required for the following:
A. All special events which are sponsored by the City of Garfield.
C. Any event that involves expressive activity protected by the First
Amendment that does not require the closure of a City sidewalk, street,
alley, other public right-of-way or other property owned or controlled
by the City.
The application for a special event permit shall provide the
following information:
A. All events:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the applicant and an alternate
contact person.
(2) If the event is proposed to be sponsored by an organization, the
name, address and telephone number of the organization and the authorized
head of the organization. If requested by the City Clerk, written
authorization to apply for the special event permit by an officer
of the organization.
(3) The name, address and telephone number of the person who will be
present and in charge of the event on the day of the event.
(4) The nature/purpose of the event.
(5) Date and estimated starting and ending time of the event.
(6) Location of the event, including its boundaries.
(7) Estimated number of participants in the event.
(8) The type and estimated number of vehicles, animals, and structures
which will be used at the event.
(9) Description of any sound amplification equipment which will be used
at the event.
(10)
Whether any food or beverages will be sold at the event.
(11)
Whether monitors or private security will be employed at the
event.
(12)
Parking requirements for the event.
B. Additional information required for parades, races, and other events
occurring along a route:
(1) The assembly point for the event, the time at which units of the
parade or other event will begin to assemble.
(2) The route to be traveled.
(3) Whether the parade or other event will occupy all or only a portion
of the streets proposed to be traversed.
(4) The intervals of space to be maintained between units of a parade
or other event.
(5) The number, types, and size of floats.
(6) Material and maximum size of any signs or banners to be carried along
the route.
C. Supplemental information: any supplemental information which the City Clerk shall find reasonably necessary, under the particular circumstances of the special event application, to determine whether to approve, or conditionally approve, a special event permit pursuant to §§
224-7 and
224-8.
The City Clerk shall approve, conditionally approve, or deny an application for the grounds specified in §
224-7. Such action shall be taken no later than 30 days after receiving a completed application. The applicant shall be notified of any permit conditions at the time the application is approved.
The Chief of Police may also condition the issuance of a special
event permit by imposing reasonable requirements concerning the time,
place, and manner of the event and such requirements as are necessary
to protect the safety of persons and property and the control of traffic,
provided that such conditions shall not unreasonably restrict the
right of free speech. Such conditions include:
A. Alteration of the date, time, route or location of the event proposed
on the event application.
B. Conditions concerning the area of assembly and disbanding of parade
or other events occurring along a route.
C. Conditions concerning accommodation of pedestrian or vehicular traffic,
including restricting the event to only a portion of a street traversed.
D. Requirements for the use of traffic cones or barricades.
E. Requirements for provision of first aid or sanitary facilities.
F. Requirements for use of event monitors and providing notice of permit
conditions to event participants.
G. Restrictions on the number and type of vehicles, animals, or structures
at the event and inspection and approval of floats, structures, and
decorated vehicles for firesafety by the City of Garfield Fire Department.
H. Compliance with animal protection ordinances and laws.
I. Requirements for use of garbage containers, cleanup and restoration
of City property.
J. Restrictions on use of amplified sound.
K. An application for a special event permit to conduct a block party
may be conditioned on notice and approval by 50% of the residents
of dwellings along the affected street(s).
L. Compliance with any relevant ordinance or law and obtaining any legally
required permit or license.
The City Clerk shall issue the special event permit once the
application has been approved and the applicant has agreed in writing
to comply with the terms and conditions of the permit and the following
sections of this chapter have been complied with:
A. Section
224-10 pertaining to indemnification.
B. Section
224-11 pertaining to insurance.
C. Section
224-13 pertaining to cleanup deposits (when applicable).
Prior to the issuance of a special event permit, the permit
applicant and authorized officer of the sponsoring organization (if
any) must sign an agreement to reimburse the City of Garfield for
any costs incurred by it in repairing damage to City property occurring
in connection with the permitted event proximately caused by the actions
of the permittee/sponsoring organization, its officers, employees,
or agents, or any person who was under the permittee's/sponsoring
organization's control insofar as permitted by law. The agreement
shall also provide that the permittee/sponsoring organization shall
hold harmless, indemnify and defend the City of Garfield, its officials,
members, agents and employees against any claims, costs, damages,
demands, liability and notices, or any of these, arising or resulting
from any damage or injury proximately caused by actions of the permittee/sponsoring
organization in connection with the permitted event, regardless of
whether the City is actively negligent or passively negligent, except
for those claims, costs, damages, demands, liability and notices,
or any of these, caused solely by the negligence or willful misconduct
of the City. Persons who merely join in a parade or event are not
considered by that reason alone to be under the control of the permittee/sponsoring
organization.
It shall be unlawful for any person to sponsor or conduct a parade, athletic event or other special event requiring a special event permit under §
224-4 unless a permit has been issued for the event. It is unlawful for any person to participate in such an event with the knowledge that the sponsor of the event has not been issued the required permit, nor shall any person interfere with or disrupt a lawful parade, athletic event, or other special event.
The special event permit authorizes the permittee/sponsor to
conduct only such event as is described in the permit and in accordance
with the terms and conditions of the permit. It is unlawful for the
permittee/sponsor to willfully violate the terms and conditions of
the permit or for any event participant with knowledge thereof to
willfully violate the terms and conditions of the permit.
Any person willfully violating any provision of the Parades
and Special Events chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed
$2,000 for each violation of the chapter. Such violations may also
be addressed by civil action, and any violator shall be liable for
the actual full cost to the City for having provided police services
for or because of the event.