[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Alpine as § 7-7 (Ord. No. 451) of the
1970 Revised General Ordinances. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Licensing — See Ch. 142.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following
terms shall have the meaning set forth:
The taking of still or motion pictures, either on film, video
tape or similar recording medium for commercial or educational purposes,
intended for viewing on television, in theaters, on data communication
systems or for institutional use.
[Amended 11-24-1998 by Ord. No. 549]
Any and every public street, highway, sidewalk or square,
public park or playground or other public place within the borough
which is within the jurisdiction and control of the borough.
A.
Required. No person shall film or permit filming within
the borough without first obtaining a permit therefor. Before any
permit is issued, the person requesting the permit shall notify by
certified mail, return receipt requested, all property owners located
within 200 feet of the location of the proposed filming, with proof
of mailing to be submitted to the Borough Clerk. The notice shall
include the date, time and location of the proposed filming, shall
be sent not later than 10 days prior to the date of the filming and
shall advise the property owners to contact the Borough Clerk of any
objections.
[Amended 11-15-1999 by Ord. No. 564]
B.
Application.
(1)
Permits shall be obtained in the office of the Borough
Clerk during normal business hours. Applications for such permits
shall be in a form approved by the Borough Clerk.
(2)
The application shall set forth the location of such
filming and the date or dates when filming shall take place.
(3)
The application shall be accompanied by a permit fee
as hereinafter set forth.
(4)
Film permit applications shall be received in writing
in the office of the Borough Clerk not later than 10 days prior to
filming date.
[Added 11-24-1998 by Ord. No. 549]
(5)
The application shall be accompanied by a $5,000 escrow in cash, cashier's check or certified check, to cover the cost of any damage to curbs, streets or other municipally owned property as determined by the Borough Engineer, any reasonable legal and engineering fees and all fees which may be incurred under § 114-5, except for the permit fee of $1,000 which is in addition to the said escrow. All costs and fees shall be deducted from the escrow. Upon completion of the filming, any unexpended escrow shall be returned to the person applying for the permit. If the escrow is insufficient to cover all costs and fees, the applicant, upon written notification from the Borough Clerk, shall immediately deposit additional funds into the escrow account to cover said costs and fees.
[Added 11-15-1999 by Ord. No. 564]
C.
Number required. One permit shall be required for
each location.
D.
Duration. One permit shall allow the applicant to film outdoors or indoors on one day within a period not later than 10 days, after the date of issuance of the permit, provided that each such date on which filming is to take place shall be specified in the permit and further provided that the maximum number of days on which filming may be authorized in any calendar year for premises located in a residential zone shall not exceed four without a waiver, pursuant to Subsection I.
[Amended 11-24-1998 by Ord. No. 549]
E.
Inclement weather; delay in filming. If a permit is
issued and, due to inclement weather or other good cause, filming
does not in fact take place on the dates specified, the Borough Clerk
may, at the request of the applicant, issue a new permit for filming
on other dates subject to full compliance with all other provisions
of this chapter. No additional fee shall be paid for this permit.
F.
Issuance.
(1)
No permit shall be issued for filming at a particular location in a residential zone within the borough which would permit filming at such location on more than four days during any one calendar year, unless a waiver is obtained in accordance with Subsection I.
(2)
No permit shall be issued for filing upon public lands
within the borough unless the applicant for such permit:
(a)
Provides proof of insurance coverages for bodily
injury for any one person in the amount of $500,000 and for any aggregate
occurrence in the amount of $1,000,000.
(b)
Agrees, in writing, to indemnify and save harmless
the borough from any and all liability or damages resulting from the
use of such public lands.
G.
Denial of permit. The Borough Clerk may refuse to
issue a permit whenever (s)he determines, on the basis of objective
facts after a review of the application and a report thereon by the
Police Department and by other borough agencies involved with the
proposed filming site, that filming at the location and/or time set
forth in the application would violate any law or ordinance or would
unreasonably interfere with the public's use of public lands, unreasonably
interfere with the use and enjoyment of adjoining properties, unreasonably
impede the free flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic or otherwise
endanger the public's health or welfare.
H.
Appeal of denial; waiver of requirements.
(1)
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Borough Clerk denying or revoking a permit, or a person requesting relief pursuant to Subsection I, may appeal to the Mayor and Council. A written notice of appeal setting forth the reasons for the appeal shall be filed with the Borough Clerk. An appeal from the decision of the Borough Clerk shall be filed within 10 days of the Borough Clerk's decision.
(2)
The Mayor and Council shall set the matter down for a hearing within 30 days of the day on which the notice of appeal was filed. The decision of the Mayor and Council shall be in the form of a resolution. Such resolution shall be approved by the Mayor and Council at the first regularly scheduled public meeting of the Mayor and Council after the hearing on the appeal, unless the appellant agrees, in writing, to a later date for the decision. If such a resolution is not adopted within the time required, the decision of the Borough Clerk shall be deemed to be reversed and a permit shall be issued in conformity with the application or the relief pursuant to Subsection I shall be deemed denied.
I.
Waiver of requirements. The Mayor and Council may
authorize a waiver of any of the requirements or limitations of this
chapter and may authorize filming other than during the hours herein
described, may extend the duration of a permit beyond 10 days, may
permit filming at a particular location in a residential zone on more
than four days during any one calendar year or may waive any other
limitation or requirement of this chapter whenever it determines that
strict compliance with such limitations will pose an unreasonable
burden upon the applicant and that such a permit may be issued without
endangering the public's health, safety or welfare.
A.
The holder of a permit shall take all reasonable steps
to minimize interference with the free passage of pedestrians and
traffic over public lands and shall comply with all lawful directives
issued by the Alpine Police Department with respect thereto.
B.
The holder of a permit shall conduct filming in such
a manner as to minimize the inconvenience or discomfort to adjoining
property owners attributable to such filming and shall, to the extent
practicable, abate noise and park vehicles associated with such filming
off the public streets.
C.
The holder of a permit shall avoid any interference
with previously scheduled activities upon public lands and limit,
to the extent possible, any interference with normal public activity
on such public lands. Any overnight parking arrangements must be requested
and approved in advance by the Alpine Police Chief at the time of
the filing of the application for the permit. Only designated borough-owned
property shall be considered for this use. The use of the borough-owned
school parking area may not be used if the same shall interfere with
the regular school use of the said parking area.
[Amended 11-15-1999 by Ord. No. 564]
D.
The holder of a permit shall take all reasonable steps
to minimize the creation and spread of debris and rubbish during filming
and shall be responsible for removing all equipment, debris and other
rubbish from the filming location upon the completion of filming or
the expiration of the permit, whichever comes first.
E.
Filming shall be permitted only Monday through Friday
between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. or sundown, whichever
is earlier in residential zones.
F.
The holder of a permit shall notify the Fire Chief
24 hours before filming takes place and permit the Fire Chief to inspect
the site and the equipment to be used. The holder of a permit shall
comply with all firesafety instructions issued by the Fire Chief.
G.
The holder of a permit for filming on public lands
shall hire, at such person's sole cost and expense, a minimum of two
Alpine police officers for daylight and nighttime duty as determined
by the Chief of Police, which officers will be present at the site
at all times during the filming.
[Amended 11-24-1998 by Ord. No. 549]
H.
Automobiles, trucks and all other vehicles owned,
leased or used by the holder of a permit for either residential or
public land filming shall not park the same on more than one side
of the street.
[Amended 11-24-1998 by Ord. No. 549]
The fees, which shall be paid to the Borough
Clerk in advance of the filming and issuance of the permit, are as
follows:
A.
Filming permit: $1,000.
B.
Filming permit for filming on public land: $1,000.
[NOTE: Incidental use of a public sidewalk or street which does not
result in a closing of the street or sidewalk to public use shall
not be considered filming on public land.]
C.
Filming permit for nonprofit applicants filming for
educational purposes, including public land: $25.
D.
Daily fee for inspection of site, floor load measurement/footing
and set inspection by the Building Inspector: $100.
E.
The charge for each police officer shall be for a
minimum of four hours. The rates for compensation for contracting
the services of off-duty law enforcement officers shall be based on
a rate equal to that of time and one-half of the contractual hourly
rate for the individual officer being compensated. The party requesting
the service shall not make any payment directly to the police officers.
All payments shall be made to the Borough of Alpine.
[Amended 1-22-2020 by Ord. No. 791]
F.
The charge for the use of each police vehicle as required
and determined by the Chief of Police shall be at the rate of $175
per day.
[Amended 1-22-2020 by Ord. No. 791]
G.
A one-time administrative fee for police services
of $125 shall apply to each project. Any police equipment used by
the Police Department as deemed necessary by the Chief of Police shall
be charged at a reasonable rate determined by the Chief of Police.
[Amended 1-22-2020 by Ord. No. 791]
H.
The charge for each Department of Public Works employee
shall be at overtime rates for a minimum of four hours.
I.
Any supervision or inspection by employees of the
Department of Public Works must be conducted before 7:00 a.m. or after
3:00 p.m. during normal working days. The rate for each employee conducting
said supervision or inspection shall be at the regular overtime rate
of 1 1/2 times the individual worker's salary.
[Added 11-15-1999 by Ord. No. 564]
J.
The charge for the Health Inspector to make a septic
inspection, portable facilities inspection and catering (food) inspection:
$100.
K.
Daily fee for the Fire Official to inspect the site
for fire lane approval, equipment, fire protection inspection (exits,
etc.) and an inspection on the day of filming: $100.
L.
In the event the Fire Official requires fire equipment
to be at the site, the charge for each vehicle for each eight hours
day or part thereof: $200.
M.
The charge for a standby or active firefighter shall
be as determined by the Fire Official and shall be at the rate of
$40 per hour per person, and there shall be a minimum payment of four
hours per person plus an administration fee of 15% applied for the
person(s).
[Amended 1-22-2020 by Ord. No. 791]
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply
to the filming of news stories within the Borough of Alpine.
