[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Groton 2-21-2005
by L.L. No. 1-2005. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Village of Groton
Festivals and Special Events Law."
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The Board of Trustees, Village of Groton.
A series of related events or performances conducted on Village property,
sidewalks, streets, and other public rights-of-way, including but not limited
to parades, festive activities, cultural events, exhibitions, competitions,
collections of shows, live entertainment and other amusement enterprises and/or
the dispensation of food, which is open to the public at large, but excluding
sidewalk sales conducted by the Village merchants and excluding events sponsored
by the Village of Groton. The use of the term "festival" in this chapter shall
be deemed to include all festivals and special events as defined herein.
The permission, in writing, of the Clerk of the Village of Groton,
issued in accordance with the provisions of this chapter or other applicable
local law, to carry on a festival.
Every natural person, planning group, committee, partnership, association,
limited-liability company, limited partnership, limited-liability partnership,
corporation or other legal entity, whether profit or nonprofit.
The person or entity who executes the application for a license to
conduct a festival.
The Village official or employee designated to be responsible for
receiving applications and issuing licenses.
A person who operates, during the life of the license, a booth or
stand or otherwise occupies space in which he conducts games of skill or chance
or dispenses food and beverage, merchandise or the like.
The Village of Groton.
The purpose of this chapter is the regulation, through licensing and
inspection, of festivals to be conducted in the Village of Groton on public
streets, sidewalks, rights-of-way and/or other Village property for the protection
of the health, welfare and safety of the public in general.
A.
No license for a festival or activity of a similar nature
shall be considered or issued unless and until the sponsor desiring to conduct
the affair shall have made and signed a written application to the Village
Clerk for a festival operator's license, in the form provided by the
Village, and paid the proper fee therefor when required, not less than 60
days prior to the first day of operation of the proposed festival.
B.
The issuance of the festival operator's license
shall be further conditioned upon the following:
(1)
The sponsor's requesting and obtaining from the
Mayor of the Village of Groton, with the approval of the Village Board of
Trustees of Groton, permission to close the street or streets necessary to
conduct the festival.
(2)
The sponsor's requesting and obtaining from the
Mayor of the Village of Groton, with the approval of the Village Board of
Trustees of Groton, permission to use property owned by the Village, as well
as sidewalks and other rights-of-way.
(3)
The sponsors and/or vendors executing an indemnification
agreement on behalf of the Village, substantially as follows: "The sponsor
and/or vendor hereby represent, stipulate, contract and agree that they do
jointly and severally indemnify and hold harmless the Village of Groton against
liability for any and all claims for damages to property or injury to or death
of persons arising out of or resulting from the issuance of the license or
conduct of the public at and during the life of the festival."
(4)
Approval by the Fire Department, upon a satisfactory
examination of the proposal, with respect to compliance with regulations as
hereinafter set forth in the fire prevention section of this chapter.
(5)
Approval by the Officer in Charge of the Village of Groton
Police, or his alternate, of the crowd control plan upon the presentation
of a written proposal.
(6)
The sponsor depositing with the Village Clerk at the
time of the filing of the application, in cash or by certified check made
payable to the Village of Groton, the sum of $500 to guarantee that upon the
termination of the festival the general area where the affair has been conducted
will be left in good condition, cleaned up and cleared of all paper, waste
material and debris within two days from the termination of the festival.
If the sponsor fails to meet this requirement, the Village, in its discretion,
shall clean and restore the area to pre-festival condition, deducting the
monies spent thereon from the deposit aforementioned. This provision may be
waived by the Board of Trustees, upon application.
A.
If the sponsor is determined to be a wholly nonprofit
entity, no licensing fee will he charged. In all other instances, a fee of
$100 shall be charged for a festival operator's license.
B.
The fee for a vendor's license shall be the sum
of $10 per day. This fee shall not apply in an instance where the sponsor
is a wholly nonprofit entity, nor shall it apply in those cases where the
vendor and the sponsor are one and the same.
C.
The preceding fees shall be payable in advance to the
Village Clerk. It shall be the responsibility of the sponsor to collect and
deliver fees to the Village Clerk.
D.
In addition thereto, vendors intending to operate food
and beverage stands shall be required to obtain a license, if required, from
the Tompkins County Health Department, and pay any fee required by the health
and sanitary laws of the State of New York and the County of Tompkins.
A.
All health and sanitary requirements, regulations and
licensing shall be adhered to by all the sponsors and/or vendors of the festival,
as provided for in the sanitary codes of the Village of Groton, the County
of Tompkins and the State of New York, which are incorporated by reference
herein as if fully set forth.
B.
In addition thereto, the operator of a festival shall
provide a sufficient number of temporary or permanent toilet facilities for
the use of vendors and the use of the public, such number to be determined
in the discretion of the Village Clerk.
A.
The sponsor and/or vendors shall, only with the consent
of and under the supervision of the Fire Department and the Superintendent
of Public Works, be authorized to install, hook and connect to fire hydrants
specially marked by the Fire Department a master hose or water-carrying device
to supply water to booths and stands operating at the festival, subject to
the following provisions:
(1)
The Fire Department, together with Superintendent of
Public Works, shall determine which fire hydrants will be used as hereinabove
stated.
(2)
The sponsor and/or vendors shall maintain all fire hydrants
within the perimeter of the festival free and clear of any obstruction, with
the closest object located next to a fire hydrant at no less than two feet
in any direction from its geometrical center.
(3)
The sponsor and/or vendors shall meet and observe at
all times the requirements of the Water Department of the Village of Groton.
B.
The sponsor and/or vendors, while operating a booth or
stand in which there is heating or cooking apparatus for the preparation of
food, shall keep, at all times, suitable fire extinguishing equipment, to
be stored in such a manner that it is easily visible and accessible.
C.
Subject to the requirements of the Village of Groton
Police, the Village Fire Department and the Supervisor of Public Works, doors
or gates on entrances to and exits from the premises where the festival shall
be conducted shall be kept open and unobstructed during the hours of operation
of the festival in order to facilitate the rapid ingress or egress of all
persons attending in case of emergency. Nothing contained herein shall be
deemed to prevent the Village of Groton Police, the Village Fire Department
or the Supervisor of Public Works from closing access to areas in order to
maintain proper crowd control and to enforce other laws in effect.
D.
It shall be the duty of the sponsor, before the festival
operator's license shall be issued, to provide the Village Clerk, the
Fire Department and the Police Department with a sketch depicting the physical
layout of booth, stands, amusement rides and the lanes of traffic that shall
hereinafter be set forth, showing the dimensions of said booths and stands
and the location and size of the area which the amusement rides will occupy.
E.
After the sponsor has assigned the individual booths
and stands to the vendors and the areas used for amusement rides to the operators,
it shall be the duty of said sponsor, by the end of the first day of the festival,
to provide the Village Clerk with a list in which the names, addresses and
locations of the vendors and operators of amusement rides shall be set forth.
F.
Subject to the requirements of the Village of Groton
Police, the Village Fire Department and the Supervisor of Public Works, it
shall be the obligation and duty of the sponsor during the duration of the
festival to maintain an unimpeded and unobstructed land for emergency traffic,
at least 15 feet in width, for the rapid ingress and egress of vehicles required
for emergencies of other governmental purposes.
All electrical requirements, regulations and licensing shall be adhered
to by the sponsors and/or vendors of the festival, as provided for in the
electrical and building codes of the Village of Groton which are hereby incorporated
by reference as if fully set forth. Should use of Village meters be desired,
prior arrangements shall be made with the Village of Groton Electric Department.
Should temporary outlets be provided, those will be used exclusively.
A.
No alcoholic beverages shall be sold, served or consumed
and no games of skill or chance shall be conducted during the operation of
the festival unless and before the sponsor or the vendors obtain a proper
and legal license to dispense alcoholic beverages and/or conduct games of
skill or chance from the State of New York, the Village of Groton or any other
regulatory agency.
B.
The sponsor and vendors receiving such licenses to dispense
alcoholic beverages and/or conduct games of skill or chance shall be conclusively
presumed to be cognizant of the provisions of the Alcoholic Beverage Law of
New York, the state rules and regulations in regard thereto and all applicable
federal, state and municipal laws, rules and regulations regarding the operation
of games of skill and chance, all of which are incorporated herein by reference
as if fully set forth.
A.
The duration of a Festival Operator's license for
a festival shall be for not more than four consecutive days, after which period
it shall lapse.
B.
The earliest time at which it shall be lawful to begin
operation of a festival in the Village shall be 9:00 a.m., Monday to Saturday,
and 11:00 a.m. on Sundays. Closing time shall not be later than the closing
time permitted by the Alcoholic Beverage Laws.
A.
In addition to the penalties set forth in the general
penalties section of this chapter, the festival operator's license or
any vendor's license may be revoked by the Village Clerk at any time
during the life of such license for any violation by the operator or individual
vendor of any provision of this chapter or any violation of the Code of the
Village of Groton or any other applicable county, state or federal law.
B.
Anything to the contrary in this section notwithstanding,
a food and/or beverage vendor's license may be revoked for a violation
of any provision of this chapter or any violation of the Code of the Village
of Groton or any other applicable county, state or federal law in the discretion
of the appropriate health or regulatory authority.
A.
Subject to the further provisions of this section, before
any festival operator's license shall be granted, the sponsor shall provide
and deposit with the Village Clerk a public liability insurance policy in
the amount of $1,000,000 single limit, naming the sponsor and the Village
of Groton as coinsured.
B.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the insurance requirement under § 95-12A shall not apply in the following circumstances:
(1)
If the event will not take place on Village property,
other than for the parking of vehicles, and/or not require the closure of
any Village street or sidewalk, in which case the sponsor shall provide proof
of liability coverage by the property owner or owners on whose property the
event is to take place; or
(2)
If the event is not intended or expected to draw more
than 250 attendees within a twenty-four-hour period.
C.
In any event, and in addition to any required insurance
under the provisions of this chapter, the sponsor shall indemnify, save and
hold the Village harmless against loss, liability or expense resulting from
any and all claims, actions, causes of action or judgments recovered against
the sponsor or the Village in any court of competent jurisdiction in excess
of the amount of insurance required by the Village or, if no insurance is
required, for all claims not otherwise covered or in excess of the coverage
provided to the Village under its own public liability insurance coverage.
Upon application by a sponsor to the Village Board of Trustees, the
Village Board of Trustees may waive one or more of the requirements of this
chapter, provided that a finding is made that the enforcement of such provision
is not required to assure the safe and proper operation of the festival or
other special event.
A violation by the sponsor or the vendors of the provisions of this
chapter, upon conviction thereof, in addition to the forfeiture of the license,
shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 or by imprisonment not exceeding
15 days, or both, per violation, such fine and imprisonment to be in the discretion
of the court.
