[HISTORY: Adopted by the Commissioners of the Town of Princess
Anne 4-4-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-06. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
As defined in State Code Article 2B, § 1-102[1], and includes any mixture of
an alcoholic beverage with a nonalcoholic beverage.
Any drug or substance that the possession and use of which
is regulated under the state controlled dangerous substance act
and not including any drug or substance for which a person has a valid
prescription issued by a licensed medical practitioner authorized
to issue such a prescription.
A party or gathering where each underage person present is
directly supervised by an adult family member who is 21 years old
or over.
Any individual who is under the age of 18.
Any premises on or in which an owner, operator, tenant, or
occupant of or the holder of any possessory interest in those premises:
Any person occupying a premises, whether or not a party to
a lease.
Any person who has charge, care, or control of all or any
part of a premises.
The person in whose name a premises is recorded in the Land
Records of Somerset County or any other person with a legal or equitable
interest in a premises, including a person who has an interest as
a receiver, trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary,
or representative of any kind.
Any natural parent, adoptive parent, step-parent, foster
parent, or legal guardian.
The owner, operator, tenant, or occupant of, or the holder
of any possessory interest in those premises, whether alone or jointly
with any other person, including a person who organizes, supervises,
or conducts an unruly social event.
All or any part of any land, building, or other structure.
Any tenant or lessee, whether under a written or oral lease.
Any individual who is under the age of 21.
A party or gathering of two or more individuals on or in
any premises at which:
Alcoholic beverages are consumed by, furnished
to, or possessed by any underage person in violation of law; or
The conduct creates a disturbance of the peaceful
enjoyment by others of private or public property, including:
Obstruction of public rights-of-way by unruly
crowds;
Public drunkenness;
Assaults, batteries, or other disorderly conduct
that disturbs the public peace;
Vandalism of public or private property;
Littering;
Public urination;
Excessive traffic that is significantly in excess
of the normal amount of pedestrian and vehicle traffic for the day,
date, and time of day for the zoning district;
Use of a controlled substance by any person at
the gathering; or
Any other conduct that constitutes a threat
to the public health, safety, or general welfare.
A.
Persons responsible.
(1)
Every person responsible for any premises is required
to maintain, manage, and supervise the premises and all persons on
or in the premises in a manner so as not to violate the provisions
of this chapter.
(2)
A person responsible for any premises remains liable for
a neighborhood nuisance or an unruly social event even if that person
was not present during the nuisance activity or the unruly social
event.
B.
Owners or operators. An owner or operator of the premises
remains liable for violating this subtitle regardless of any contract
or agreement with any third party regarding the premises.
C.
Parents of juveniles. If the person responsible for the
premises on or in which a neighborhood nuisance or an unruly social
event occurs is a juvenile, then the juvenile and the parents of the
juvenile are jointly and severally liable for paying the penalties
and response costs imposed by this chapter.
No person responsible for any premises may conduct, cause, permit,
aid, or condone a neighborhood nuisance or any unruly social event
on or in those premises.
B.
Process not exclusive. The issuance of a municipal infraction
to enforce this chapter does not preclude pursuing any other civil
or criminal remedy or enforcement action authorized by law.
C.
Defense.
(1)
A municipal infraction may be issued under this subtitle
citing the owner, operator, tenant, occupant, or holder of a possessory
interest without proof of knowledge of participation in the neighborhood
nuisance or unruly social event.
(2)
For a municipal infraction issued under this subtitle
to the owner or operator of leased property, it is a defense to any
fine imposed on the owner or operator that:
(a)
The owner or operator neither authorized, knew in
advance of, nor participated in the neighborhood nuisance or unruly
social event; and
(b)
The owner or operator has not received municipal
citations under this section for the leased dwelling unit more than
three times in a twelve-month period; and
(c)
The owner or operator provides proof:
[1]
That the owner or operator has regained possession
of the leased property; or
[2]
That the owner or operator has filed court proceedings
under state Real Property Article, § 8-402, to regain possession
of the leased property and that:
[a]
The court has entered a judgment in
favor of the owner or operator; or
[b]
Those court proceedings are still pending
at the time the citation is being adjudicated, in which case the court
adjudicating the citation may postpone its proceedings until the conclusion
of the court proceedings to regain possession.
(3)
For purposes of court proceedings filed under Subsection C(2)(c)[2] of this section, it is the intent that a violation of this subtitle shall be construed as demonstrating a clear and imminent danger that the persons responsible or others involved will do serious harm to themselves or others, within the scope and meaning of Real Property Article § 8-402.1(a)(1)(i)2B.
A.
Upon the issuance of more than one municipal infraction
within 12 months at the same premises, all responsible persons shall
be liable for the Town's costs incurred responding to any neighborhood
nuisance or any unruly social event after the issuance of the first
municipal infraction.
B.
A response cost schedule of fees shall be established separately
by resolution.
C.
An itemized invoice of the amount of response costs due
shall be mailed to all responsible persons within 21 days of the response.
D.
Liability for response costs is independent from municipal
infractions under this chapter.
E.
The Town may enforce this subtitle by civil action. Any
judgment shall be assessed against the premises involved and collected
in the same manner as town taxes.
A.
In such cases where the responsible person is the property owner, property manager and/or the landlord of a multifamily dwelling of more than 25 units, the following penalty shall be imposed for the first and subsequent violations within a twelve-month period: a citation with a penalty as set forth in § 109-5.
B.
The fines set forth in this section may be appealed pursuant to § 109-10. The payment of any such fines shall be stayed upon any timely appeal.
C.
The fines set forth in this section are in addition to
any response costs that may be imposed.
A.
Issuance of written citation. When a law enforcement officer
makes an initial response to an underage or unruly gathering at a
residence or other private property within the Town of Princess Anne,
the officer shall issue a municipal infraction citation for violation
of this chapter to all identified responsible persons.
B.
If a municipal infraction citation is issued according to Subsection A, the Police Department, within 15 days of the issuance of the citation to the responsible persons, shall serve a warning for the initial violation to the property owner or a municipal infraction for subsequent violations to the property owner in accordance with § 109-4 and § 109-7.
C.
Within 15 calendar days of the initial citation, a written
warning shall be transmitted via certified mail to the record owner
of the residence or private property. A copy of the written warning
shall also be transmitted to the property manager of the property
if the property manager or the record owner of the residence or private
property has, prior to the municipal infraction, provided contact
information to the Town.
D.
Issuance of written warning for recovery of response costs.
A law enforcement officer who issues an initial municipal infraction
citation for violations of this chapter shall also issue a written
response cost warning to all identified responsible persons. The warning
shall state that an underage or unruly gathering existed on the date
of the incident in question and the responsible persons may be charged
for any response costs incurred for subsequent responses to the property
for an underage or unruly gathering within a twelve-month period.
A.
The amount of any administrative penalty or response costs
shall be deemed a debt owed to the Town of Princess Anne by the responsible
persons held liable pursuant to this chapter for the underage or unruly
gathering and, if a juvenile, by the juvenile's parents or guardians.
B.
Notice of the costs for which the responsible persons are
liable shall be mailed via first class or certified mail within 14
days of the response giving rise to such costs. The notice shall include
an itemized list of the response costs for which the person(s) is
being held liable.
D.
Payment of a fine pursuant to this chapter shall not excuse
or discharge any continuation or repeated occurrence of the violation
of this chapter. An action may be commenced in the name of the Town
of Princess Anne in any court of competent jurisdiction for the collection
of the amount of any such delinquent or unpaid penalty or recovery
cost fee together with attorneys' fees and any penalties applicable
thereto as prescribed by this Code.
E.
The remedy prescribed by this section shall be accumulative,
and the use of an action to collect such an amount as a debt by civil
action shall not bar the use of any other remedy provided by this
Code or by law for the purpose of enforcing the provisions thereof.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as a waiver by the
Town of Princess Anne of any right to seek reimbursement for actual
costs of response services through other legal remedies or procedures.
The procedure provided for in this chapter is in addition to any other
statute, ordinance or law, civil or criminal. This chapter in no way
limits the authority of peace officers or private citizens to make
arrests for any criminal offense arising out of conduct regulated
by this chapter.
This chapter is not intended to impose, and shall not be construed
or given effect in a manner that imposes upon the Town of Princess
Anne or any officer, employee, agent or representative of the Town,
a mandatory duty of care toward persons or property within or without
the Town limits, so as to provide a basis of civil liability for damages,
except as may otherwise be imposed by law.
