The city council recognizes that street performers may provide
a public amenity that enhances the character of the city and seeks
to encourage such performances in a manner consistent with the overall
public interest. The city council further recognizes that street performers
seek and do draw crowds to their performance, which can create serious
safety problems by impacting the ability of individuals to move safely
on sidewalks in high pedestrian traffic areas. Therefore, it is crucial
to the continued interest of the community for the city to safeguard
public ways with reasonable restrictions and regulations to ensure
the health, safety and welfare of the public. Cognizant that street
performers are engaged in First Amendment activities, this chapter
imposes reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on performers
to the extent necessary to ensure the safety of performers, their
audience, and the general public and to prevent unreasonable interference
of the ability of businesses to operate and conduct their business.
(Ord. 1662 § 1, 2021)
For purposes of this chapter, the following words or phrases
shall have the following meanings:
means to require someone to pay a fee or to set, negotiate
or establish a fee for a performance. Seeking voluntary contributions
through passing around a hat, leaving open an instrument case or other
receptacle, or soliciting donations after a performance is not a charge.
means objects made either by hand or with the help of devices
used to shape or produce the objects through such methods as weaving,
carving, stitching, sewing, lacing, and beading including, but not
limited to, objects such as jewelry, pottery, silver work, leather
goods, and trinkets. Handcrafts are not likely to communicate a message,
idea, or concept to others, are often mass produced or produced with
limited variation, and often have functional utility apart from any
communicative value they might have. Handcrafts do not include visual
art.
means to engage in any of the following activities on public
property: playing musical instruments, singing, dancing, acting, pantomiming,
puppeteering, juggling, reciting, engaging in magic, creating visual
art in its entirety, or similar artistic endeavors. "Perform" shall
not include: (1) the provision of personal services such as hair weaving
or massage; (2) the application of substances to others' skin, including,
but not limited to, paints, dyes, and inks; (3) the completion or
other partial creation of visual art; (4) the creation of visual art
which is mass produced or produced with limited variation; or (5)
the creation of handcrafts. This list of exclusions is not intended
to be exhaustive.
means an individual who performs on public property to provide
public entertainment. Indicia of being a performer include, but are
not limited to, setting up performance equipment; staging or orienting
the performance towards the public; performing in the same location
for an extended period of time; performing in the public for multiple
days; seeking voluntary contributions through passing around a hat
or leaving open an instrument case or other receptacle; and soliciting
donations after a performance.
means a three-dimensional work of art which is created through
shaping solid material such as wood, stone, clay or metal by carving,
modeling, or similar methods.
means the area located on Lower Forest Avenue in the downtown
area of the city on the inland side of Coast Highway between Ocean
Avenue and Glenneyre Street.
means sculptures or drawings and paintings, applied to paper,
cardboard, canvas, or other similar or technologically equivalent
medium through the use of brush, pastel, crayon, pencil, stylus, or
other similar object.
(Ord. 1662 § 1, 2021)
(a)
No street performer shall perform except between the hours of eleven
a.m. and nine p.m.
(b)
Subject also to Section 11.60.040, no performer may perform:
(1)
Within ten feet of any bus stop;
(2)
Within ten feet of any street corner or a marked pedestrian crosswalk;
(3)
Within ten feet of the outer edge of any entrance of any business,
including, but not limited to: doors, vestibules, driveways, outdoor
dining area entries, and emergency exits, during the hours that any
business on the premises is open to the public or to persons having
or conducting lawful business within those premises;
(4)
Within ten feet of the outer edge of any entrance to any residence.
(c)
A performer and the performer's equipment may not block or obstruct
the free and safe movement of pedestrians. If a sufficient crowd gathers
to observe a performer such that the passage of the public through
a public area is blocked or obstructed, a city official may disperse
that portion of the crowd that is blocking or obstructing the passage
of the public. If a performer cannot conduct a performance in a location
without blocking or obstructing the passage of the public, a city
official may cause the performer to leave the location or require
that the performer relocate his or her equipment, but shall not prevent
the performer from occupying another location in compliance with this
chapter.
(d)
There shall be no charge for a performance. Money given for a performance
shall be on a donation only basis. A performer shall perform whether
or not the performer receives compensation for the performance. A
performer may not charge a set fee for the performance or use aggressive
measures to solicit donations. For purposes of this subsection, aggressive
measures shall include: blocking or impeding the passage of the solicitee
intentionally; touching the solicitee with the intent to intimidate
or coerce; following the solicitee, going behind, ahead or alongside
of him or her, with the intent to intimidate or coerce; threatening
the solicitee, by word or gesture, with physical harm; or abusing
the solicitee with words which are offensive and inherently likely
to provoke an immediate violent reaction.
(e)
A performer shall not be required to obtain a business license pursuant to Chapter 5.08. Other Federal, State, and local laws may apply to this activity and to sales, including, without limitation, local, State, and Federal tax laws. It is each performer's sole responsibility to ensure that he or she is familiar with and complies with such laws.
(f)
No performer shall construct, erect, or maintain any stage, platform,
or similar structure for use during any performance.
(g)
No performer shall use any knife, sword, torch, flame, axe, saw,
or other object that can cause serious bodily injury to any person,
or engage in any activity, including, but not limited to, acrobatics,
tumbling, or cycling, that can cause serious bodily injury to any
person.
(h)
No performer shall use any generator, wet cell battery with removable
fill caps, or any other power source that poses a fire or public safety
hazard. No performer shall connect or maintain an electrical cord
to an adjacent building or to a city power source.
(i)
No performer may litter his or her performance site.
(j)
No performer shall utilize or prevent the public from utilizing any
public benches, waste receptacles, or other street furniture during
the performance.
(k)
No minor under the age of sixteen can perform unless the minor is
at all times accompanied by a responsible adult eighteen years of
age or older, has obtained an entertainment work permit issued by
the Department of Industrial Relations of the State of California
and maintains the permit in his or her possession at the time of the
performance.
(l)
No performer shall place any object on a public sidewalk which causes
less than a four-foot contiguous sidewalk width being kept clear for
pedestrian passage.
(m)
No performer shall perform with more instruments, props, equipment,
merchandise, or other items than the performer can reasonably transport
and remove all at once within three minutes.
(n)
No performer shall place his or her instruments, props, equipment,
merchandise, or other items on a public sidewalk, public street, or
public right-of-way for more than two hours without performing in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(o)
A performer shall stay with his or her instruments, props, equipment,
merchandise, or other items at all times that these items are on a
public sidewalk, public street, or public right-of-way.
(p)
No performer shall perform in violation of the allowable noise standards established by Chapter 7.25.
(q)
No performer shall block or obstruct a curb cut.
(Ord. 1662 § 1, 2021)
In addition to the requirements of Section 11.60.030, no performer shall perform in the Promenade on Forest in violation of the following requirements:
(a)
No person may perform without first obtaining a performance permit
issued by the city.
(1)
To receive a performance permit, a person or nonprofit organization
must complete and file with the city a performance permit application.
The applicant must provide the following information:
(A)
The applicant's name.
(B)
The applicant's address.
(C)
Proof of the identity of the applicant. This identification must
contain a photograph of the applicant. Acceptable forms of identifications
shall include, but not be limited to, a driver's license, student
identification card, or passport.
(D)
A detailed description of the nature of the act to be performed.
(E)
A detailed description of any instrument(s) or prop(s) that will
be used by the performer(s).
(2)
A minor under the age of sixteen shall provide a copy of an entertainment
work permit issued to the minor by the Department of Industrial Relations
of the State of California and shall identify the responsible adult(s)
who will be with the minor at all times that the minor is performing.
(3)
Upon receipt of a fully completed written application for a performance
permit, a determination whether to approve a performance permit shall
be made within ten business days.
(4)
The city may revoke or suspend a performance permit based on complaints,
violations of the permitted noise standards, or due to construction,
weather, or emergency.
(5)
The performance permit shall not be assignable or transferable.
(6)
A performer shall clearly display his or her permit while performing,
and shall allow inspection of the permit by any city employee on request.
(7)
When an applicant requests a performance permit application, the
city shall also give the applicant a document that summarizes the
rules and regulations concerning street performances.
(b)
The stage area located at the Forest Avenue Promenade shall be available
to nonprofit organizations Monday through Thursday between the hours
of four p.m. and nine p.m. by reservation through the city for the
conduct of performances. Such performances by the same organization
may not be conducted on more than fourteen days in a calendar year.
(c)
The stage area located at the Forest Avenue Promenade shall be available
to individual street performers on a schedule determined by the city
based on seasonality, business needs and other city programming.
(d)
No street performer shall perform outside the designated performance
deck within the Forest Avenue Promenade.
(e)
Performances by individual artists shall not exceed a duration of
three hours.
(f)
Performances organized by nonprofit organizations or the city shall
not exceed a duration of four hours.
(Ord. 1662 § 1, 2021)
Any person violating this chapter shall be guilty of an infraction and shall be subject to administrative fines and administrative penalties, including, without limitation, the provisions of Chapter 1.15.
(Ord. 1662 § 1, 2021)
