It is the intent of this chapter to establish a uniform procedure for evaluating and permitting both commercial and non-commercial special events, which are to be wholly, or partially held within the city of Lawndale. The city council desires to establish such a procedure to ensure the broadest range of special events are held within the city in a safe and orderly manner which causes the least disruption or inconvenience to every day life. It is also the purpose of this chapter to provide a procedure to both evaluate the level of municipal services required by any special event and to pass that cost on to the special event's organizers. Finally, it is the intent of the city council to protect the rights of the people to engage in protected free speech and assembly, yet allow for such activities to be undertaken in a safe manner with the least restrictive reasonable time, place, and manner regulations.
(Ord. 849-98 § 1)
"Advertise"
means to explicitly or implicitly publicize a special event to members of the general public by means of general dissemination, including, but not limited to, print and electronic media, banners, signs and flyers.
"City manager"
means the city manager of the city of Lawndale, California or designee.
"Permit"
means a special event permit.
"Special event"
means any organized activity which takes place in whole or in part within city boundaries, including, but not limited to, amusement attractions, athletic events, carnivals, circuses, concerts, exhibitions, fairs, fireworks displays, fund raising events, parades, rodeos, running events, trade shows, triathlons or walkathons, demonstrations or assembly which may include persons, animals, vehicles or any combination thereof which is to assemble or travel in unison on any street, sidewalk or other public right-of-way owned or controlled by the city which does not comply with applicable traffic regulations, laws or controls. The term "special event" shall also mean any organized activity involving thirty-five or more persons on any street, sidewalk or other public right-of-way owned or controlled by the city which does not comply with applicable traffic regulations, laws or controls conducted by a person for a common or collective use, purpose or benefit which involves the use of, or has an impact on, public property or facilities and which is likely to interfere with the free use of any public way, not comply with traffic regulations or pose a threat to public safety.
The above notwithstanding, the term "special event" shall not mean a construction project, funeral procession, a spontaneous event or city, county or school district parks and recreation programs. Nor shall the term refer to any activity which does not at least partially occur or impact upon public property, or the public right-of-way.
"Spontaneous event"
means, for the purposes of this chapter, an expressive activity including, but not limited to, a spontaneous parade, assembly or demonstration, in response to late-breaking news or to issues of immediate or urgent concern in a location which is not likely to cause a threat of disruption of the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic or to otherwise pose a threat to the public interest, which would require a permit were it not for the time sensitivity of the event.
(Ord. 849-98 § 1; Ord. 913-02 § 16; Ord. 1067-11 § 1)
No person or entity shall conduct or maintain a special event, or allow live entertainment to be conducted without a live entertainment permit pursuant to Chapter 17.95, or permit its premises to be used for a special event or live entertainment without first applying for and obtaining the appropriate permit, and timely fulfilling any and all conditions of approval imposed upon the issuance of the permit. A special event will require a permit if it is conducted in, on or upon any city street, sidewalk, alley, park, way, public place, public property or public right-of-way which is owned or controlled by the city.
Any special event or live entertainment conducted by the city will follow the same review process for approval, but will not require the submittal of a special event or live entertainment permit application or issuance of a permit.
(Ord. 849-98 § 1; Ord. 936-04 § 5; Ord. 1067-11 § 2)
Unless otherwise permitted by law, no person or entity shall join or participate in any special event in violation of any of the terms or conditions of the permit or these regulations, join or participate in any special event without the consent of the permittee or in any manner interfere with the orderly conduct of such special event.
(Ord. 849-98 § 1)
Any person wishing to sponsor, conduct, operate or maintain a special event shall file a completed official special event permit application on the form established by the city to the community services department. This special event permit application shall be submitted in sufficient time to allow city staff to process and investigate the application and obtain all necessary services for the event. A recommended timeframe is no less than fourteen days in advance of the start of a proposed special event.
It shall be the responsibility of the city manager to process and approve applications for all special events. The city manager shall submit copies of the applications to all city departments for review and comment. For any special event where city sponsorship is requested, the application shall be submitted to city council for approval.
Once an activity is approved by the city council, future applications for the same event shall be approved by the city manager provided that there are no significant changes in location, format, or other aspect of the event which would require conditions to be imposed on the event to protect the public interest. Any changed events will require consideration by the city council again for approval.
The city manager shall be responsible for coordinating all special conditions, guidelines and/or fees that might be required of the organizers of the special events as requested by all city departments.
(Ord. 849-98 § 1; Ord. 913-02 § 16; Ord. 1067-11 § 3)
A special event permit shall be granted unless it is determined, from consideration of the application and other pertinent information in the record, that one or more of the following circumstances exist and cannot be mitigated with the imposition of reasonable conditions:
A. 
Information contained in the application, or supplemental information supplied by the applicant, is found to be materially false or misleading.
B. 
The applicant fails to complete the application form in sufficient time to allow staff to process and investigate the application and obtain all necessary services for the event, or fails to provide supplemental information or documents within a reasonable time of being requested to do so by the city and in sufficient time for processing.
C. 
The city has already approved or conditionally approved an application for another special event at the same time and place as that requested by the applicant, or so close in time and place as to cause an unreasonable disruption of traffic congestion, and/or the sheriff's department or any other city department is unable to meet the service needs of both.
D. 
The conduct of the special event will substantially interrupt the safe and orderly movement of public transportation, or vehicular and/or pedestrian traffic in the area of its route, or unresolvably conflict with construction or development in the public right-of-way or at a public facility, or close streets during peak commuter hours.
E. 
The concentration of persons, animals and/or vehicles at the site of the special event, or its assembly and disbanding areas, is reasonably likely to prevent proper police, fire, or ambulance services from meeting the city's emergency response needs or to unreasonably interfere with access to police or fire stations.
F. 
The special event is reasonably likely to require the diversion of so many city personnel to ensure that participants and/or spectators stay within the boundaries or route of the special event, or to protect participants and/or spectators, that normal protection to the rest of the city will be unreasonably compromised. The above notwithstanding, nothing herein authorizes denial of a permit because the operation of the special event creates the need to protect participants from the conduct of others, so long as reasonable permit conditions can be imposed to allow for adequate protection of event participants with the number of city personnel available to sheriff the special event.
G. 
The location of the special event is likely to substantially interfere with construction or maintenance work previously scheduled to take place upon or along city streets or to interfere with a previously granted encroachment permit.
H. 
The special event is likely to cause an undue hardship on adjacent businesses or residents including, but not limited to, a school that is in session, a hospital or extended care facility.
I. 
The special event has a prior history of creating conditions that jeopardize the peace and safety of the citizenry.
J. 
The applicant has violated permit conditions imposed as conditions of approval to a special event permit within the last five years.
K. 
The special event is reasonably likely to endanger the health, safety or welfare of the people of the city or the location chosen for the special event is inconsistent with surrounding land uses.
Any denial of a special event shall include a suggestion of an alternate time, place and manner or other criteria which would allow the event to occur.
(Ord. 849-98 § 1; Ord. 913-02 § 16; Ord. 1067-11 §§ 4, 11)
When the grounds for denial of an application for a permit specified in this chapter can be corrected or mitigated by the imposition of conditions, the city council or city manager shall conditionally approve rather than deny the application.
Any permit may be conditioned with reasonable requirements concerning the time, place or manner of holding such event as is necessary to coordinate multiple uses of public property; assure preservation of public property and places; prevent dangerous, unlawful or impermissible uses; protect the safety of persons and property and to control vehicular and pedestrian traffic in and around the venue, provided that such requirements shall not be imposed in a manner that will unreasonably restrict expressive speech or any other activity protected by the California or the United States Constitutions.
Moreover, the city manager shall consult with the city attorney prior to the imposition of conditions on a permit and shall provide to an applicant a written explanation for a decision that imposes conditions on the permit.
(Ord. 849-98 § 1; Ord. 913-02 § 17; Ord. 1067-11 §§ 5, 11)
The city manager may place conditions upon the issuance of a special event permit by imposing reasonable requirements concerning the time, place, and manner in which the special event shall be held, as well as any other requirements which are necessary to protect the safety of persons and property, and to provide for adequate traffic control. Such conditions may include, but are not limited to, the following:
A. 
Alteration of the date, time, route or location of the special event.
B. 
When the special event is a demonstration, parade, or march, conditions pertaining to the area of participant assembly and disbanding.
C. 
Conditions concerning accommodation of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including restricting the special event to only a portion of a street, or allowing for intermittent traffic flow through an event site when safe to do so.
D. 
Requirements to furnish, place, and remove traffic cones and/or barricades and necessary temporary regulatory signs.
E. 
Requirements for provision of first aid, sanitary or emergency facilities.
F. 
Requirements for use of event monitors and some method for providing notice of permit conditions to event participants.
G. 
Restrictions on the number or type of animals, vehicles, decorated vehicles or structures for fire safety purposes.
H. 
Requirements for use of garbage containers, cleanup, and restoration of city property and provision of security to ensure cleanup and restoration; however, conditional approval shall not be denied because the applicant or sponsor cannot afford to provide the above.
I. 
Reasonable restrictions on use of amplified sound so as to conform to the city's noise ordinance.
J. 
Travel trailers may be permitted on site during carnivals, pumpkin patches, tree lots, fireworks stands or other similar events. For similar events not listed here, travel trailers may be permitted only with written approval of the city manager. Temporary electrical hookups are permitted only as approved by the city's building department. No other utility hookups are permitted. All proposed travel trailers must be approved and permitted by the fire department and building department. In addition, if the travel trailer is located on the same site as a fireworks stand, then the trailer must comply with the safety standards and requirements as contained in Section 8.12.080(C).
(Ord. 849-98 § 1; Ord. 913-02 § 20; Ord. 1045-10 § 1; Ord. 1067-11 § 11)
There shall be no application fees associated with the filing of a special event permit. However, in analyzing the event, departments shall identify all costs that may be incurred as a result of the event such as: charges for city personnel, equipment, materials and services.
Each applicant for a permit shall submit all required costs and fees related to the event to the city prior to issuance of the permit. The costs and fees shall be established by a resolution adopted by the city council. Cash deposits shall be required if deemed necessary by the city council. The cost of providing police protection for the special event is excluded from the costs that may be required by the city for any event involving expressive speech or any other activity protected by the California or the United States Constitutions.
If an event is cancelled, costs may be charged by the city for costs incurred by the city for personnel, materials and services.
(Ord. 849-98 § 1; Ord. 1067-11 §§ 6, 11)
Any person seeking a fee waiver for the use of a city facility shall, in conjunction with filing their special event permit application, file a completed fee waiver application. The following user groups shall receive a complete waiver of facility use fees in connection with a special event:
1. 
Nonprofit organizations recognized by the state of California and organized under Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code;
2. 
Schools which are affiliated with or chartered by the Lawndale Elementary School District or the Centinela Valley Unified High School District;
3. 
Governmental agencies or elected officials representing Lawndale; and
4. 
Special events involving expressive speech or any other activity protected by the California or the United States Constitutions.
Fee waivers shall be approved by the city manager.
Schools not affiliated with or chartered by the Lawndale Elementary School District or the Centinela Valley Unified High School District with students who are Lawndale residents may apply to the city council for fifty percent a waiver of fees.
(Ord. 849-98 § 1; Ord. 1067-11 §§ 7, 11)
Prior to the issuance of a permit, the applicant shall provide security, insurance and indemnity agreements as required by the city. Insurance may be purchased through the city's special event insurance carrier. An applicant providing its own insurance must provide adequate certification and an executed endorsement form in compliance with city insurance requirements.
The city manager may waive the requirement for insurance if he or she determines that the planned event is not reasonably likely to present a substantial or significant public liability or property damage exposure for the city or its officers. Moreover, the requirement to provide insurance shall not apply to special events involving expressive activity which enjoy protection under the United States or California Constitutions if the applicant either: (A) agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the city, its officers and employees against all claims, damages, expenses, loss or liability arising out of, or resulting from, the alleged acts or omissions of permittee, its officers, agents and employees in connection with the permitted event or activity other than costs that: (1) are related to the listeners reaction to speech, or (2) arise as the result of actionable conduct by the city; or (B) agrees to redesign or reschedule the permitted event to respond to specific risks, hazards and dangers to the public health and safety identified by the city manager as being reasonably foreseeable consequences of the permitted parade or special event.
(Ord. 849-98 § 1; Ord. 1067-11 §§ 8, 11)
No person shall advertise or in any other way attempt to solicit attendance at a special event prior to the city's issuance of the permit. Advertisement shall not name the city of Lawndale in any form as a co-sponsor or endorser of the event unless the event is specifically authorized as a co-sponsored event offered in conjunction with the city and approved as such by the city council. All advertising shall comply with city sign regulations.
(Ord. 849-98 § 1; Ord. 1067-11 §§ 9, 11)
When the special event will be held in one or more structures, the permit shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the structure used for managing the special event. In all cases, the individual(s) responsible for the on-site supervision or conduct of the special event shall have a copy(ies) of the permit on their person at all times during the conduct of the special event.
(Ord. 849-98 § 1; Ord. 1067-11 § 11)