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)
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.
means the city manager of the city of Lawndale, California
or designee.
means a special event permit.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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(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.
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Fee waivers shall be approved by the city manager.
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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.
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(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)
A permit may be revoked or suspended by the city manager for
any violation of the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 849-98 § 1; Ord. 1067-11 §§ 10, 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)
