[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Greensburg 5-13-2024 by Ord. No. 2161. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The following chapter, which shall be effective as provided herein, shall govern the time, place and manner of holding certain special events on City roads, on City property, and on private property when an event has the potential for impact upon health, fire, police, transportation and other services. The regulations provided herein are enacted in order to promote the health, safety and welfare of all the persons in the City, residents and visitors, by ensuring that special events do not create disturbances, become nuisances, menace or threaten life, health and property, disrupt traffic or threaten or damage private or public property. It is not the intent of this chapter to regulate in any manner the content of speech or infringe upon the right to assemble, except for the time, place and manner of speech and assembly, and this chapter should not be interpreted nor construed otherwise.
This chapter imposes regulatory requirements on certain activities which are held on Greensburg City streets, Greensburg City property and private property (to the extent they have the ability to impact others use of public property), which are defined as "special events." The requirements imposed by this chapter do not alter, supersede or nullify any requirements contained in other statutes, ordinances or regulations which may also regulate these same activities. These requirements shall be applied in a content-neutral manner and without discrimination as to race, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation or other unlawful discriminatory classification. This chapter shall not apply to the following events:
A. 
Events or assemblies occurring inside permanently established, fully enclosed places of assembly, such as a place of worship, public auditorium, theater, recreation hall, gym, or other enclosed structure designed primarily for housing and assembly of people, provided that the maximum number of persons expected to attend or in actual attendance does not exceed the maximum capacity of the enclosed place of assembly.
B. 
Events or assemblies in conjunction with school events on school property, church events on church property if designed for that use, or government-sponsored public hearings.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings:
ATHLETIC EVENT
An organized competitive or recreational event in which a group of people collectively engage in a sport or form of physical exercise, including but not limited to running, jogging, walking, bicycling or skating, on any City street or upon public property.
ENTERTAINMENT EVENT
An organized event having as its primary purpose the entertainment or amusement of a group of people, including but not limited to parades, carnivals, fairs, festivals, sales, for-profit activities, concerts, block parties or neighborhood gatherings on public property. Also included are farmers markets, ethnic festivals, car cruises, vendor sales, being any event that has vendors selling items, food, garden vegetables and any other type of general items for sale, whether new, used, or craft items.
FIRST AMENDMENT ACTIVITY
All expressive and associative activity that is protected by the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions, including speech, press, assembly and the right to petition, picketing, protesting, marching, demonstrating or debating public issues, on any City street or upon property owned by the City of Greensburg. This definition excludes any and all commercial or for-profit activities.
SPECIAL EVENT
Any athletic event, entertainment event or first amendment activity, whether held for profit, nonprofit or charitable purposes on City property, streets or rights-of-way, or on private property when an event thereon has the potential for impact upon health, fire, police, transportation and other services. A special event may occur once or may occur a series of times in a calendar year, being January 1 through December 31.
It is unlawful for any person, corporation, partnership, association or other entity, public or private, to promote, advertise or hold a special event without first obtaining a special event permit and paying the fees as required in this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter shall not be applied to regulate the use of traditional public forums as alternative channels of communication by the public, provided such use is for the free exercise of constitutionally protected activities and does not disrupt or interfere with traffic on public streets or the use of public places by other members of the public. If the event includes commercial or for-profit activities, it shall not be exempt.
Special event permit application forms may be obtained from the City of Greensburg, 4016 South Main Street, Greensburg, PA 15601.
A. 
All applications for special event permits shall be made on a special event permit application form and shall include the following information:
(1) 
Type and description of event;
(2) 
Name of the sponsoring entity, contact person, address and telephone number;
(3) 
Name of the promoting entity, contact person, address and telephone number;
(4) 
Proposed date(s) of the event, together with beginning and ending times for each date;
(5) 
Proposed location, including a plat or map of the proposed area to be used, including any barricade, street route plans or perimeter/security fencing;
(6) 
Estimated numbers of event staff, participants and spectators;
(7) 
Public health plans, including plans for culinary water supplies, solid waste collections and disposal and wastewater (toilet facilities);
(8) 
Fire prevention and emergency medical services plans;
(9) 
Security plans and/or law enforcement response (if law enforcement presence is requested by the applicant or deemed necessary by the City, an extra-duty service agreement shall be required);
(10) 
Admission fee, donation, or other consideration to be charged or requested;
(11) 
Signature of applicant;
(12) 
Liability insurance information and copy of declaration page, as required by this chapter; and
(13) 
If the event is a residential block party or other event planned within a residential area, the applicant must collect and submit with the application form a list of signatures consenting to the street closure from all neighbors whose vehicular access to their property is affected by the street closure.
B. 
The applicant for a special event permit shall submit a copy of the application to the City of Greensburg Administration Office. A special event permit shall require review of the following departments, at the discretion of the Administrator:
(1) 
Administration Department and Solicitor, to review the application, confirm compliance with Chapter 229, and to issue any necessary agreements;
(2) 
Police Department, to review law enforcement, traffic and public safety related matters;
(3) 
Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department and the Greensburg and Westmoreland County Emergency Management Agencies, to review traffic and public safety related matters;
(4) 
Public Works Department, to review all matters related to the use of public property and infrastructure;
(5) 
Planning Department, to ensure code compliance and application for any mobile food related permits under Greensburg Code Chapter 127;
(6) 
Building Inspector, if any temporary facilities are to be constructed or special electrical supplies are considered or warranted;
(7) 
Fiscal Department, to ensure payment of any applicable fees;
(8) 
Mayor and Council, if the applicant propose that alcohol be consumed during the event.
C. 
In reviewing an application, the agencies or departments involved shall consider the following:
(1) 
The impact of the special event on the traffic, security, health and safety of the public and the plans of the applicant to address such impacts;
(2) 
A determination by the agency that the plans for addressing any such impacts are appropriate and reasonable to address traffic, security, health and safety concerns, and an evaluation of the measures proposed by the applicant to satisfy those requirements;
(3) 
The demonstrated ability of the applicant to comply with requirements necessary to protect the safety, health and welfare of the public and the past history of the applicant in complying with such requirements;
(4) 
The location and duration of the special event and the City's ability to accommodate the event with the necessary resources; and
(5) 
Other previously approved special events that could cause scheduling conflicts during the same period and cause overextension of the City or county's resources.
D. 
The agencies involved in reviewing an application may impose additional requirements or conditions necessary to protect the public interest by ensuring traffic management, security of property, or the health and safety of the public.
E. 
Insurance required.
(1) 
No special event permit shall be issued unless and until the applicant has submitted a certificate of insurance listing the City of Greensburg as an additional insured on an occurrence policy issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in the state, showing comprehensive general liability and property damage coverage for the event with minimum limits of $1,000,000 for injury or death for one person in any one occurrence; $3,000,000 for injury or death for two or more persons in any one occurrence; and $500,000 for property damage in any one occurrence. If alcohol is planned to be consumed during the event, liquor liability insurance must be provided, naming the City as additional insured, with limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence, $2,000,000 aggregate.
(2) 
The following special events shall be exempt from the insurance requirements set forth in this section:
(a) 
First amendment activities;
(b) 
Events sponsored in whole by the City; and
(c) 
Block parties.
(3) 
In consideration for the issuing of a special event permit, the applicant shall agree to indemnify, save harmless and defend the City of Greensburg, its officers and employees against any claim for loss, damage or expense sustained by any person on account of injury, death or property damage occurring by reason of or arising out of the special event. Organizers of first amendment activities shall be exempt from this indemnification provision, unless the applicant, or their agents, organizers or performers, proximately caused said loses.
(4) 
By issuing a special event permit, the City makes no guarantees and assumes no liability for the safety of participants or spectators of special events.
A. 
Each special event permit shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee, to be set by Council by way of resolution, to defray the administrative costs of processing the application. If the number of venders increases following the initial payment of the fee, the applicant shall pay the fee for the additional venders seven days prior to the event, as well as all other applicable fees or costs charged under this chapter. If an organization is operating an event and pays the requisite fee pursuant to Greensburg Code Chapter 127, they shall be exempt from paying any registration or permitting fees under this chapter, but in the discretion of the City Administrator and Chief of Police, the applicant may be required to reimburse the City for the costs of providing extra-duty policing services, pursuant to § 229-7B.
B. 
In order to promote, protect and assure the safety and convenience of the people in their use of public streets, public places, and/or private property, the Greensburg Police Department shall coordinate the use of additional officers if the special event requires traffic control or police protection. An additional fee shall be charged to cover the costs incurred. The Police Department shall specify the fee required upon its approval of the special event permit application, based upon the number of officers and amount of support equipment required by such factors as the date and time of the event; the event location and length; the anticipated traffic and weather conditions; the estimated number of participants and spectators; the nature, composition, format and configuration of the event; and the estimated time for the event. The fee charged for traffic control or police protection shall be paid to the City Fiscal Department, and the applicant shall execute an extra-duty service agreement, to be prepared and approved by the City Solicitor, prior to the issuance of the special event permit. First amendment activities shall be exempt from the requirement to pay for law enforcement-related expenses.
C. 
The following special events shall be exempt from the application fee set forth in this section but shall be subject to fees of other agencies or departments, unless specified otherwise:
(1) 
First amendment activities;
(2) 
School events on school property;
(3) 
Events sponsored in whole or in part by the county;
(4) 
Block parties; and
(5) 
Revenue-raising events where the revenue flows to the direct benefit of the City of Greensburg and/or Westmoreland County government(s).
A. 
No alcohol consumption during event. Completed application forms shall be submitted to the City Administrator's office at least 30 calendar days before the event is scheduled to take place, in order to allow sufficient time for final evaluation of the application and to allow timely appeal to the Greensburg City Council in the event the application is denied. Applications submitted less than 30 calendar days prior to the scheduled event shall be denied unless the applicant demonstrates to the City of Greensburg Council that compliance with the thirty-day deadline was impractical or impossible due to the nature of the event, or because this chapter became effective during the application window.
B. 
Alcohol consumption during event.
(1) 
Completed application forms shall be submitted to the City Administrator's office at least 30 calendar days before the Greensburg City Council regular meeting preceding the date that event is scheduled to take place, in order to allow sufficient time for final evaluation of the application and to allow Greensburg City Council the opportunity review and vote on the request for alcohol consumption. Applications submitted less than the number of days required shall be denied unless the applicant demonstrates to the City of Greensburg Council that compliance with the thirty-day deadline was impractical or impossible due to the nature of the event, or because this chapter became effective during the application window.
(2) 
If Mayor and Council approve an application for a special event permit where alcohol is intended to be available for consumption by participants in the event, the possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the special event area shall be permitted, if lawfully sold by the by a licensed facility pursuant to the appropriate and necessary permits and licenses as issued by the commonwealth. Persons shall not be in violation of City of Greensburg Code § 195-1 solely by virtue of their possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages in compliance with this Code and within the permitted special event area. Said alcoholic beverages must be purchased at the special event and open containers may not leave the permitted special event area. Should a attendee of the special event who is possessing and/or consuming alcoholic beverages bring outside alcohol into the permitted special event area or otherwise become an annoyance to peaceable persons nearby or traveling upon any street, alley or sidewalk, they shall be subject to the provisions of § 195-1.
C. 
A special event permit application may be approved or denied based upon the factors in § 229-6. The City Administrator shall issue or deny permits where there is no alcohol consumption planned during the event and by Mayor and Council if there is alcohol consumption planned during the event.
D. 
Greensburg reserves the right to deny permit applications for special events or cancel any events up to and including the date of the event, when said event poses a danger or threat to the public health, welfare or safety, or which may result in unreasonable inconvenience or cost to the public.
E. 
If a special event permit application is denied, the reason or reasons for denial shall be provided in writing to the applicant.
Any permit applicant desiring to appeal an administrative decision of the permits section concerning the denial of a special event permit may petition the Greensburg City Council. All appeals shall be in writing, shall state the specific grounds for the appeal, and shall be filed in the City Administrator's office within seven calendar days after the date the applicant received notice of the administrative denial. An applicant aggrieved by the decision of the Greensburg City Council may seek judicial review of such decision pursuant to state law.
Should a person violate any of the provisions of this Chapter 229 shall be guilty of a summary offense, and upon conviction thereof in a court of competent jurisdiction, shall be subject to a fine of $1,000 per violation. The City of Greensburg Police Department, in its discretion, may stop an event which has been issued a permit and/or may issue citations where event staff or participants violate state statutes or county ordinances, terms or conditions specified in the application, and including, but not limited, to traffic rules and regulations, disturbing the peace, public nuisance, failure to disperse, trespassing or other health and safety regulations.