[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Council
of the Village of Ridgewood 5-14-2008 by Ord. No. 3116.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Public assemblies — See Ch. 207A.
Political fund-raising — See Ch. 221.
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 249.
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 265.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Ch. 207, Parades and Public Assemblies, adopted 11-10-1998
by Ord. No. 2646.
This chapter shall constitute the Parade Ordinance
of the Village of Ridgewood, to be codified in the Code of the Village
of Ridgewood.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any march, demonstration, procession, motorcade, ceremony,
exhibition or pageant of any kind consisting of persons, animals or
vehicles or a combination therof upon the streets, sidewalks, parks
or other public grounds within the Village with an intent of attracting
public attention that interferes with or has a tendency to interfere
with the normal flow or regulation of traffic upon the streets, sidewalks,
parks or other public grounds. "Parade" shall include walk-a-thons,
bike-a-thons, fun-runs and similar events or activities.
No person shall engage in or conduct any parade
unless a permit is issued by the office of the Chief of Police, except
that no permit shall be required for funeral processions; school activities
on school property under the immediate direction and supervision of
proper school authorities; activities of any governmental agency acting
within the scope of its functions; or parades, athletic events or
other special events which occur exclusively on Village property under
the jurisdiction of the Village Department of Parks and Recreation.
Applications shall be filed on forms provided by the office of the
Chief of Police. Applications shall be filed with the office of the
Chief of Police no less than 10 business days but not more than 90
business days prior to the date of the parade and shall be accompanied
by an application fee of $15. This fee shall be waived if the applicant/sponsoring
organization signs a verified statement that he believes that the
purpose of the parade or special event is First Amendment expression.
Applications for a parade permit shall set forth
the following information:
A.
The name, address and telephone number of the person
making the application for the permit.
B.
If the parade is proposed to be conducted for, on
behalf of or by an organization, the full legal name of the organization,
the address and telephone number of the headquarters of the organization
and of the authorized and responsible head of such organization; the
business formation, if any, and the state in which it is registered
and the name, address and telephone number of its registered agent.
C.
If the parade is designed to be held by, and on behalf
of or for, any person or entity other than the applicant, the applicant
for such permit shall provide written authorization from that person
or entity for the applicant to apply for the permit on behalf of the
person or entity.
D.
The name, address and telephone number of the person
who will be the parade chairman and who will be responsible for its
conduct.
E.
The date when the parade is to be conducted.
F.
The route to be traveled, including the starting point
and the termination point.
G.
The approximate number of persons who, and animals,
vehicles and other apparatus which, will constitute such parade and
the type of animals and a description of the vehicles and apparatus.
H.
The hours when such parade will start and terminate.
(The hours of the parade should include the time of the actual parade,
exclusive of any assembly time prior to the parade.)
I.
A statement as to whether the parade will occupy all
or only a portion of the width of the streets proposed to be traversed.
J.
Whether street closures are required and, if so, which
streets and for how long.
K.
The location by streets of any assembly areas for
such parade and the times at which units of the parade will begin
to assemble at such areas.
L.
The interval of space to be maintained between units
of such parade.
M.
Whether sound amplification equipment will be used
and/or live music will be involved.
N.
Whether food will be sold along the parade route and/or
at the starting or termination points.
O.
Plans for and time frame of full cleanup and restoration
of the parade route and assembly areas.
P.
Such other information as the Chief of Police may
deem necessary in order to properly provide for traffic control, street
and property maintenance and the protection of the public health,
safety and welfare.
The Chief of Police shall issue a permit as
provided for in this chapter unless, from a consideration of the application
and from such other information as may be otherwise obtained, he finds
that:
A.
There is an outstanding approved permit for another
parade or there is an established contractual obligation or prior
historical relationship with the Village for a scheduled parade, event
or occurrence for a time and place that is so proximate to that applied
for as to constitute a conflict therewith.
B.
The conduct of the parade will substantially interrupt
the safe and orderly movement of pedestrian and vehicular traffic
contiguous to its route.
C.
The conduct of the parade will require the diversion
of so great a number of police officers of the Village to properly
police the line of movement and the areas contiguous thereto as to
prevent normal police protection to the Village.
D.
The concentration of persons, animals and vehicles
at the assembly point of the parade will unduly interfere with proper
fire and police protection of, or ambulance service to, areas contiguous
to such assembly area.
E.
The conduct of such parade will interfere with movement
of fire-fighting equipment en route to a fire.
F.
The parade is not scheduled to move from its point
of origin to its point of termination expeditiously and without unreasonable
delays en route.
G.
The parade is to be held for the sole purpose of advertising
any product, merchandise or event; is being held purely for private
profit or commercial motive; or is for any unlawful purpose.
H.
The parade will be held along a route or at a location
adjacent to a school at a time when such school is in session and
the noise created by the parade will substantially disrupt the educational
activities of the school.
I.
The parade will be held along a route or at a location
where it will substantially interfere with Village construction or
maintenance work previously scheduled to take place.
J.
The information provided in the application is found
to be false, misleading or incomplete in any material detail.
K.
The applicant, sponsoring organization or any involved
party to the application has on prior occasions damaged public or
private property and has not paid for such damage or has not fulfilled
agreed-upon obligations to the Village; owes the Village any reimbursement
for costs associated with protecting the public welfare during prior
parades or for cleanup of prior parades; or otherwise has not complied
with the conditions of a previously issued parade permit.
The Chief of Police shall act upon an application
for a parade permit within three business days after the filing thereof
and shall, within such time, notify the applicant of his action. In
the event of a denial of the permit, the Chief of Police shall give
the reasons therefor in writing to the applicant. If more than one
application is received for parade permits on the same date, the application
first received in the Village Clerk's office shall be approved if
it complies with all the requirements of this chapter.
An appeal from a denial of a permit application
may be made to the Village Manager in writing within three business
days of such denial stating the description of the event, the relief
sought and why such relief should be granted. The Village Manager
shall act upon the appeal as soon as practicable after receiving notice
of the appeal. The Village Manager will base his decision solely on
the information contained in the permit application and the written
notice of appeal.
A.
Prior to the issuance of a parade permit, the applicant
and authorized officer of the sponsoring organization, if any, shall
sign an agreement to reimburse (i) the Village, for any costs it incurs
for repairing damage to Village property sustained in connection with
and proximately caused by parade activities, for additional costs
incurred by the Village for protecting the public welfare during the
parade, and for costs incurred by the Village for cleanup and restoration
of the parade route and assembly areas not properly cleaned up by
applicant/sponsoring organization after the parade and (ii) Village
residents, for any costs they incur for repairing damage to their
private property sustained in connection with and proximately caused
by parade activities. This agreement shall also provide that the applicant/sponsoring
organization shall hold harmless, indemnify and defend the Village,
its officials, agents and employees against any claims, costs, damages,
demands, liability and notices resulting from any damage or injury
proximately caused by parade activities and the actions of the permittee/sponsoring
organization in connection with the parade.
B.
The applicant/sponsoring organization of a parade
shall possess or obtain public liability insurance in the minimum
amount of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate
to protect against loss from liability imposed by law for damages
on account of bodily injury and property damage arising from the parade.
Evidence of insurance, satisfactory to the Chief of Police, must be
filed with the Chief of Police no less than five days before the date
of the event; provided, however, that where good cause is shown in
writing by the applicant, the Chief of Police may waive the filing
deadline. This insurance requirement shall be waived by the Chief
of Police if the applicant/sponsoring organization signs a verified
statement that he believes that the purpose of the parade or special
event is First Amendment expression and that the cost of insurance
is so financially burdensome that it would constitute an unreasonable
burden on the right of First Amendment expression.
A permittee under this chapter shall comply
with all permit terms and with all applicable laws and ordinances.
The parade chairman or other person heading or leading such activity
shall carry the parade permit upon his person during the conduct of
the parade.
The Chief of Police shall have the authority to revoke a parade permit issued under this chapter if an applicant/sponsoring organization fails to comply with the standards for issuance of a permit as herein set forth in § 207-5.
