As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
CITY
The Mayor and Council of New Castle also known as the City
of New Castle.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR
Individual appointed by the Mayor and Council to manage the
day-to-day operations of the City.
CITY COUNCIL
A five-member board elected at large to establish policies
and procedures to provide for the well-being of the residents of New
Castle.
PARADE
Any march, demonstration, procession or motorcade consisting
of persons, animals, or vehicles or a combination thereof upon the
streets, parks or other public grounds within the City with an intent
to attract public attention that interferes with or has a tendency
to interfere with the normal flow or regulation of traffic upon the
streets, parks or other public grounds.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
PUBLIC ASSEMBLY
Any meeting, demonstration, picket line, rally or gathering
of more than 25 persons for a common purpose as a result of prior
planning that interferes with or has a tendency to interfere with
the normal flow or regulation of pedestrian or vehicular traffic or
occupies any area in a place open to the general public.
SIDEWALK
Any area or way set aside or open to the general public for
purposes of pedestrian traffic, whether or not it is paved.
STREET
Any place or way set aside or open to the general public
for purposes of vehicular traffic, including any berm or shoulder,
parkway, right-of-way, or median strip thereof.
No person shall engage in or conduct any parade
or public assembly unless a permit is issued by the City of New Castle.
This chapter shall not apply to the following:
B. Students going to and from school classes or participating
in educational activities, provided that such conduct is under the
immediate direction and supervision of the proper school authorities
and the City has been notified of the activity at least 72 hours in
advance.
C. A governmental agency acting within the scope of its
functions.
D. Spontaneous events occasioned by news or affairs coming
into public knowledge within three days of such public assembly, provided
that the organizer thereof gives written notice to the City at least
24 hours prior to such parade or public assembly.
The Chief of Police shall determine whether
and to what extent additional police protection is reasonably necessary
for the parade or public assembly for traffic control and public safety.
The Chief of Police shall base this decision on the size, location,
duration, time and date of the event, the expected sale or service
of alcoholic beverages, the number of streets and intersections blocked
and the need to detour or preempt citizen travel and use of the streets
and sidewalks. The speech content of the event shall not be a factor
in determining the amount of police protection necessary. If possible,
without disruption of ordinary police services or compromise of public
safety, regularly scheduled on-duty personnel will police the event,
if additional police protection for the public assembly is deemed
necessary by the Chief of Police, he/she shall so inform the applicant
for the permit. The applicant then shall have the duty to secure the
police protection. deemed necessary by the Chief of Police at the
sole expense of the applicant.
The City Administrator shall uniformly consider
each application upon its merits and shall not discriminate in granting
or denying permits under this chapter based upon political, religious,
ethnic, race, disability, sexual orientation or gender-related grounds.
The City Administrator shall present to Council
in a timely filed application for a parade or public assembly permit
but in no event shall grant or deny a permit less than 48 hours prior
to the event. If the City Council disapproves the application, he
shall notify the applicant either by personal delivery or certified
mail at least 48 hours prior to the event of his action and state
the reasons for denial.
In the event that the City Council rejects an
applicant's application, the applicant may file an immediate request
for review with a court of competent jurisdiction.
Immediately upon the issuance of a parade or
public assembly permit, the City Administrator shall send a copy thereof
to the following:
D. The Director of the Street Department.
E. The manager or responsible head of each public transportation
utility, the regular routes of whose vehicles will be affected by
the route of the proposed parade or public assembly.
Each parade or public assembly permit shall
state the following information:
A. Starting and approximate ending time;
B. Minimum speed of parade units.
C. Maximum speed of parade units.
D. Maximum interval of space to be maintained between
parade units.
E. The portions of the streets that may be occupied by
the parade or public assembly.
F. The maximum length of the parade in miles or fractions
thereof.
G. Such other information as the Chief of Police or City
Administrator shall find necessary to the enforcement of this chapter.
The following prohibitions shall apply to all
parades and public assemblies;
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to stage, present
or conduct any parade or public assembly without first having obtained
a permit as herein provided.
B. It shall be unlawful for any person to participate
in a parade or public assembly for which the person knows a permit
has not been granted.
C. It shall be unlawful for any person in charge of,
or responsible for the conduct of, a duly licensed parade or public
assembly to knowingly fail to comply with any condition of the permit.
D. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any
parade or public assembly activity that would constitute a substantial
hazard to the public safety or that would materially interfere with
or endanger the public peace or rights of residents to the quiet and
peaceful enjoyment of their property.
E. It shall be unlawful for any person participating
in any parade or public assembly to carry or possess any length of
metal, lumber, wood or similar material for purposes of displaying
a sign, poster, plaque or notice, unless such object is 1/4 inch or
less in thickness and two inches or less in width, or if not generally
rectangular in shape, such object shall not exceed 3/4 inch in its
thickest dimension.
F. It shall be unlawful for any person to carry any sign, poster, plaque or notice, whether or not mounted on a length of material as specified in Subsection
E of this section, unless such sign, poster, plaque or notice is constructed or made of a cloth, paper, or cardboard material.
G. It shall be unlawful for any person participating
in a parade or public assembly to utilize sound-amplification equipment
at decibel levels that exceed those limits imposed by City Ordinance.
H. It shall be unlawful for any person to ride, drive
or cause to be ridden or driven any animal or any animal-drawn vehicle
upon any public street, unless specifically authorized by the permit.
The Chief of Police/designee shall have the
authority to revoke a parade or public assembly permit instantly upon
violation of the conditions or standards for issuance as set forth
in this chapter or when a public emergency arises where the police
resources required for that emergency are so great that deployment
of police services for the parade or public assembly would have an
immediate and adverse effect upon the welfare and safety of persons
or property.
Any person violating the provisions of any section
of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished by fine not to
exceed $500 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days, or both.