TOWN OF RUTLAND PUBLIC
ASSEMBLY ORDINANCE
Pursuant to 24 V.S.A. §§ 2291(11), (14),
and (15) the following ordinance is promulgated in order to regulate commercial
public assemblies in the Town of Rutland (Town) to protect the public health,
safety and welfare, including without limitation the health, safety, or welfare
of those who attend commercial public assemblies organized and promoted to take
place in the Town, the residents, businesses, and property owners of the Town
that may be impacted by a commercial public assembly, and the Town and its
ability to provide municipal services as necessary for a commercial public
assembly. This Ordinance is designated
as a civil ordinance pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 1971(b)
II.
DEFINITIONS
As used in this
chapter:
1.
“commercial public
assembly” or “assembly” means a gathering of five hundred (500) or more
individuals in an outdoor public place at which the general public is permitted
or invited to attend, conducted or promoted for profit, whether or not a profit
is actually returned, where persons are admitted on payment of cash, entry fees,
advance subscriptions, or donations, or any thing of value;
2.
“gathering” means a group of individuals in attendance at a location at a
single point in time.
3.
“outdoor public place” means an open area where patrons cannot be
accommodated inside a permanent building with respect to which a person permits
use by the general public. A “public
place” shall not include a stadium used for sporting events, or a fairground having
permanent seats for patrons.
4.
“permit” means a
written statement, issued by the Selectboard of the Town of Rutland or its
designee, authorizing the holding of a commercial public assembly under stated
conditions as to time, place and manner;
5.
“permit officer”
means the municipal officer designated by the Selectboard to issue permits;
6.
“person” means an individual,
corporation, government, governmental subdivision or agency, business trust,
estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity;
7.
“promotional activity” means purchasing paid advertisements in any media of
communication, or circulation of printed material advertising the assembly;
8.
“youth athletic event” means an athletic event in which a majority of the
participants are 18 years of age or younger.
III.
PERMIT REQUIRED
Any person who intends
to hold or organizes or promotes a commercial public assembly in an outdoor
public place to be held in the Town of Rutland shall obtain a commercial public
assembly permit (“permit”) from the Town.
IV.
EXEMPTIONS FROM
PERMIT REQUIREMENT
The following assemblies are exempt from this
permit requirement of this ordinance:
1.
Any assembly
sponsored by the Town of Rutland.
2.
Any assembly that
takes place on public lands of the Town of Rutland, including without
limitation, Northwood Park. Such an
assembly must obtain the prior permission of the Board of Selectmen.
3.
Any assembly for a
youth athletic event.
V.
PERMIT
APPLICATION
1.
A completed
application for a permit to hold a commercial public assembly shall be filed
with the permit officer not less than sixty (60) days before the date of the
assembly.
(a)
The Selectboard may
modify the time requirements of this Ordinance for good cause shown provided
the public health and safety will not be jeopardized by such action.
2.
An application for a
permit to hold a commercial public assembly shall be in writing and signed by
an individual authorized to act for the person sponsoring it.
3.
The application
shall include:
(a)
the date and hours
the assembly is to be held;
(b)
the name, residence
address, and the telephone number of the applicant, the principal officers of
the applicant, the individual making the application, and any other individual
authorized to represent the applicant in applying for the permit;
(c)
the property where
the assembly is to be held;
(d)
the written consent
of the owner of the property or other person that has the authority to consent
to the use of the property upon which the commercial public assembly is
proposed to take place; the estimated
number of persons expected to
participate in or attend the public assembly;
(e)
a schedule and
copies of all promotional activity the applicant has engaged in or intends to
engage in;
(f)
the general nature
of the assembly and the arrangements made to protect the public health, safety, and welfare during the conduct of the
assembly, including arrangements with respect to traffic control; police, fire
and emergency services; insurance
coverage; crowd control; sanitation facilities; and clean up;
(g)
such other
information concerning the proposed assembly that the Board of Selectmen may
determine from time to time in the exercise of its discretion to be appropriate
to protect the public health, safety and welfare.
4.
The Selectboard
shall establish an application fee schedule.
VI.
ACTION ON
APPLICATION
1.
The Selectboard of
the Town shall consider the completed application at a public meeting.
2.
The permit officer
shall provide written notice of the public meeting by mail to the landowners
whose property adjoins the property upon which the commercial public assembly
is proposed to take place.
3.
Within twenty (20)
days of the completion of the public meeting, the Selectboard shall direct the
permit officer to:
(a)
issue the permit as
requested;
(b)
issue the permit
subject to any conditions authorized in section VII of this Ordinance, which
the Selectboard deems reasonably necessary to protect the public health,
safety, or welfare; or
(c)
deny the permit
application with a written decision that explains the reasons for the denial.
4.
If the Selectboard
fails to act on the application within twenty (20) days of the date that the
application is complete, the permit application shall be deemed approved.
5.
In the proposed
commercial public assembly also triggers the permit requirement of Chapter 201
of Title 20 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated pertaining to state public
assembly permits, the time requirements for this section for the Selectboard’s
action on the application shall not apply.
In such circumstance, the application shall deemed to comply with this
Ordinance and shall be approved forthwith by the permit officer if and
when the applicant has received a public assembly permit from the Commissioner
of Public Safety or the Commissioner’s designee pursuant to 20 V.S.A.
§§ 4501 et. seq. A denial of the
state public assembly permit application shall result in the denial of the
application filed pursuant to this Ordinance.
VII.
CRITERIA FOR
IMPOSING CONDITIONS ON PERMIT
1.
If there is a
reasonable likelihood that a commercial public assembly will substantially harm
the public health, safety, or welfare, the Selectboard may grant the permit
upon subject to such conditions as are reasonably necessary to avoid
substantial harm to the public health, safety, or welfare.
2.
The Selectboard may
impose conditions upon the grant of a permit, including but not limited to,
conditions to ensure:
(a)
the implementation
of a plan to limit the number of individuals in attendance at the assembly to
the maximum number authorized by the permit
(b)
the provision of adequate food, potable water, and emergency medical
facilities;
(c)
the provision of
adequate toilet and lavatory facilities, including the source, number,
location, type and means of disposing of septic waste;
(d)
the collection,
storage and disposal of solid waste in compliance with applicable state and
federal laws and regulations and that litter and other waste incidental to the assembly
will be removed and properly disposed of by the permit holder;
(e)
the time, place and
duration of the assembly is suitable in view of the number of persons expected
to attend;
(f)
measures for
controlling the crowd and managing the assembly are adequate, including without
limitation, a security plan detailing the number of guards; their deployment;
their names, addresses, and credentials; hours of availability;
(g)
the provision of
adequate fire protection;
(h)
that sound, noise
and light are adequately controlled;
(i)
measures for
controlling traffic and parking are adequate and will provide for suitable road
access at all times for area residents and the unobstructed passage of police,
fire , ambulance and other emergency vehicles and personnel;
(j)
that the assembly
will not substantially impair the provision of fire and police protection,
medical and other essential public services of the Town;
(k)
the assembly will
not unreasonably interfere with the quiet enjoyment of a residences in the
vicinity of the assembly;
(l)
the person
sponsoring or holding the assembly has liability insurance to cover the event
subject to the application;
(m)
the person
sponsoring or holding the assembly furnishes an adequate bond or deposit of
money with the Town of Rutland, or arranges other financial security in a
reasonable amount to insure reimbursement of the Town for the cost of
additional law enforcement, fire, or emergency services or the performance of
other conditions attached to the permit;
(n)
any other condition
that the Selectboard determines to be reasonably necessary to protect the
public health, safety and welfare.
VIII.
JUDICIAL REVIEW
1.
If the Selectboard
determines that there is a reasonable likelihood that an assembly will
substantially harm the public health,
safety, or welfare and this cannot be avoided by imposition of conditions, the
permit officer may apply to the Rutland Superior Court for an order enjoining the applicant, the person that
proposes to sponsor or hold the commercial public assembly, or other interested
person from holding the assembly.
2.
The Selectboard may
apply to the Rutland Superior Court for an order enjoining a commercial public
assembly from taking place if the assembly would reasonably likely require a
permit under this Ordinance.
3.
Within thirty (30)
days of the issuance of a permit or the denial of a permit application, an
applicant may appeal the permit decision of the Selectboard to the Rutland
Superior Court.
4.
A person who desires
to organize or promote any outdoor public gathering may also petition the
Rutland Superior Court for an order declaring that the gathering is not subject
to this Ordinance. The petition shall contain a copy of the application. a copy
of the permit, if any, and state the grounds for the decision requested.
IX.
Enforcement, Violations and Penalties.
1.
A civil penalty of not more than $500 may be imposed for a
violation of this Ordinance, including without limitation a violation of the
requirement and/or conditions of a permit.
Each day that the violation continues shall constitute a separate
violation of this Ordinance.
2.
The permit officer or other issuing municipal official is
authorized to recover by the issuance of a municipal complaint, civil penalties
in the following amounts for each violation of this Ordinance:
First Violation
$200
Second
Violation $300
Third Violation $400
Fourth and Subsequent Violations $500
3.
In lieu of the civil penalties provided in subsection B of
this section, an issuing municipal official is authorized to recover a waiver
fee in the following amount, from any person to whom a municipal complaint is
issued, who declines to contest the municipal traffic complaint and pays the
waiver fee:
First Violation
$100
Second
Violation $150
Third Violation
$200
Fourth and Subsequent Violations $250
4.
Other Relief - In addition to the enforcement procedures
available before the Traffic and Municipal Ordinance Bureau, the Town of
Rutland may pursue any remedy authorized by law, including without limitation,
the maintenance of a civil action in superior court pursuant to 24 V.S.A.
§ 1974a(b) to obtain injunctive and other appropriate relief; or the
revocation of a permit.
X.
Revocation of Permit Approval.
1.
The Selectboard acting through the permit officer may revoke any permit issued pursuant to
this Ordinance for the any of the following reasons:
(a)
The provision of false, fraudulent, misleading or
inaccurate information in connection with the permit application;
(b)
The failure to comply with the requirements and/or
conditions of any permit; or
(c)
The violation of or failure to comply with the
provisions of this Ordinance
XI.
Severability.
The provisions of this Ordinance are severable. If any provision of this Ordinance, or its
application to any person or circumstances or within any part of the Town of
Rutland is held invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent
jurisdiction, the invalidity shall not apply to any other portion of this
Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application thereof.
XII.
Effective Date.
This Ordinance shall become effective sixty (60) days
after adoption as provided in 24 V.S.A. § 1972.
427974.1