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, 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. An
“outdoor 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 shall be 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;
(e)
the estimated number of persons expected to participate in or
attend the public assembly;
(f)
a schedule and copies of all promotional activity the
applicant has engaged in or intends to engage in;
(g)
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;
(h)
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
and may revise such schedule from time to time in the exercise of its
discretion.
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.
The Selectboard may recess the public meeting on the
application as necessary to receive additional information.
4.
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.
5.
If the Selectboard fails to act on the application within
twenty (20) days of the completion of the public meeting, the permit
application shall be deemed approved.
6.
If 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
be 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 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;
and their 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 residences in the vicinity of the assembly;
(l)
the person sponsoring or holding the assembly has adequate
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; or
(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 any
requirement(s) and/or condition(s) 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 2 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 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 any requirement(s) and/or
condition(s ) 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