Chapter 26
OUTDOOR ASSEMBLIES
Sections:
26-1. Outdoor assembly defined.
26-2. Application for license and fee.
26-3. Same – Fixing time for hearing, investigation and report.
26-5. Same – Issuance of license.
26-6. Same – Exemptions from application and license fee payments.
26-7. Same – Revocation of license.
26-9. Exemptions from licensing requirements.
26-10. Penalties for violation.
26-12. Severability – Validity.
26-13. Repeal of conflicting ordinances.
26-1 Outdoor assembly defined.
For the purpose of this chapter, “outdoor assembly” means and includes any outdoor gathering of two thousand or more individuals in a single place or locale for the purpose of attending or participating in dances, chorales, musical recitals, lectures, speeches, orations, plays, shows, circuses, motion picture shows, picture projection shows, festivals, exhibits and similar musical and/or theatrical-type performances to which the public is admitted with or without the payment of admission charges. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)
26-2 Application for license and fee.
It is unlawful for any individual, partnership or corporation to operate, maintain, conduct, advertise, sell or furnish tickets or other types of written authority for admission to an outdoor assembly in the unincorporated area of the county unless he, they or it first obtains a license from the county to operate or conduct such assembly.
Application for a license to conduct an outdoor assembly shall be made in writing to the board of supervisors of the county, accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of ten dollars and filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors, and shall contain the following information:
(a) The name, age, residence, mailing address and telephone number of the applicant. If the application is made by a partnership, the names and addresses of all general partners shall be included. If the applicant is a corporation, the application shall be signed by the president and attested to by the secretary thereof and shall contain the names and addresses of all corporate officers and a certified copy of the articles of incorporation shall be attached to the application. The address and telephone number of the principal place of business of the applicant shall also be included in the application;
(b) The location and legal description of the premises where the outdoor assembly is proposed to be conducted, including all lands to be used for vehicle parking or other uses incidental to the outdoor activity. The applicant shall submit proof of ownership of the premises for the written consent of all owners thereof for the proposed use;
(c) The date or dates and the hours during which the assembly is to be conducted;
(d) An estimate of the maximum number of spectators, participants and other persons expected to attend the outdoor assembly for each day it is conducted;
(e) A detailed explanation of the applicant’s program and plans to provide security protection, water supply, fire protection and control, food supply, sanitation facilities, medical facilities and services, vehicle parking space, vehicle access and on-site traffic control, and if it is proposed or expected that spectators or participants will remain at night or overnight, the arrangements for illuminating the premises and for camping or similar facilities, applicant’s plans to provide for numbers of spectators in excess of the estimate, and provisions for cleanup of the premises and removal of rubbish after the event has concluded;
(f) A detailed explanation of the applicant’s plan for policing the activity with particular emphasis on the control and prevention of alcohol and drug consumption.
Such application shall be filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors at least sixty days prior to the time indicated for the commencement of the planned activity. The clerk of the board of supervisors shall review and submit such application to the board of supervisors and no license shall be issued by the clerk of the board of supervisors until he is authorized to do so by order of the board of supervisors at a regular meeting of the board. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)
26-3 Same – Fixing time for hearing, investigation and report.
Upon receipt of a complete application and the application fee, the clerk of the board of supervisors shall request the board of supervisors to set a time and date for a public hearing, and the board of supervisors shall set the application for a public hearing at a regular meeting of the board of supervisors, not less than fifteen nor more than thirty days thereafter, and shall give not less than ten days’ written notice thereof to the applicant. The clerk of the board of supervisors shall forthwith give notice of the hearing and copies of the application to the sheriff, the county health officer, the director of public works and the planning administrator, who shall investigate the matter and report in writing to the board of supervisors not later than the time set for the hearing, with appropriate recommendations concerning the activity. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)
26-4 Same – Hearing.
The board of supervisors shall consider the documentary and testimonial evidence of witnesses presented at said hearing, including all reports of investigation, and shall thereafter grant the license without conditions or with conditions which must be met, including security required from the applicant as a guarantee that the conditions will be met, before a license is granted.
If conditions are imposed by the board, the applicant shall furnish or cause to be furnished to the clerk of the board of supervisors proof that all conditions have been met, and the required security has been given, before the license may be issued by the clerk of the board of supervisors.
Security required by the board of supervisors may include the posting of an indemnity bond and/or a performance bond in favor of the county in connection with the operation of a public outdoor assembly as defined in this chapter. Such bond or bonds shall be prepared by a corporate bonding company authorized to do business in the state by the department of insurance, in an amount determined by the board of supervisors. The bond or bonds shall indemnify the county, its agents, officers, employees and the board of supervisors of the county against any and all loss, injury and damage of any nature whatsoever arising out of, or in any way connected with, the outdoor assembly, and shall indemnify against loss, injury and damage to both person and property.
The board of supervisors may also require that the applicant provide a corporate surety bond prepared by a corporate bonding company authorized to do business in the state, indemnifying the county and the owners of property adjoining or neighboring the outdoor assembly site for all costs necessitated by such activity to clean up and/or remove debris, trash, garbage or other waste from, in and around the premises. Such bond shall be in an amount determined by the board of supervisors as in its discretion will adequately provide for such indemnification. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)
26-5 Same – Issuance of license.
Upon determining that the board of supervisors has ordered the issuance of the license pursuant to section 26-4, and that the conditions if any, imposed by the board have been complied with by the applicant, the clerk of the board of supervisors shall issue a license to the applicant for the specific location authorized for the assembly and for the specific days for which the assembly is authorized. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)
26-6 Same – Exemptions from application and license fee payments.
A neighborhood or community benefit organization organized for charitable, religious or eleemosynary purposes shall be exempt from paying the application and license fees provided for in this chapter, provided the net proceeds from any such activity do not inure to the benefit of any private persons, partnership or corporation. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)
26-7 Same – Revocation of license.
The board of supervisors shall have the right to revoke any license issued pursuant to this chapter after a public hearing held after oral or written notice is given to the licensee at least twenty-four hours prior to such hearing, for any of the following causes:
(a) The licensee fails, neglects or refuses to fulfill any of the conditions imposed upon the granting of a license;
(b) The licensee permits the outdoor assembly to be conducted in a disorderly manner or allows any person to remain on the premises while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any narcotic or dangerous drug;
(c) The licensee violates or attempts to violate any law of the state, any provision of this chapter, or any other ordinance of the county;
(d) The licensee has previously made a false, misleading or fraudulent statement of material fact in the application for a license, or in any other document required pursuant to this chapter.
Written notice of such revocation shall be forwarded by the clerk of the board of supervisors to the sheriff and the permittee at the address given in the application. Such revocation shall become effective immediately after ordered by the board of supervisors.
The sheriff of Colusa County may suspend operation and close any outdoor assembly prior to the expiration of the license granted under the provisions of this chapter, in the event of the occurrence of a riot, major disorder or serious breach of the peace, when in his opinion it becomes necessary to prevent injury to person or persons and/or damage to property. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)
26-8 Nontransferable.
No license granted under the provisions of this chapter shall be transferable or removable to another location. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)
26-9 Exemptions from licensing requirements.
The annual Colusa County Fair conducted by the 44th District Agricultural Association at Colusa, California, the annual Colusa Orchard Equipment Fair, and athletic contests sponsored by any Colusa County school district shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)
26-10 Penalties for violation.
Any violation of this chapter is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. A separate offense shall be deemed to have been committed for each day that such violation continues. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)
26-11 Purpose of chapter.
It is the express purpose and intent of the board of supervisors in enacting this chapter to protect persons who may be in attendance at outdoor assemblies and to protect property at or near which outdoor assemblies are held from the dangers to health, safety, comfort and general well-being which are inherent in large numbers of persons being confined in a small area in close proximity to one another, it being recognized that on such occasions increased demands must necessarily be made upon public authorities for fire, health, safety and police protection, and that, as a precautionary measure, additional care and protection facilities must be planned for and provided in advance. It is not the intent or purpose of the board of supervisors in enacting this chapter to in any way abridge the federal and state constitutional guarantees of free speech and assembly. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)
26-12 Severability – Validity.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. The board of supervisors hereby declares that it would have passed the ordinance codified in this chapter and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)
26-13 Repeal of conflicting ordinances.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances which are in conflict with the provisions of this chapter are hereby repealed. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)
26-14 Effective date.
The ordinance codified in this chapter shall take effect and be in force at the expiration of thirty days from and after its passage, and before the expiration of fifteen days after its passage shall be published once with the names of the members voting for and against the same in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published in the county. (Ord. No. 328, (part).)