[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Chatham as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-12-2007 by L.L. No. 1-2007]
The Village Board of the Village of Chatham recognizes that the Village's natural beauty and historical background are attractive to individuals, organizations, corporations, groups, and other entities involved in still photography, motion pictures and television, or other such events. Because such filming activities may create a threat to public safety, health, or welfare due to the time, location, or duration of the filming, or may unduly interfere with vehicular and/or pedestrian traffic, the Village desires to regulate such activities through the issuance of permits. The purpose of this article to set forth the procedure governing such permit process.
A permit issued pursuant to this article is required prior to any person, organization, corporation, group, or other entity engaging in the activity of filming or photographing a commercial, movie, documentary, television program, catalog, or magazine layout, or any other presentation upon the streets, sidewalks, or any other property owned by the Village of Chatham or upon private property when such activities may interfere with vehicular and/or pedestrian traffic or may create a threat to public safety, health, or welfare due to time, location, or duration of the filming.
Applications may be submitted to the Village Clerk in person or by mail. They must be received by the Village Clerk no later than 21 days prior to the initiation of filming and must contain at least the following information:
A. 
Name of the applicant.
B. 
Location of the property.
C. 
Telephone number of the applicant.
D. 
Whether the applicant is the owner or tenant in possession of the property which is the site of the proposed filming project.
E. 
Name of owner of the property, if the applicant is not the owner.
F. 
Name of the person or entity the applicant wishes to allow to conduct filming.
G. 
Address of the party named in Subsection F.
H. 
Telephone number of the party named in Subsection F.
I. 
Date(s) that filming is to take place.
J. 
Dates, within the previous 12 months, that any filming was conducted at the location described in Subsection B.
K. 
The following information regarding the filming itself:
(1) 
Brief description of the purpose of the filming (e.g., television commercial for ABC laundry detergent).
(2) 
Number of people connected with filming who will be at the location during filming, including but not limited to technical personnel, maintenance personnel, and food service providers.
(3) 
Vehicles:
(a) 
Number of vehicles in any way related to filming, or to people involved in filming, which will be brought to the location on day(s) of filming.
(b) 
Statement of type of vehicles (e.g., passenger car, truck, recreational vehicle), and in the case of all but passenger vehicles, approximate length and height at the longest and highest points of each vehicle.
(4) 
If any equipment is to be set up outside, description of where such filming will occur.
L. 
A statement that the person or entity making the application affirms, under penalty of perjury, that all statements contained in the application are true.
M. 
Signature of the person, principal, or entity making the application.
N. 
Any and all additional information that may be required or requested to assist in determining if a permit will be issued.
O. 
A certificate of insurance and indemnification that evidences a general liability insurance policy naming the Village as an additional named insured in the minimum amount of $1,000,000 per occurrence for the duration of the filming. The applicant shall also submit an indemnification agreement that states that the applicant agrees to assume all liability for and will indemnify and hold harmless the Village, its agents, and employees of and free from any and all damages that occur to persons or property by reason of said filming.
P. 
In the event that filming involves a State of New York highway, the applicant shall attach a copy of the letter authorizing the applicant to use the state highway(s).
A. 
Review by the Chief of Police.
(1) 
The Village Clerk shall forward the application to the Chief of Police for approval or disapproval. Said approval or disapproval shall be based upon the Chief of Police, or his designee, making a determination on whether the proposed filming will constitute a threat to public safety, health, or welfare by reason of time, location, or duration of the activity or will unduly interfere with vehicular and/or pedestrian traffic. Approval of the application by the Chief of Police, or his designee, may be conditioned on the payment of a traffic and crowd control fee established by the Village of Chatham Board of Trustees.
(2) 
The Chief of Police shall send the approved or disapproved application back to the Village Clerk.
B. 
Review by Village Attorney. The Village Clerk shall forward the application, the certification of insurance, and the indemnification agreement to the Village Attorney for approval. The Village Attorney shall send such approved or disapproved documents back to the Village Clerk.
C. 
The Village Clerk shall meet with the Chief of Police, the Director of Public Works, and any other involved Village agency to calculate any expenses that the Village will need to cover for the Police Department and the Department of Public Works. These fees must be paid before the scheduled event proceeds.
D. 
Review by the Mayor. The Village Clerk shall forward the application package to the Mayor for review and approval. The Mayor shall send such approved or disapproved documents back to the Village Clerk.
The Village Clerk may not issue any permit if it has been determined during the review process that it will create a hazardous condition, interfere with the use of Village streets or public places, create a nuisance to Village residents, or violate any provisions of the Village Code.
A. 
If the Chief of Police determines that the fees paid will be expended prior to the termination of the permit period, the Chief of Police shall notify the Village Clerk. The Village Clerk shall contact the applicant in writing and require payment of additional fees, said specific amount to be determined by the Chief of Police based on the salaries and the number of hours to be worked by the Village police or other Village employees. The applicant's failure to pay such additional fee within said seven-day period shall result in the Village Clerk providing the applicant with written notice that the permit has been suspended and the date of such suspension. The applicant's receipt of the Village Clerk's suspension notice shall not be construed as altering the date of suspension set forth in said written notice, the effective date of the suspension being the day immediately following the completion of the seven-day notice period.
B. 
The Village Clerk may also suspend or revoke the permit for any of the following reasons:
(1) 
Violation of any law, rule, or regulation of the United States, the State of New York, the County of Columbia, the Village of Chatham, or any department or agency thereof.
(2) 
Violation of any condition of the permit.
(3) 
Conduct that is detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the public.
C. 
A decision to suspend or revoke a permit shall be appealable to the Board of Trustees, whose decision thereon shall be final.
After termination of the event, the Village Clerk shall provide the applicant with a statement regarding the actual cost to the Village of providing said police officers or services provided by the Department of Public Works. If the actual cost is less than the monies that the Village has collected, the Village shall remit the balance to the applicant. If the actual cost is more than the monies that the Village has collected, the applicant shall be responsible for providing the balance to the Village within 30 days of the termination of the event.
The Village Clerk shall give notice of the issuance of a filming permit to the Chief of Police, the Building Inspector, the Code Enforcement Officer, the Chief of the Chatham Fire Department, the Director of Public Works, and the Chatham Rescue Squad.
A permit holder shall be responsible for any damage to Village property or facilities that may result from the permit holder's activities. No alterations are to be made at any sites, including, without limitation, cutting trees, digging holes, and trimming bushes without the express authorization of the Village Board.
Issuance of a permit pursuant to this article does not relieve the permit holder of its duty to comply with all other Village local laws, ordinances, or regulations along with all state laws.
A. 
Any person, firm, or corporation who shall violate or fail, neglect, or refuse to comply with any provisions of this article or any rule or determination made thereunder, or shall undertake actions under this article without a permit therefor, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $2,500 or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each day that the violation continues shall be deemed a separate violation.
B. 
The imposition of such fine or imprisonment shall not be the Village's exclusive remedy in the event of a violation of this article. The Village may pursue any and all other legal remedies available to it in connection with any violation of this article.
C. 
Previous offenders. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, no applicant who has previously failed to comply with any provisions of this article shall be granted a permit hereunder for a period of 24 months from the date of such failure to comply.