[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Altoona 3-8-2017 by Ord. No. 5697.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Protection of public property — See Ch. 555.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance was originally adopted as Ch. 555 but was renumbered to maintain the alphabetical organization of the Code.
Any use of public property, herein defined as including, but not limited to, streets, parks, parklets, playgrounds, parking lots and/or any other real estate owned by the City of Altoona and/or other governmental entity within the political boundaries of the City of Altoona for a privately sponsored, organized or planned event or gathering of any kind requires the issuance of a permit by the City of Altoona. Permit applications shall be obtained in the City Manager's office.
A. 
Applications for permits required under § 553-1, hereof, shall be submitted not less than seven calendar days prior to the date of the gathering. Each permit application shall include information on the applicant, including, but not limited to, names, addresses and contact information for persons responsible for the event; type of event; number of people expected to attend; the extent of interference with public rights-of-way, if any; the extent and nature of commercial activity (e.g., the sale of food or merchandise), if any; special services which may be required, such as electricity, sanitary facilities or waste removal; the provisions for security and traffic control; copies of permits from any other governmental agency or political subdivision, specifically including Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in the event state-owned roadways are to be utilized, the Department of Agriculture for the licensing of food vendors, waiver of liability and any other provisions deemed necessary by the City.
B. 
The City Manager's office shall review the application and determine whether it is complete and specify the applicable amount of the permit fee and deposit, if any. Said permit fee and deposit amount shall be determined by City Council by resolution from time to time. Upon finding that the application is complete and that the permit fee and deposit have been paid, the City Manager's office shall issue a permit for the proposed gathering. The City Manager is also authorized to impose a reasonable time, place and other restrictions or conditions upon the public gathering to reduce unnecessary interference with public rights-of-way and the peace and enjoyment of the community.
A. 
For the purposes of this chapter, a "commercial event" is any event which involves the sale of food and/or merchandise.
B. 
For any commercial event, the applicant shall further be required to submit proof of insurance. The required amount of insurance shall be not less than $300,000 and not greater than $1,000,000. The specific amount shall be determined by the City Manager's office upon consideration of the size and nature of the commercial activity. Upon cause shown by the applicant, the City Manager's office is authorized to waive or reduce the amount of insurance required.
C. 
The City Council will establish a written policy for granting waivers or reductions in permit fees in special circumstances. Requests for waivers shall be submitted in writing by the organization. Waivers will be granted solely on the express written approval of the City Manager's office in accordance with the policy established by Altoona City Council.
D. 
A deposit, as determined by resolution of City Council from time to time, shall be required at the time of submission of the application for a permit. The payment of a damage deposit is for the protection of public property and to offset any loss to the City of Altoona caused by damage to public property. The deposit is fully refundable depending upon a showing by the applicant that no damage to public property resulted from the event. The deposit will be refunded after the public property has been inspected by the City.
E. 
Should the event require any special services, such as electricity, sanitary facilities, waste removal, security or traffic control, the applicant shall provide evidence, satisfactory to the City Manager, of how such services will be provided and/or be obligated for the provision or cost of the special services.
F. 
Any failure to pay the permit fee and/or deposit as determined by the City Manager's office, or to provide sufficient proof of insurance, or to provide for special services, or to obtain a waiver of the payment of the fee from the City Manager's office, shall result in the application being considered incomplete and, therefore, rejected.
G. 
Applicants who withdraw an application may request a refund of fees paid. The amount of the refund will be reduced in accordance with the following schedule and based upon the time the application was made to the date of the request for refund:
(1) 
Within 30 days: 80% of fee will be refunded.
(2) 
Within 15 days: 50% of fee will be refunded.
(3) 
Fourteen days or less: no refund.
H. 
The permit holder or contact person at the event must have the permit available at all times for inspection by authorized personnel of the City of Altoona.
Any person or persons who violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not less than $500 and no more than $1,000 together with the cost to repair any damages and legal fees, for each offense and, in default of payment thereof, shall be subject to imprisonment in the Blair County Jail for a period not exceeding 30 days.