[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Spring Valley 12-19-2006 by L.L. No. 8-2006. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
Legislative intent. It is the purpose of this chapter
to protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the
Village of Spring Valley and those persons passing through as transients
or visitors or who otherwise are within the jurisdiction of the Village
of Spring Valley by regulating the assemblage of persons on public
property in the Village of Spring Valley, consistent with constitutional
requirements and with just respect for the right of the people to
exercise their right of free speech, public assembly and to petition
their government. The provisions of this chapter have neither the
purpose nor effect of unconstitutionally restricting protected speech.
B.
Findings. The Mayor and members of the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Spring Valley are all residents of the Village and
familiar with the locations of public places in the Village, including
rights-of-way, parks and other public parcels. The Mayor and Board
are also cognizant of the public safety concerns that could be generated
by public assembly on public property The Village maintains rights-of-way
to ensure the smooth flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, unimpeded
access to commercial establishments and free movement of individuals
to their homes and places of employment. The Village also maintains
a police force with assignments of staff made based on a careful assessment
of the need for law enforcement presence. Based upon the Mayor's and
Board's local knowledge, the Mayor and Board recognize that limited
restrictions on the time, place and manner of public assemblages on
public property are in the best interest of the Village and its residents.
Sections 229-16A and 229-17 of the Village Code of the Village of Spring Valley are hereby repealed in their entirety and replaced with the following.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Board of Trustees of the Incorporated Village of Spring
Valley.
The Chief of Police of the Incorporated Village of Spring
Valley.
The Mayor of the Incorporated Village of Spring Valley.
Any march, demonstration, procession or motorcade consisting
of persons, animals or vehicles, or a combination thereof, upon the
streets or public thoroughfares within the Village of Spring Valley
with an intent of attracting public attention that interferes with
the normal flow or regulation of traffic upon the streets or public
thoroughfares within the Village of Spring Valley.
A permit as required by this chapter.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
Any meeting, demonstration, picket line, rally or gathering
of more than five persons for a common purpose as a result of prior
planning that interferes with the normal flow or regulation of pedestrian
or vehicular traffic.
Any area or way set aside or open to the general public for
purposes of pedestrian traffic adjacent to a street or public thoroughfare
which is the proposed parade route, whether or not it is paved.
Any place or way set aside or open to the general public
for purposes of vehicular traffic, including any berm or shoulder
parkway, right-of-way or median strip thereof.
The Incorporated Village of Spring Valley.
No person shall engage in or conduct any parade
or public assembly unless a permit is issued by the Board of Trustees.
In the event there is no meeting of the Board of Trustees scheduled
at which the issuance of said permit may be approved, the Mayor is
authorized to issue said permit in conformance with the standards
set forth in this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply
to:
A.
Funeral processions.
B.
Students going to and from school classes or participating
in educational activities, provided that such conduct is under the
immediate direction and supervision of the proper school authorities.
C.
A governmental agency acting within the scope of its
functions.
D.
Spontaneous events occasioned by news or affairs coming into public knowledge within three days of such public assembly, provided that the organizer thereof gives written notice to the Mayor and the Police Chief for the Incorporated Village of Spring Valley at least 24 hours prior to such parade or public assembly. The Mayor may waive the notice requirement hereof based on the factors reflected in § 171-7 of this chapter.
A.
A person seeking a parade or public assembly permit
shall file an application to the Board of Trustees with the Village
Clerk on forms provided by such officer and the application shall
be signed by the applicant.
B.
For single, nonrecurring parades or public assemblies,
an application for a permit shall be filed with the Village Clerk
at least 10 and not more than 180 days before the parade or public
assembly is proposed to commence. The Mayor may waive the minimum
ten-day filing period and accept an application filed within a shorter
period if, after due consideration of the date, time, place and nature
of the parade or public assembly, the anticipated number of participants
and the Village of Spring Valley services required in connection with
the event, the Mayor, upon consultation with the Chief of Police,
determines that the waiver will not present a hazard to public safety.
C.
For parades or public assemblies held on a regular or recurring basis at the same location, an application for a permit covering all such parades or assemblies during that calendar year may be filed with the Village Clerk at least 60 and not more than 180 days before the date and time at which the first such parade or public assembly is proposed to commence. The Mayor may waive the minimum sixty-day period after due consideration of the factors specified in Subsection B above.
D.
The application for a parade or public assembly permit
shall set forth the following information:
(1)
The name, address and telephone number of the person
seeking to conduct such parade or public assembly.
(2)
The names, addresses and telephone numbers of the
headquarters of the organization for which the parade or public assembly
is to be conducted, if any, and the authorized and responsible heads
of the organization.
(3)
The requested date of the parade or public assembly.
(4)
The route to be traveled, including the starting point
and the termination point.
(5)
The approximate number of persons who and animals
and vehicles which will constitute such parade or public assembly
and the type of animals and description of the vehicles.
(6)
The hours when such parade or public assembly will
start and terminate.
(7)
A statement as to whether the parade or public assembly
will occupy all or only a portion of the width of the streets proposed
to be traversed.
(8)
The location by street of any assembly areas for such
parade or public assembly.
(9)
The time at which units of the parade or public assembly
will begin to assemble at any such area.
(10)
The intervals of space to be maintained between
units of such parade or public assembly.
(11)
If the parade or public assembly is designed
to be held by, or on behalf of, any person other than the applicant,
the applicant for such permit shall file a letter from that person
with the Village Clerk authorizing the applicant to apply for the
permit on his behalf.
(12)
The type of public assembly, including a description
of activities planned during the event.
(13)
A description of any recording equipment, sound
amplification equipment, banners, signs or other attention-getting
devices to be used in connection with the parade or public assembly.
(14)
The approximate number of participants. (Spectators
are, by definition, not participants.)
(15)
The approximate number of spectators.
(16)
A designation of any public facilities or equipment
to be utilized.
(17)
Any additional information that the Board of
Trustees finds reasonably necessary to a fair determination as to
whether a permit should issue.
A.
The Board of Trustees shall issue a permit as provided
for herein when, from a consideration of the application and from
such other information as may otherwise be obtained, it finds that:
(1)
The conduct of the parade or public assembly will
not substantially interrupt the safe and orderly movement of other
pedestrian or vehicular traffic contiguous to its route or location.
(2)
The conduct of the parade or public assembly will
not require the diversion of so great a number of Village police officers
to properly police the line of movement and the areas contiguous thereto
as to prevent normal police protection of the Village.
(3)
The concentration of persons, animals and vehicles
at public assembly points of the parade or public assembly will not
unduly interfere with proper fire and police protection of, or ambulance
service to, areas contiguous to such public assembly areas.
(4)
The conduct of the parade or public assembly is not
reasonably likely to cause injury to persons or property.
(5)
The parade or public assembly is scheduled to move
from its point of origin to its point of termination expeditiously
and without unreasonable delays en route.
(6)
Adequate sanitation and other required health facilities
are or will be made available in or adjacent to any public assembly
areas.
(7)
There are sufficient parking places near the site
of the parade or public assembly to accommodate the number of vehicles
reasonably expected.
(8)
No parade or public assembly permit application for
the same time and location is already granted or has been received
and will be granted.
(9)
No parade or public assembly permit application for
the same time but a different location is already granted or has been
received and will be granted, and the police resources required for
that prior parade or public assembly are so great that, in combination
with the subsequent proposed application, the resulting deployment
of police services would have an immediate and adverse effect upon
the welfare and safety of persons and property.
(10)
No event is scheduled elsewhere in the Village
of Spring Valley where the police resources required for that event
are so great that the deployment of police services for the proposed
parade or public assembly would have an immediate and adverse effect
upon the welfare and safety of persons and property.
(11)
Any structure, whether permanent or temporary,
on a Village street, sidewalk or right-of-way receives simultaneous
approval for the erection or placement of the structure is from the
Board of Trustees.
The Board of Trustees shall uniformly consider
each application upon its merits in a content neutral manner and shall
not discriminate in granting or denying permits under this chapter
based upon political, religious, ethnic, race, disability, sexual
orientation or gender-related grounds.
With the exception of a spontaneous event or
an event where the filing time requirements have been waived by the
Mayor, the Board of Trustees shall act promptly upon a timely filed
application for a parade or public assembly permit. If the permit
application is received by the Village Clerk 30 or more days prior
to the planned event, the Board of Trustees shall deny or grant the
permit no later than 14 days after the permit application has been
received. If the permit application is received by the Board of Trustees
less than 30 days before the date of the planned event, the Mayor
shall then deny or grant the permit in no less than 48 hours. If the
Board of Trustee or the Mayor disapproves the application, the applicant
shall be notified, either by personal delivery or certified mail at
least 48 hours prior to the event, if practicable, of the disapproval
and state the reasons for denial.
A.
The Board of Trustees or the Mayor, in denying an
application for a parade or public assembly permit, may authorize
the conduct of the parade or public assembly at a date, time, location
or route different from that named by the applicant. An applicant
desiring to accept an alternative permit shall, within five days after
notice of the action of the Board of Trustees or the Mayor, file a
written notice of acceptance with the Village Clerk. The Board of
Trustees and the Mayor may consider the availability of sidewalks,
parks or other areas of public assembly.
B.
An alternate parade or public assembly permit shall
conform to the requirements of, and shall have the effect of, a parade
or public assembly permit issued under this chapter.
A.
Any applicant shall have the right to appeal the denial
of a parade or public assembly permit to the Board of Trustees of
the Incorporated Village of Spring Valley. The denied applicant shall
make the appeal within five days after receipt of the denial by filing
a written notice with the Village Clerk and a copy of the notice with
the Village Attorney. The Board of Trustees of the Incorporated Village
of Spring Valley shall act upon the appeal at the next scheduled meeting
following receipt of the notice of appeal.
B.
In the event that the Board of Trustees of the Incorporated
Village of Spring Valley rejects an applicant's appeal, the applicant
may file an immediate request for review with a court of competent
jurisdiction.
Immediately upon the issuance of a parade or
public assembly permit, the Village Clerk shall send a copy thereof
to the following:
Each parade or public assembly permit shall
state the following information:
A.
Starting and approximate ending time.
B.
Minimum speed of parade units.
C.
Maximum speed of parade units.
D.
Maximum interval of space to be maintained between
parade units.
E.
The portions of the streets that may be occupied by
the parade or public assembly.
F.
The maximum length of the parade in miles or fractions
thereof.
A.
A permittee hereunder shall comply with all permit
directions and conditions and with all applicable laws and ordinances.
B.
The parade or public assembly chairman or other person
heading such activity shall carry the parade or public assembly permit
upon his/her person during the conduct of the parade or public assembly.
The following prohibitions shall apply to all
parades and public assemblies:
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to stage, present
or conduct any parade or public assembly without first having obtained
a permit as herein provided.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person to participate
in a parade or public assembly for which the person knows a permit
has not been granted.
C.
It shall be unlawful for any person in charge of,
or responsible for the conduct of, a duly licensed parade or public
assembly to knowingly fail to comply with any condition of the permit.
D.
It shall be unlawful for any person participating
in any parade or public assembly to carry or possess any length of
metal, lumber, wood or similar material for purposes of displaying
a sign, poster, plaque or notice, unless such object is 1/4 inches
or less in thickness and two inches or less in width or, if not generally
rectangular in shape, such object shall not exceed 3/4 inches in its
thickest dimension.
E.
It shall be unlawful for any person to carry any sign, poster, plaque or notice, whether or not mounted on a length of material as specified in Subsection D of this section, unless such sign, poster, plaque or notice is constructed or made of a cloth, paper or cardboard material.
F.
It shall be unlawful for any person participating
in a parade or public assembly to utilize sound amplification equipment
at decibel levels that exceed those limits imposed by the Village
Code.
G.
It shall be unlawful for any person to ride, drive,
or cause to be ridden or driven, any animal or any animal-drawn vehicle
upon any public street, unless specifically authorized by the permit.
The Mayor or the Chief of Police shall have
the authority to revoke a parade or public assembly permit instantly
upon violation of the conditions or standards for issuance as set
forth in this chapter or when a public emergency arises where the
police resources required for that emergency are so great that deployment
of police services for parade or public assembly would have an immediate
and adverse effect upon the welfare and safety of persons or property.
Any person violating the provision of any section
of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished by fine not to
exceed $1,000 or imprisonment of not more than 15 days, or both.
This chapter is in addition to any other law,
ordinance or regulation affecting the subject matter herein and is
not in limitation thereof.
