[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township
of Vernon 7-20-1981 by Ord. No.
81-15. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 2-1-1982 by Ord.
No. 82-1; 11-26-2018 by Ord. No. 18-30]
A.
When permit is required; exception.
(1)
No person, partnership, association, corporation or any combination
thereof shall permit, maintain, promote, conduct, act as entrepreneur,
undertake, organize, manage, sell or give tickets to an outdoor assembly
of 2,000 or more people, whether the assembly be on public or private
property, unless a permit to hold such assembly has first been issued
by the Zoning Officer of the Township of Vernon, application for which
must be made at least 45 days in advance of the assembly. No permit,
however, shall be required for any regularly operated outdoor recreational
facility for the conduct of its usual business, as long as such activity
takes place during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. All activities
outside the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. fall within the permit
required provision.
(2)
Except as otherwise provided in Subsection A(1), a license shall always be required for assemblies for the purpose of mass musical or public entertainment of various designations, or participation therein, including but not limited to pop festivals, rock music festivals, folk or ethnic festivals, rock and roll festivals, country and western festivals, jazz festivals, concerts or any combination thereof.
B.
The prohibitions hereinabove expressed shall not include or pertain
to such assemblies, even though enumerated above, which take place
in established indoor theatres, lounges, resorts, auditoriums, convention
centers, or other indoor places licensed for public occupancy, unless
otherwise limited by applicable law.
C.
Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the filing of an application
for more than one assembly over a period of one year.
A.
B.
The license shall permit the assembly of only the maximum number
of people as stated in the license. The licensee shall not sell nor
permit to assemble at the licensed premises more than the maximum
number of people permitted by the license.
[Amended 11-26-2018 by Ord. No. 18-30]
The Zoning Officer may issue a permit upon written application
made by any person, partnership, association, corporation or any combination
thereof, who propose to maintain, conduct, promote or operate an assembly
as set forth herein. No assembly for which a permit is issued shall
begin prior to 8:00 a.m. or continued after 12:00 midnight.
A.
Application procedure; filing.
(1)
The applicant shall file a verified application with the Zoning Officer
of Vernon Township at least 45 days prior to the date or dates upon
which the assembly is to take place. Corporate applications shall
be duly signed, attested and verified by the appropriate corporate
officers.
B.
Application procedure; contents. The application shall contain the
following:
(1)
Name, age, residence and mailing address of the applicant. Corporate
applications shall show the name, residence and mailing address of
each person or other corporation holding 10% or more of the stock
in said corporation.
(2)
The address, block and lot number, and legal description of all property
upon which the assembly is to be held, together with the name and
address of the record owner of such property.
(3)
Proof of ownership of all property upon which the assembly is to
be held or a statement under oath by the record owner or owners of
all such property for an outdoor assembly of 2,000 people or more
for the purpose set forth on the application.
(4)
The specific nature and purpose of the assembly, together with a
schedule of all events or acts, and examples of the proposed advertising
of the event, if any, together with the names of all performers who
will be performing at the assembly.
(5)
The dates upon which the assembly will take place and the time the
assembly will open and finish each day.
(6)
The application shall be accompanied by a diagrammatic sketch or
plan of the proposed site, showing the area where the assembly will
be situated, the location and capacity of all parking areas, driveways
and roads as they relate to traffic flow, traffic control and safety.
Fire access lanes and lanes for other emergency vehicles shall be
shown on the sketch or plan.
(7)
Past experience of the applicant in promoting, operating, or conducting
similar outdoor events. The applicant shall state whether any permits
or licenses for assemblies issued by this or any other governmental
agency have ever been revoked, or whether the applicant has ever received
a notice of violation from any governmental agency arising out of
the conduct of an assembly. Any lawsuits commenced against the applicant
to enjoin an assembly or to compel the applicant to provide financial
responsibility or reimbursement shall be disclosed.
A.
The application shall further state in specific detail the provisions
proposed for the accommodations of persons attending the assembly
in the following particulars:
(1)
Food and drink.
(2)
Toilet and other sanitary facilities. At least one toilet per each
350 persons in attendance shall be provided or such other number as
may be required by the Department of Health and Human Services.
(3)
Medical and ambulance care, including the names of first aid and
ambulance services or squads which will be available.
(4)
Facilities for the parking of cars off the traveled highways of the
Township of Vernon. The details shall indicate parking areas, the
capacity of the parking areas, means of ingress and egress, and the
measures intended by the applicant to insure that cars waiting to
park will not congest the public highways.
(5)
Public safety, indicating the kind and number of guards or special
police to assist the applicant in the control of traffic and supervision
of those attending the event. The applicant shall indicate the number
of guards, their deployment, their names, addresses, credentials,
and the hours of their employment on the premises of the assembly.
(6)
The plans, if any, to illuminate the location of the assembly and
the pedestrian walkway areas, including the source, amount of power,
and the location of the illumination.
(7)
The plans for holding, collecting and disposing of solid waste material.
(8)
The plans for supplying potable water, including the source, amount
available and location of all outlets.
(9)
The plans for sound control and sound amplification, if any, including
the number, location and power of the amplifiers and speakers, together
with the applicant's proposal to confine the sound to the area
of the assembly.
B.
Upon receipt of each application, the Zoning Officer shall immediately
transmit copies of the same to each of the following individuals,
and each such individual shall respond to the Zoning Officer within
15 days of the date of the filing of such application with a written
report of their recommendations, if any, within their respective fields
of expertise and considering pertinent requirements of this chapter:
[Amended 11-26-2018 by Ord. No. 18-30]
(1)
The Chief of Police of the Township of Vernon or his designee.
(2)
The Fire Chief of the Fire Department, in which the designated assembly
is to take place, as well as the Fire Inspector of Vernon Township.
(3)
The Township Department of Health and Human Services or its designee.
(4)
The Township Construction Official.
[Amended 11-26-2018 by Ord. No. 18-30]
The application shall also contain the following proof of financial
responsibility and adequate insurance coverage:
A.
The applicant shall submit to the Business Administrator, with his
application, a written commitment from an insurance company licensed
to do business in New Jersey, to insure the applicant, and the Township
of Vernon as a named co-insured, during such event, on account of
liability for accidental injury to one person in the amount of $300,000;
for accidental injury to two or more persons in the amount of $1,000,000;
for property damage in the amount of $1,000,000. Where it appears
that the nature or size of the event, or existence of other applicable
insurance, will not reasonably require the limits hereinabove provided,
the Township Council may fix such lesser amounts of limits or accept
such evidence of other insurance of financial responsibility as will
reasonably afford protection to the participants and to the public.
B.
In addition to the insurance obligation provided for hereinabove,
the Township Council may require of the applicant, prior to the issuance
of a permit, a cash deposit in an amount sufficient to insure full
payment of its permit fees, and/or to insure prompt repair of physical
damage and collection of refuse, if same is not adequately provided
for by the applicant. Such a cash deposit may include sums sufficient
to pay for such special police officers and like personnel as may
reasonably by required by the event and for which the Township shall
bill the applicant.
C.
If required, the applicant shall file a bond with the Clerk of the
Township of Vernon, either in cash or underwritten by a surety company
licensed to do business in the State of New Jersey, in the amount
of $50,000, which bond will indemnify and hold harmless the Township
of Vernon, or any of its agents, officers, servants, and/or employees,
from any liability, or any causes of action of whatever nature which
may arise by reason of the granting of the permit, and from any damage
incurred by trespass, vandalism or materials produced or left by the
assembly. At the discretion of the Mayor and Township Council the
above bond may be waived and the Mayor and Township Council may accept
a letter of indemnification from the applicant when the applicant
demonstrates assets in excess of $5,000,000 by a certified financial
statement.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 153-6, Hearing, as amended,
was repealed 11-26-2018 by Ord. No. 18-30.
A.
A permit may be revoked by the Chief of Police or their designee,
Fire Marshal or their designee or Zoning Officer upon 12 hours'
notice to the applicant where it appears that:
[Amended 11-26-2018 by Ord. No. 18-30]
(1)
The application is materially false or purposely misleading.
(2)
The number of persons attending the assembly is unexpectedly greater
by 50% than the number initially projected and the applicant is unable
to deposit sufficient monies to insure adequate police protection,
or is unable, by reason of such increase, to provide proportionally
greater sanitary, water, food, and other health facilities.
(3)
New or substantially changed conditions have arisen so as to imperil
or materially endanger the public health, morals, safety or welfare.
B.
Notwithstanding the above, a permit may be revoked at any time after
24 hours prior to the event, and at any time during such event, where
it appears that the public health, morals, safety, or welfare are
being endangered, where it appears that numerous acts of criminality,
disorderly conduct, juvenile delinquency, violations of the controlled
dangerous substance act of the State of New Jersey are occurring,
or where nuisances substantially impairing the comfort or welfare
of the Township of Vernon are occurring.
D.
In the event of revocation under this section, the permit fee and
the cash deposit, to the extent the latter is billed, used or required,
shall not be returned to the applicant.
