[Adopted as §§ 9.18 and 9.20 of the former
City Code; amended in its entirety 12-4-2019 by Ord. No. 19-20]
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide reasonable
restrictions for special events, in order to protect the public health,
safety and welfare from the potential adverse effects which may arise
from such special events or the large number of persons attracted
to such events upon premises not regularly used for or developed to
regularly accommodate such events or gatherings. Such regulations
are intended to protect against traffic congestion, the overcrowding
of lands, the potential for fires, explosion, riot or disorder or
other dangers to persons or property, the diversion of public health,
safety and emergency services from regular necessary duties, and the
additional cost to the community of providing public services necessary
to protect the public health, safety and welfare arising from such
temporary special events; and to promote the preservation of public
peace and order, the furtherance of sanitation and the safeguarding
of the public health.
A.
Definition. A "special event" is a temporary entertainment and amusement
activity defined as:
(1)
Open to the general public and organized;
(2)
Produced or sponsored by a person or organization which event is
extraordinary in that it is not ordinarily conducted on a daily or
regular normal average use basis as a lawful use of the premises upon
which such event is to occur;
(3)
Cannot be held completely within the confines of an existing building
on such premises; or
(4)
For which event it is reasonably anticipated that the number of persons
attending will at any time exceed the maximum occupancy of the existing
building(s) on the property or will substantially exceed the regular
normal average patronage and traffic generated otherwise attending
such premises as a result of its regular normal average and lawful
use. Such special events include, but are not limited to, festivals,
carnivals, athletic or contest tournaments, picnics and fairs.
B.
License required. Any person planning to hold a special event as defined in Subsection A shall be required to obtain a special event license prior to the event.
C.
Exemptions. The requirement under Subsection C shall not apply to the following:
(1)
Any regularly established place of worship, stadium, athletic field,
arena, auditorium, coliseum or other permanently established place
of assembly for special events for which it is reasonably anticipated
that the number of persons attending will not exceed the maximum seating
capacity of the structure where the assembly is held.
(2)
Special events that sole purpose is to celebrate a federally recognized
holiday must apply but all fees will be waived.
D.
Regulations.
(1)
Duration and hours of operation. The duration of any special event
shall not exceed four consecutive days and any permit issued under
this section shall specify the days upon which the event shall occur.
No special event shall be open to the public except between the hours
of 5:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. on any day of the week, occurring within
the duration of the special event. Such permit shall also specify
the hours during which pre-event setup and post-event takedown operations
may occur and no such operations may be conducted other than as so
specified.
(2)
Maximum attendance. A special event license shall specify the maximum
peak number of people to attend the special event. The licensee shall
not sell tickets to nor allow the attendance of more people at the
special event at any time than as specified in the license. Any tickets
sold or advertisement made prior to the grant of a license under this
section and the satisfaction of all conditions of such license shall
include therein in like medium, a statement that "the occurrence of
the [special event] remains subject to the approval of the City of
Watertown."
(3)
Parking on park property. Any special event that requires parking on park property, other than a public roadway or parking area, shall apply to the Parks and Recreation Director as provided in Watertown Municipal Code § 398-5B.
(4)
Sanitary facilities and potable water. All sanitary facilities and
potable water facilities shall be provided for the special event by
the event organizer.
(5)
Solid waste. The event organizer shall be responsible for the holding,
collection and disposing of solid waste material.
(6)
Illumination. If the special event is to continue during hours of
darkness, illumination shall be sufficient to light the entire area
of the event at the rate of at least five lumens, without the spillage
of such illumination unreasonably beyond the boundaries of the special
event premises.
(7)
Noise. No licensee shall permit any sound created by the special
event activity to carry unreasonably beyond the boundaries of the
special event premises.
(8)
Fire protection. A licensee shall provide all fire protection applicable to the special event activities and premises as required by the municipal Fire Prevention Code (Chapter 303) and the Wisconsin Administrative Code (DSPS 314), including alarms, extinguishing devices, fire lanes and fire escapes.
(9)
Compliance with other Code provisions. No special event shall occur
unless all other necessary municipal permits, licenses and approvals
applicable to the special event activities have been granted and any
license granted under this subsection shall be conditioned upon the
licensee obtaining all such other licenses, permits and approvals.
E.
Application.
(1)
Any person intending to hold, sponsor or produce a special event
shall make written application for a special event license and file
same with the City Clerk's Office at least 45 calendar days prior
to the date of the special event.
(2)
The application shall contain and disclose:
(a)
The name, address, date of birth and telephone numbers of the
authorized representative of the applicant who shall be responsible
for the conduct of the special event and available to the City at
all times for all communications and necessary contacts.
(b)
The address and map of all property upon which the special event
is to be held and any streets the special event organizer wishes to
close.
(c)
The nature or purpose of the special event.
(d)
The total number of days and/or hours during which the special
event is to last, including setup and takedown operations.
(e)
The maximum number of persons which the applicant shall permit
to attend at any time, not to exceed the maximum number which can
reasonably assemble at the location of the special event in consideration
of the nature of the special event.
(f)
Any plans for fencing the location of the special event and
the gates contained in such fence. Include a diagram, subject to change
by recommendation of the Police Department and Streets Department.
(g)
Any plans for selling food or beverages. If yes, please contact the Health Department for permits. If the event is taking place in a City park, please also obtain a concession permit (Watertown Municipal Code § 398-20).
(h)
Any plans for vendors selling items other than food or beverages,
yes or no. If yes, please contact the Clerk's Office for information
on obtaining a transient merchant permit.
(3)
No application shall be accepted as filed until the City Clerk's Office determines that the information in the application is complete and sufficient for filing purposes as required under this Subsection E. Upon filing, the City Clerk's Office shall distribute copies of the application to the Police, Fire, Health, Street and Recreation Departments.
F.
Indemnity. The special event license application shall contain a
statement that: "The applicant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless
the City from and against all liabilities, claims, demands, judgments,
losses and all suits at law or in equity, costs and expenses, including
reasonable attorney fees, for injury or death of any person or loss
or damage to the property of any person, firm, organization or corporation,
arising in any way as a consequence of the granting of a license for
a special event." No license may be issued unless the applicant has
agreed to the terms of this statement on the written application.
G.
Insurance. Each applicant for a special event license that includes
alcohol, more than 200 people per day or involves a road closure shall
furnish to the City, no later than 10 days prior to the special event,
a certificate of insurance written by a company licensed in the State
of Wisconsin, approved by the City Attorney and covering any and all
liability or obligations which may result from the operations by the
applicant's employees, agents, contractors or subcontractors, and
including workers' compensation coverage in accordance with Ch. 102,
Wis. Stats. The certificate shall provide that the company will furnish
the City with a ten-day prior written notice of cancellation, nonrenewal
or material change. The insurance shall be written in comprehensive
form and shall protect the applicant and City against claims arising
from injuries to members of the public or damage to property of others
arising out of any act or omission of the applicant, its employees,
agents, contractors and subcontractors. The policy of insurance shall
provide minimum combined single limits for bodily injury and property
damage of at least $1,000,000 per person/aggregate.
[Amended 7-6-2021 by Ord. No. 21-26]
H.
Mapped routes. All permit applications for special events, including
road closures, runs, rides, walks, or parades, shall include a detailed
map of the proposed route. Routes for annual events must be submitted
with the application regardless of whether previously submitted. Alteration
of proposed routes may be made by the City prior to approval of the
permit. In the event that the organizers or sponsors of any special
event deviate from the route submitted without approval from the City,
the organizers or sponsors of such special events may be denied a
permit for the following calendar year.
I.
License fees.
(1)
Concurrent with the filing of any application for a special event
license, the applicant shall pay a fee as established in the City
of Watertown Municipal Fee Schedule.
(2)
In addition, a special event licensee shall be responsible for and
pay to the City a fee for all City services for the special event.
Such fees shall not exceed the actual cost of providing the services.
Such fee shall be paid to the City by the licensee within 30 days
of the date of itemized invoice for same prepared by the City subsequent
to the special event.
(3)
Tiered charge. The cost for all applicable City services for special
events for organizations shall be billed in the following manner:
|
First year of event
|
No charge for City expenses
|
|
Second year of event
|
20% of City expenses charged
|
|
Third year of event
|
40% of City expenses charged
|
|
Fourth year of event
|
60% of City expenses charged
|
|
Fifth year of event
|
80% of City expenses charged
|
|
Sixth year of event and succeeding years
|
100% of City expenses charged
|
J.
Approval or denial of application. Upon receipt of a completed application,
the City Clerk shall submit the application for review to the relevant
City Departments, which shall approve, conditionally approve or deny
the license within 21 calendar days of its filing. Upon recommendation
of any City Departments, the Clerk shall have the authority to modify
the time and place or specified activities of a special event to facilitate
crowd control in the interests of relieving congestion and promoting
public safety. The Clerk shall issue the license if it complies with
all terms and provisions of this section. Grounds for denial of the
application shall include:
(1)
Any false or misleading statements set forth upon the application.
(2)
The special event is of such a size or nature so as to require the
diversion of so great a number of municipal services so as to deny
reasonable services to the City as a whole.
(3)
The time, size and nature of the special event would unduly disrupt
the safe and orderly use of any street or public place or material
portion thereof, which is ordinarily subject to congestion or traffic
at the proposed time or substantially interrupts the safe and orderly
movement of traffic.
(4)
The vehicles, temporary structures, sanitary facilities, tents, equipment
or other materials used in the special event do not comply with or
meet all applicable health, fire or safety requirements.
(5)
The special event will interfere or conflict with another special
event for which an application had been previously filed or with a
construction or public works project.
(6)
The conduct of the special event will be contrary to law, including
noise regulations.
(7)
Either the applicant or a proposed special event were previously
licensed for a prior special event under this section and violated
any term of this section while operating under such license.
(8)
Any outstanding payments due to the City.
K.
Appeal of application denial or modification. Any applicant who has been denied a special event license or license has been modified may, upon written request within five days of denial or notice of modification, seek review of the matter before the Licensing Board. The appeal procedures shall be those which are laid out in Chapter 10 of the Watertown Municipal Code. If the applicant is still unsatisfied with the decision of the Licensing Board, the applicant may seek judicial review of the denial in the form of certiorari review to the Jefferson or Dodge County Circuit Court within 30 days of the Licensing Board's decision.
L.
Enforcement. Any person who violates any provision of this section
or who violates any condition upon which a special event license is
granted shall be subject to a forfeiture of not less than $1,000 nor
more than $10,000. Each day of violation shall be considered a separate
offense. In addition, the City may enforce this section by way of
injunctive relief and all other remedies available at law and in equity.
[Added 3-3-2020 by Ord.
No. 20-8]
A.
EVENT LICENSED PREMISES or EVENT LICENSEE
OPEN CONTAINER
OUTDOOR OPEN CONTAINER ENTERTAINMENT EVENT
Definitions. All terms or phrases for the purposes of this section
shall have the meanings provided in Wis. Stats., § 125.02,
except as described below:
A paper or plastic cup which does not exceed 16 fluid ounces
in size, bearing the "outdoor open container entertainment event's"
printed name and/or logo, located within the "outdoor open container
entertainment event" boundaries.
A special event in a defined area of the City which, because of adjacent zoning, includes, but is not limited to, any combination of retail shops, galleries, bars, restaurants, entertainment venues and related businesses, located in any public area, including the streets, sidewalks and rights-of-way located within the City of Watertown, where the possession and consumption of "fermented malt beverages" and/or "wine" from an open container is permitted subject to an approved application, the regulations contained within this section and Chapter 125 of the Wisconsin State Statutes.
B.
Outdoor open container entertainment event. During dates, times and locations within areas of the City designated for an outdoor open container entertainment event, the possession and consumption of fermented malt beverages and/or wine purchased from an event licensed premises in an open container are permitted, notwithstanding § 410-52 of the City of Watertown Municipal Code of Ordinances.
C.
Application.
(1)
Application for the outdoor open container entertainment event shall comply with the requirements of § 428-7E, and in addition the application shall contain and disclose:
(a)
A detailed description of the location of the outdoor open container
entertainment event, including a proposed map detailing the location.
(b)
A detailed event security plan.
[1]
The applicant may use a private security firm or the City of
Watertown Police Department.
(c)
A specific plan indicating where patrons will be permitted to
carry the fermented malt beverages and/or wine.
(d)
Street closure. Identify any proposed street closure, including
proposed time and locations.
(f)
Such other reasonable and pertinent information as the Common
Council or the Licensing Board may require.
(2)
Application fee. The fee for an outdoor open container entertainment
event shall be paid to the City Clerk at the time of application submission.
The fees shall be established by the Common Council and may from time
to time be modified by resolution. A schedule of the fees established
by the Common Council shall be available for review in City Hall.
[Amended 7-5-2022 by Ord. No. 22-63]
F.
Applicant's responsibility.
(1)
Boundaries/signs. The applicant(s) shall be responsible for providing
open and notorious notice of the event boundaries to all participants
throughout the event by use of signs, barricades or other approved
means.
(2)
Cleanup. The applicant shall maintain the event area in a clean,
sanitary, neat and orderly appearance at all times during the event.
Applicants shall ensure that any event refuse is removed from the
event area no later than 24 hours after the conclusion of the event.
(3)
Security. The applicant shall provide security as detailed in the
application security plan. All security personnel for an event shall
be clearly identified by approved uniform.
(4)
Nonalcoholic beverages. Applicants shall be responsible for providing
an equal number of premises dispensing nonalcoholic beverages to premises
dispensing fermented malt beverages and/or wine (1:1 ratio).
(5)
Other permits. The applicant shall secure any other permits required
by the City of Watertown Municipal Code of Ordinances for associated
event activities.
G.
Operational requirements. Outdoor open container entertainment events
shall be subject to the following regulations:
(1)
Sale for event consumption. An event licensed premises licensed to
dispense fermented malt beverages and/or wine by the drink for consumption
on the event licensed premises is authorized to dispense fermented
malt beverages and/or wine in an open container to a person of legal
drinking age for removal from an event licensed premises; provided,
however, that no event licensee shall dispense to any person more
than one such fermented malt beverage and/or wine at a time for removal
from the event licensed premises, and no person shall remove at one
time more than one such fermented malt beverage and/or wine from the
event licensed premises.
(2)
Source of fermented malt beverage and/or wine.
(a)
The permit holder shall purchase its alcohol from a source authorized under Wis. Stats., Ch. 125.
(b)
Open containers of fermented malt beverages and/or wine within
an outdoor open container entertainment event must be purchased/dispensed
from an event licensee at an event licensed premises within the outdoor
open container entertainment event boundaries. Alcohol in an open
container within an outdoor open container entertainment event which
has not been purchased from an event licensed premises is prohibited.
(3)
Open container. No container in which a fermented malt beverage is
dispensed and removed from the event licensed premises shall exceed
16 fluid ounces in size. No container in which wine is dispensed and
removed from an event licensed premises shall contain more than 6.5
fluid ounces of wine. The container shall bear the outdoor open container
entertainment event's printed name and/or logo.
(a)
Nonalcoholic beverage containers shall bear the outdoor open
container entertainment event's printed name and/or logo. The nonalcoholic
beverage container shall be a different hue (color) than the open
container for fermented malt beverages and/or wine.
(4)
Event dates. Events shall be limited to the date(s) of the approved
permits. An event may last no more than four days.
(5)
Hours of operation. Open containers of fermented malt beverages and/or
wine shall not be permitted within an outdoor open container entertainment
event between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. An event licensee
shall not allow the removal of alcohol in an open container for the
consumption of alcohol off an event licensed premises between the
hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
(6)
Possession or consumption of open containers of alcoholic beverages
within or upon any parking lot, parking facility or motor vehicle
within the outdoor open container entertainment event shall be prohibited
unless otherwise permitted by Wisconsin State Statute.
(7)
Possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages by an underage person
within an outdoor open container entertainment event is prohibited
at all times except as otherwise permitted by law. All individuals
wishing to possess or consume a fermented malt beverage and/or wine
within an outdoor open container event must have a wristband with
the outdoor open container entertainment event's printed name and/or
logo issued by an authorized event licensee which sold the fermented
malt beverage and/or wine to the individual.
(8)
This section shall not be construed to prohibit the sale of alcoholic
beverages in the original, unopened containers for off-premises consumption.
However, consumption of alcoholic beverages sold in original, unopened
containers for off-premises consumption shall not be permitted during
the outdoor open container entertainment event.
(9)
Consumption of alcohol within an outdoor open container entertainment
event from a can, bottle or a container which is not authorized pursuant
to this section is prohibited.
(10)
Event licensees shall not permit patrons to enter event licensed
premises with fermented malt beverages and/or wine acquired from outside
the outdoor open container entertainment event boundaries or a non-event
licensed premises.
(11)
Any event licensee permitting patrons to remove a fermented
malt beverage and/or wine from an event licensed premises for consumption
during the outdoor open container entertainment event shall employ
a person to monitor all exits of the event licensed premises to ensure
that all beverages are removed in accordance with this section.
(12)
Neither event licensees nor patrons shall refill an open container
with alcoholic beverages not purchased from an event licensed premises
from which the open container originated.
(13)
No person shall exit a designated outdoor open container entertainment
event boundary with fermented malt beverages and/or wine purchased
in an open container for consumption within the outdoor open container
entertainment event boundary.
(14)
Special events and areas temporarily licensed pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 125 occurring within boundaries of the outdoor open container entertainment event shall be subject to the provisions of this section.
(15)
Event-specific operational requirements upon which approval
of the application was conditional when approved by the Common Council.
(16)
Outdoor open container entertainment events are prohibited within
residential zoning districts, nor shall the boundaries of an outdoor
open container event abut a residential zoning district.
(17)
Operators, including provisional or temporary operators, shall
not imbibe alcoholic beverages while working or volunteering at an
event licensed premises during the outdoor open container entertainment
event.
H.
Approval or denial of application. Shall conform to Wis. Stats.,
§ 125.12.
I.
Appeal of application denial or modification. Shall conform to Wis.
Stats., § 125.12.
J.
Enforcement. Any person who shall violate any provision of this section shall be subject to a penalty as provided in § 1-4 of the City of Watertown General Code. Each violation and each day a violation continues or occurs shall constitute a separate offense. This action shall not preclude the City from maintaining any appropriate action to prevent or remove a violation of this section.
