[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of
the City of Hudson 2-6-2006 by Ord. No. 2-06.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to provide reasonable
regulations for extraordinary entertainment and amusement 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.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
An individual, corporation, partnership, association, limited-liability
company, unincorporated association, society, or group of people.
A temporary entertainment and amusement activity organized,
produced or sponsored by a person, 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, cannot be held completely within the confines of an existing
building on such premises and 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
at 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, circuses, concerts, picnics
and fairs.
Any person intending to hold, produce or sponsor
a special event shall obtain a special event permit approved by the
Common Council prior to such event pursuant to the terms and provisions
of this chapter.
This chapter shall not apply to:
A.
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 as provided in
the Life Safety Code NFPA 101, and where the special event is not
anticipated to generate substantially more than the average traffic
or patronage as a result of its regular and average use.
B.
Special events occurring on City property and governed
by contract with the City.
C.
Any outdoor special event with an anticipated attendance
of less than 1,000 per day.
A.
Duration and hours of operation. The duration of any
special event shall not exceed five consecutive days, including pre-event
set-up and post-event takedown, 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 7:30
a.m. and 10:00 p.m. on any Sunday through Thursday and 7:30 a.m. and
12:00 midnight on any Friday and Saturday, 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.
B.
Maximum attendance. A special event permit shall specify
the maximum peak number of people to attend the special event, which
shall be based on the Common Council's determination of the maximum
number of people the City can safely handle in terms of pedestrian
and vehicle traffic and the City's ability to provide necessary public
services to event participants while at the same time providing normal
public services for City residents. The permit holder shall not sell
tickets to nor allow the attendance of more people at the special
event at any time than as specified in the permit. If tickets are
sold or advertising done before a permit is granted under this section
or before all conditions of a permit have been satisfied, such tickets
shall include a statement that "the occurrence of the (special event)
remains subject to the approval of the City of Hudson." As a guideline,
based on experience, the City estimates that it can handle an event
where the maximum peak attendance at any time during the event does
not exceed 4,000 individuals.
C.
Parking. Off-street parking areas are required for
each special event to provide parking space for the maximum anticipated
attendance specified in the permit, at the rate of at least one parking
space for every three persons. Such parking areas shall be specified
within the application and shall be located upon the special event
premises; upon separate premises within 1,000 feet of the special
event premises; or upon premises located more than 1,000 feet away
from the special event premises, provided that the permittee provides
a vehicular shuttle service to and from such off-site parking area,
which operates in fifteen-minute round-trip intervals at all times
during the event and continuing for 30 minutes following the close
of the event on any day. All temporary parking facilities for special
events shall be maintained free of dust or mud, and all dirt or mud
tracked onto the public right-of-way shall be cleared and removed
within four hours following the close of the event on any day. The
Police Department shall only post temporary parking-related regulations
on public streets for special events if determined necessary by the
Police Chief for public traffic safety or as may be directed by the
Common Council within the permit approval process. For special events
occurring in the downtown central business district, the Common Council
may consider the availability of existing public off- and on-street
parking in determining the amount of additional parking, if any, that
may be required for a special event in the downtown area.
D.
Sanitary facilities and potable water. All sanitary
facilities and potable water facilities shall be provided for the
special event as required in the Building Code for places of public
assembly.
E.
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 footcandles,
without the spillage of such illumination unreasonably beyond the
boundaries of the special event premises.
F.
Telephones. Telephone facilities available to the
general public for outside calling shall be provided and posted at
each special event so as to provide at least one publicly available
telephone for each 1,000 persons anticipated to attend as specified
in the permit. Cell phones can be used to meet this requirement as
long as the public is notified of their availability and they have
been tested to make sure they are functional.
G.
Noise. No permittee shall permit any sound created by the special event activity to carry unreasonably beyond the boundaries of the special event premises. The applicant shall take all reasonable precautions to ensure that the sound of the event will not carry unreasonably beyond the boundaries. Music shall be stopped one hour before the event closing times specified in § 150-5A of this chapter.
H.
Security. Security guards sufficient to provide adequate
security for the maximum number of people to be assembled shall be
provided. A primary security officer, who is a licensed security officer
in the State of Wisconsin or has other similar credentials, shall
be designated, whose name, address and telephone number shall be provided
to local law enforcement. As a condition of the license, local law
enforcement officers shall be granted access to the site to ensure
public safety. The Common Council, in consultation with the Hudson
Police Department, shall determine the number of security officers
and Wisconsin licensed police officers that shall be required for
the special event if it is approved.
I.
Fire protection. A permittee shall provide all fire
protection applicable to the special event activities and premises
as required by the municipal Fire Prevention Code and the Wisconsin
Administrative Code, including alarms, extinguishing devices, fire
lanes, and fire escapes.
J.
Emergency medical services. The City shall require
the permittee to have an emergency medical services plan in place
sufficient to provide emergency medical services that the event is
reasonably likely to need.
K.
Compliance with other code provisions. No special
event shall be permitted unless all other necessary municipal permits,
licenses, registrations, and approvals applicable to the special event
activities have been granted, and any permit granted under this chapter
shall be conditioned upon the permittee obtaining all such other licenses,
permits, registrations, and approvals.
L.
Fencing. The applicant must provide a fence or other
easily recognizable boundary marking system that encloses the proposed
location if it is reasonably determined to be necessary to protect
health, safety, and welfare of the attendees, the community and/or
neighboring property owners.
M.
Solid waste disposal. An applicant must provide a
sanitary method of disposing of solid waste, in compliance with state
and local laws and regulations, sufficient to dispose of the solid
waste production of the maximum number of people to be assembled at
the rate of at least 2.5 pounds of solid waste per person per day,
together with a plan for holding and a plan for collecting all such
waste at least once each day of the assembly and sufficient trash
cans with tight-fitting lids and personnel to perform the task.
N.
Special events proposed in public parks. Public parks
in the City of Hudson are maintained for use by the public. As such,
the City shall not allow public parks to be used for special events
which restrict access to the park to persons who have paid any type
of a fee to be in the park during the event. A specified area of the
event premises may be restricted solely for the purpose of enforcing
laws relating to beer, wine, and intoxicating liquor service and consumption.
O.
Right of inspection. For events occurring on private
property, the Hudson Police Department, Fire Department, Emergency
Medical Services, and Public Works Department staff shall at all times
be allowed on the grounds to enforce the terms of this chapter, any
permit issued hereunder, and any applicable federal, state or local
law.
P.
Any permittee that represents that any portion of
the event proceeds will be donated to charitable or benevolent purposes
shall be required to provide public access to all documentation regarding
the income, expenses, and distributions from the event, including
income and expense statements, copies of receipts, invoices, cancelled
checks, credit card payments or any other payments made, etc., related
to the event. This provision does not impose any requirement on the
City of Hudson to bring action to enforce an individual's right to
access to the information described in this subsection. However, the
individual requesting access to information described in this subsection
may pursue any and all rights against the permittee as provided in
state law, including, but not limited to, § 19.37 Wis. Stat.
Further, the failure of any permittee to comply with this section
shall be grounds for denial of subsequent permit applications.
Q.
The City may adjust these requirements where, due
to the time, place, and manner of the proposed special event, the
requirements either do not apply or need adjustment to protect the
public health, safety and welfare. Any such adjustments must not be
related to the content of the special event, but must be designed
to address the public health and safety considerations identified
in this chapter.
A.
Any person intending to hold, sponsor or produce a
special event shall file a written application for a special event
permit with the City Clerk. For special events of duration less than
approximately four hours, such as parades or political demonstrations,
the permit application shall be filed no less than seven days before
the event and a decision shall be made on the permit within five days
of filing the application. For all other special events, the permit
application shall be filed with the City Clerk at least 30 days before
the event, and the Council shall make a decision on the application
within 20 days of its filing. The City strongly encourages applicants
to file applications more than the seven days or 30 days in advance
when possible so that the City has sufficient time to plan for any
additional police, fire, or other public services that may be required
for the event.
B.
The application shall contain a statement made upon
oath or affirmation that the statements contained therein are true
and correct to the best knowledge of the applicant and shall be signed
and sworn to or affirmed by the individual making application, by
all officers of an applicant corporation, by a general partner of
an applicant partnership or by all officers of any applicable unincorporated
association, society or group or, if there be no officers, by all
members of such association, society or group.
C.
The application shall contain and disclose:
(1)
The name and address and home and business telephone
numbers of the authorized representative of the applicant who shall
be responsible for the conduct of the special event and on-site and
available to the City at all times for all communications and necessary
contacts.
(2)
The name, age, residence and mailing address of all
persons required to sign the application and, in the case of a corporation,
a certified copy of the articles of incorporation together with the
name, age, residence and mailing address of the primary officers of
the corporation.
(3)
The address and legal description of all property
upon which the special event is to be held, together with the name,
residence and mailing address of the record owner(s) of all such property.
(4)
Proof of ownership of all property upon which the
special event is to be held or a statement made upon oath or affirmation
by the record owner(s) of all such property that the applicant has
permission to use such property for the special event.
(5)
A description of the special event.
(6)
The total number of days and/or hours during which
the special event is to last, including setup and takedown operations.
(7)
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.
(8)
The maximum number of tickets to be sold, if any.
(9)
The plans of the applicant to limit the maximum number
of people permitted to assemble.
(10)
Any plans for fencing the location of the special
event and the gates contained in such fence or other means of assuring
that those attending the special event stay within the bounds of the
event.
(11)
The plans and supporting vendor contracts for supplying
potable water, including the source, amount available and location
of outlets.
(12)
The plans and supporting vendor contracts for providing
toilet and lavatory facilities, including the source, number and location,
type, and the means of disposing of waste deposited.
(13)
The plans and supporting vendor contracts for holding,
collection and disposing of solid waste material by a hauler licensed
in the State of Wisconsin.
(14)
The plans, if any, to illuminate the location of the
special event, including the source and amount of power and the location
of lamps.
(15)
The plans for parking vehicles, including size and
location of lots, points of highway access and interior roads, including
routes between highway access and parking lots, and any shuttle service.
(16)
The plans for telephone service, including the source,
number, and location of telephones, including cell phones, which will
be available for use by the public.
(17)
The plans and supporting vendor contracts for security,
including the number of guards, their deployment, and their names,
addresses, credentials and hours of availability.
(18)
The plans for fire protection, including the number,
type and location of all protective devices, including alarms and
extinguishers, and the number of emergency fire personnel available
to operate the equipment.
(19)
The plans for emergency medical service.
(20)
The plans for sound control and sound amplification,
if any, including number, location, and power of amplifiers and speakers.
(21)
The plans for food and beverage concessions and concessionaires
who will be allowed to operate on the grounds, including the names
and addresses of all concessionaires and copies of their license,
permit, or registrations.
(22)
The plans and specific description for each of any
other type of vendor of amusement or entertainment provider who will
be allowed to operate on the grounds, including the names and addresses
of all such vendors and their license or permit numbers, if any.
D.
Failure to provide all the information required under
this chapter may result in the City being unable to process the application
within the time provided under this chapter. No application shall
be accepted as filed until the City Clerk determines that the information
in the application is complete and sufficient for filing purposes
as required under this section. Upon filing, the Clerk shall distribute
copies of the application to the Police, Fire, St. Croix Emergency
Medical Service, Public Works, City Attorney, Planning, Building Inspection
and Compliance Departments and all Common Council members.
The special event permit application shall contain
a statement that: "The applicant agrees to indemnify and hold the
City, its agents, officers, servants and employees harmless from and
against any and all liabilities, damages, claims 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 permit for
a special event." No permit may be issued unless the applicant has
agreed to the terms of this statement on the written application.
[Amended 9-15-2014 by Ord. No. 8-14]
Each applicant for a special event permit shall furnish to the
City, no later than 10 days before the special event, a certificate
of insurance and any necessary endorsements written by a company licensed
in the State of Wisconsin, approved by the City Attorney and covering
any and all liability, obligations or claims which may result from
the operations by the applicant's employees, agents, contractors
or subcontractors, and including workers compensation coverage in
accordance with Ch. 101, Wis. Stats. The certificate shall provide
that the insurance 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 the City against all 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 insurance policy shall name the City of Hudson,
its officers, agents, and employees as additional insureds under the
policy on a primary and noncontributory basis. The applicant shall
be required to provide bodily injury and property damage coverage
of at least $1,000,000 plus an umbrella of $3,000,000. The Council
may increase the minimum requirement for bodily injury and property
damage coverage up to $3,000,000, considering risk factors involved
in the proposed special event. Such risk factors may include, but
shall not be limited to, events involving large numbers of people,
use of live animals, competitive physical events, fireworks, amusement
rides, inflatables, and other similar type risk factors, or as further
described in a policy adopted by the Council relating to insurance
requirements.
A.
Concurrent with the filing of any application for
a special event permit, the applicant shall pay a nonrefundable permit
application fee in the amount of $100 and a review deposit in the
amount of $250. The City staff shall record time spent in reviewing.
Any amount of the review deposit not spent shall be returned to the
applicant.
B.
In addition, a special event permittee shall be responsible
for and pay the City for any additional City, fire, emergency medical
or rescue, and police services provided by the City for the special
event. Such police and fire services special event fee shall not exceed
the actual cost of providing the services. Such fee shall be paid
to the City by the permittee within 10 days of the date of itemized
invoice for same prepared by the City subsequent to the special event.
Before any Common Council approval of a special event license, the
Police Chief, Fire Chief, and the Emergency Medical Services Chief
shall review the application and provide to the Common Council their
reasonable estimates of the costs of providing police, fire, and emergency
medical or other City services reasonably required by the special
event. The permittee shall provide the City with all information necessary
to determine the level of services required. After reviewing such
reports, upon which the applicant may be heard, the Common Council
shall require as a condition of the permit that the applicant deposit
with the City security in the form of a letter of credit or cash deposit,
in form approved by the City Attorney in an amount determined to be
sufficient to guarantee payment for the reasonable estimate of the
anticipated cost of providing such special event police, fire, emergency
medical, or other City services. Such security deposit shall be filed
with the City no later than 10 days before the special event. Such
security deposit shall entitle the City to draw upon same forthwith
upon any default in payment by the permittee after services invoice,
with any remaining balance of any cash deposit to be returned to the
permittee. Any determined deficiency for such service fees beyond
the security deposit shall be a debt of the permittee to the City,
collectible by the City in an action at law, which shall also entitle
the City to all costs of collection, including attorney fees and,
further, shall also constitute a special charge under § 66.0627,
Wis. Stat., which shall become a lien against the special event premises
to be placed upon the tax roll for such premises. If the Public Works
or Parks Department reports the need for extra staff for the special
event, the above terms and provisions pertaining to police and fire
services and costs shall likewise apply to such extra public works,
parks, or sanitary services and costs.
C.
Damage deposit for damage to City parks. Any permittee
for a special event to be held in the City park shall pay a damage
deposit in an amount determined by the City in consultation with the
Parks and Public Works Departments based on the anticipated cost to
restore the park to its condition before the event. Such anticipated
cost shall be based on the size of the event, the number of people
attending the event, vehicles, structures or other equipment used
in the event, and other similar factors that may cause damage to the
park. It shall not be based on the content of the event.
[Amended 6-16-2008 by Ord. No. 5-08]
Upon receipt of a completed application, the
City Clerk shall submit the application for staff review to the Public
Works and Parks Department, Police Department, Community Development
Department and Emergency Medical Services Department for their review
and recommendation to the Common Council. The Common Council shall
approve, conditionally approve or deny the permit application within
the following time frames: for special events lasting less than four
hours, such as parades or political demonstrations, within 15 days
of filing the application; for all other special events, within 30
days of filing the application. If a permit application is denied,
the Common Council shall provide reasons for the denial in writing,
to the applicant within 48 hours of the Common Council’s decision.
The Common Council shall issue the permit if it complies with all
terms and provisions of this chapter. Grounds for denial of the application
shall include:
A.
Any false statements set forth upon the application.
B.
The special event is of such a size or nature so as
to require the diversion of so great a number of municipal police,
fire, or emergency medical and public works or park services so as
to deny reasonable police or fire services to the City as a whole.
C.
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.
D.
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.
E.
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.
F.
The conduct of the special event will be contrary
to federal, state, county, or local law, including noise regulations.
G.
Either the applicant or a proposed special event were
previously issued a permit for a prior special event under this chapter
and violated any term of this chapter while operating under such license.
H.
The proposed special event will have an unreasonable
adverse impact or will cause undue hardship, disturbance or disruption
to residents or owners of property adjacent or near the site of the
proposed special event.
I.
For special events proposed in public parks, the Common
Council determines that, due to the size and activities proposed for
the special event: a) the event would be reasonably likely to unduly
damage or harm the park facilities, including grounds, buildings,
equipment, etc., or interfere with regular or scheduled park activities;
or b) the public park cannot safely accommodate the number of people
estimated to attend the special event. An assessment of likely harm
to the park facilities shall not be based on the speech content of
the proposed special event.
J.
The application fails to meet or comply with the requirements
of this chapter.
Any applicant who has been denied a special
event permit may, upon written request within five days of denial,
have the denial reviewed by the Municipal Court Judge, who shall either
affirm or reverse the initial action on the application. In the event
of an adverse determination, the applicant may seek review in Circuit
Court. As an alternative to Municipal Court the applicant may commence
review proceedings under Ch. 68, Wis. Stats.
Any person who violates any provision of this
chapter or who violates any condition upon which a special event permit
is granted shall be subject to revocation of the permit after notice
and hearing and 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 chapter
by way of injunctive relief and all other remedies available at law
and in equity.
If any section, subsection, paragraph, word,
or phrase of this chapter is found by a court of competent jurisdiction
to be invalid, unenforceable, or unconstitutional, the validity of
the remaining sections shall not be affected thereby.
It is the intention of the Common Council and
it is hereby provided that the provisions of this Ord. No. 2-06 shall
be made part of the Code of the City of Hudson and that the sections
of this Ord. No. 2-06 be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such
intention; and that the word "ordinance" may be changed to "section,"
"article," or other appropriate designation.
This chapter shall be effective upon adoption
and publication as provided by law.
