Sec. 29-67.1. - Parades, public assemblies and expressive activities; permits.
(a) Purpose. Pursuant to the authority granted to the city by the Code of Virginia and its Charter, this section is adopted in order to ensure the free and safe passage of pedestrians and vehicles on the public rights-of-way, to ensure free and safe access to public areas, and otherwise to regulate and control the time, place and manner of activities that would otherwise threaten the public health, safety, and welfare, while also encouraging the exercise of rights under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution (First Amendment) in the city.
(b) Definitions. The following terms shall have the meanings set out herein, unless the context in which they occur clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) Event means a parade, public assembly or expressive activity.
(2) Expressive activity means any activity protected under the First Amendment other than a parade or public assembly, addressed below, including, but not limited to, leafleting.
(3) Parade means any march, demonstration, procession or motorcade consisting of persons, animals, or vehicles, or a combination thereof, upon any traditional public forum within the city that interferes with or is likely to interfere with the normal flow or regulation of pedestrian or vehicular traffic within said forum.
(4) Public assembly means any meeting, demonstration, picket line, rally or gathering of any kind that occupies any traditional public forum within the city and interferes with or is likely to interfere with the normal flow or regulation of pedestrian or vehicular traffic or with the customary public usage of said forum.
(5) Spontaneous event means an unplanned coming together of persons, animals or vehicles in a parade or public assembly in a traditional public forum which was not contemplated beforehand by any participant therein, and which is caused by or in response to unforeseen circumstances or events.
(6) Traditional public forum means, pursuant to the public forum doctrine under the First Amendment, as created and revised by the courts, those government-owned spaces open to the public generally, such as many streets, sidewalks and parks, that have by long tradition and government fiat been devoted to parades, public assemblies and expressive activities generally.
(c) Permit required.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct or participate in a parade, public assembly or expressive activity in any traditional public forum of the city without a written permit issued in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the following when occurring in a traditional public forum:
(A) Spontaneous events;
(B) Recreational activities, including jogging or walking, that do not require closing public streets or other public streets or other public rights-of-way;
(C) Funeral processions;
(D) 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;
(E) The United States Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, the military forces of the state, and the employees of the city when acting within the scope of their employment; or
(F) A governmental agency or agencies acting within the scope of its functions.
(G) A parade, public assembly or expressive activity conducted in some traditional public forum other than a street and involving less than thirty (30) people.
(3) Permits may be granted if they are requested by individuals or organizations who desire to have a permit, even though the permit is not required under this section.
(d) Application.
(1) A written application for a permit shall be filed as follows:
(A) When a parade, public assembly or expressive activity will require the blocking or temporary closure of all or any part of one or more major streets of the city, or one or more streets in the downtown area, and the detouring of motor vehicle traffic, and will require the presence of significantly more police officers than are normally assigned to the area for traffic control, traffic diversion and/or the maintenance of order, a written application for the permit shall be filed with the city manager or her designee at least thirty (30) days prior to the occurrence, and shall include the information described under subsection (d)(1)(C) below. The reasons for this time requirement are that additional time is needed by city officials to coordinate with all involved departments; to determine previously scheduled uses of the areas or streets; to determine the need and arrange for traffic control signages and devices; to notify residents and businesses; to arrange for the rescheduling and/or recall of police officers; and to alter existing parking regulations.
(B) For all parades, public assemblies or expressive activities other than those described in subsection (d)(1)(A) above, a written application for the permit shall be filed with the city manager or her designee at least five (5) days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, prior to the occurrence, and shall include the information described in subsection (d)(1)(C) below.
(C) Written applications shall include all of the following information:
(i) The name, address and telephone number of the person requesting the permit;
(ii) The name and address of the organization or group the applicant is representing;
(iii) The name, address and telephone number of a person who will act as the leader or chairman of the group at the site, and who will be responsible for the conduct of the group;
(iv) The type of event planned, including a description of the activities planned during the event;
(v) The date and time (start and ending) of the event;
(vi) If the event is a public assembly or expressive activity, the specific location or locations of it;
(vii) If the event is a parade, the specific assembly and dispersal locations, the specific route, and the plans, if any, for assembly and dispersal;
(viii) The approximate number of people, animals and vehicles that will constitute the event, and a description of any animals or vehicles involved;
(ix) A statement as to whether the event will occupy all or only a portion of the width of the streets or sidewalks or other public rights-of-way proposed to be traversed or used;
(x) A description of any recording equipment, sound-amplification equipment, banners, signs, or other attention-getting devices to be used in connection with the event; and
(xi) A statement, if applicable, that the applicant claims an exemption from the service fee and insurance requirements of subsection (e) below, and such other information as the city manager or her designee may deem reasonably necessary in order to properly provide for traffic control, street and property maintenance, administrative arrangements, police and fire protection, and for the protection of public health, safety and welfare.
(e) Fees and insurance.
(1) All applicants shall pay a nonrefundable fee of ten dollars ($10.00) to cover the administrative costs of processing the permit request upon submission of their application.
(2) If the application is pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(A) above, and the application is not exempt from these fees pursuant to subsection (e)(4) below, the applicant, prior to the issuance of a permit, shall:
(A) Pay the charges for all services to be provided the applicant in accordance with a schedule of service costs established by regulations of the city manager; and
(B) Procure and maintain in full force and effect during the term of the permit a policy of insurance covering general liability and property damage in an amount commensurate with the risk as determined by the city manager or her designee, which policy shall include the city, its boards, officers, agents and employees as additional insureds.
(3) No application shall be considered complete until all required fees are paid.
(4) Applicants may request an exemption from the service fees and insurance requirements of this section for noncommercial parades, public assemblies and expressive activities subject to the protection of the First Amendment. Within ten (10) days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after receiving a permit request claiming an exemption from the service fees and insurance requirements pursuant to this subsection, the city manager or her designee shall notify the applicant if his claim of exemption is denied. The city manager or her designee shall grant or deny a claim of exemption under this section with the advice and consent of the city attorney.
(f) Issuance or denial of permit.
(1) The city manager or her designee, upon receipt of an application, shall promptly circulate it to the chief of police, the fire chief, the director of neighborhood and leisure services if the proposed location is a park, and the director of public works, or their designees, and to any other city departments with relevant responsibilities.
(2) The city manager or her designee shall issue the permit within twenty-one (21) days after receipt of the completed application for a parade, public assembly or expressive activity described in subsection (d)(1)(A) above, and within three (3) days after receipt of an application for a parade, public assembly or expressive activity described in subsection (d)(1)(B) above, if it is determined that the proposed parade, public assembly or expressive activity will not endanger the public health, welfare or safety, based upon its meeting all of the following requirements:
(A) The time, duration, route and size of the event will not unreasonably interrupt the safe and orderly movement of vehicular or pedestrian traffic;
(B) The time, duration, route and size of the event will not require the diversion of so great a number of police and fire personnel to properly police the line of movement in the areas contiguous thereto so as to impair the normal protection of the remainder of the city;
(C) The applicant has, where appropriate, designated monitors sufficient to control the orderly conduct of the event in conformity with such permit;
(D) The conduct of the event will not unduly interfere with the proper fire and police protection of, or ambulance service to, the remainder of the city, or unreasonably disrupt other public services and protection normally provided to the city;
(E) The event will not interfere with another event for which a permit has been granted;
(F) The event proposed will not violate, and will conform with all applicable regulations and laws governing the activities of the proposed event; and
(G) The applicant has, unless exempted, met all requirements concerning fees and insurance.
(3) The city manager or her designee shall not issue the permit if any information supplied by the applicant is false or intentionally misleading.
(4) The city manager or her designee shall have the authority to and shall make reasonable efforts to consider an application hereunder which is not filed within the applicable deadlines before the proposed date of the parade, public assembly or expressive activity. The city manager or her designee shall waive the deadline if, after due consideration of the date, time, place and nature of the event, the anticipated number of participants and the city services required in connection with the event, and where good cause is otherwise shown, the city manager or her designee determines that the waiver of the permit application deadline will not present an undue hazard to public safety.
(5) If the city manager or her designee denies an application, she shall promptly attempt to call and will promptly mail to the applicant a notice of her action, stating the reasons for her denial of the permit.
(6) If two (2) or more applications are submitted requesting a permit under this section for a parade, public assembly or expressive activity to be used at the same date, time and place, the application first filed shall be granted if it meets the requirements of this section.
(7) Nothing in this section shall permit the city manager or her designee to deny a permit based upon political, social or religious grounds or reasons or based upon the content of the views expressed. Denial of a permit on such grounds is prohibited.
(8) The issuance of a permit under this section shall not excuse the applicant from any other license or permit requirements that may be otherwise necessary for the proposed event, such as business licenses and health permits.
(g) Alternative permit. The city manager or her designee shall have the authority to modify the route, time and place of a parade, public assembly or expressive activity to facilitate crowd control in the interest of relieving congestion and promoting public safety, provided that the applicant's rights under the First Amendment are not denied thereby. The city manager or her designee may temporarily close any street in the city affected by a parade when in her judgment the public safety so requires.
(h) Notice to various officials. Immediately upon the issuance of a permit under this section, the city manager or her designee shall send a copy thereof to the following:
(1) The chief of police;
(2) The fire chief;
(3) The director of public works; and
(4) The director of neighborhood and leisure services if the location is a park.
(i) Compliance with directions and standards. Every person to whom a permit is issued under these sections [this section] shall comply with all permit terms and conditions and with all applicable regulations and laws. The parade, public assembly or expressive activity chairman or other person heading or leading the event shall carry the permit upon his person during the conduct of the event, and show the permit when requested to do so.
(j) Revocation of permit. The city manager or her designee shall have the authority to revoke any permit issued pursuant to this section if any information supplied by the applicant is discovered to be false or intentionally misleading, or if any term, condition, restriction or limitation of the permit has been substantially violated, or if there is any continued violation of the terms, conditions, restrictions or limitations of the permit after the applicant or anyone acting in concert with him is notified of a violation of the permit by an appropriate law enforcement official.
(k) Public conduct during events.
(1) Interference. No person shall unreasonably hamper, obstruct, impede or interfere with any parade, public assembly or expressive activity or with any person, vehicle or animal participating or used in such an event.
(2) Driving through parades. No driver of a vehicle shall drive between the vehicles, persons or animals comprising a parade except when otherwise directed by a police officer. This shall not apply to authorized emergency vehicles.
(3) Parking on parade route or the area of a public assembly or expressive activity. The city manager or her designee shall have the authority, when reasonably necessary, to prohibit or restrict the parking of vehicles along the public streets or public rights-of-way constituting a part of the route of a parade or an area in which a public assembly or expressive activity will occur. The city manager or her designee, shall post signs to such effect, and it shall be unlawful for any person to park or leave unattended any vehicle in violation thereof. No person shall be liable for parking on a street unposted in violation of this section.
(l) Parades in street; relocation of parades from the street to the sidewalk.
(1) Parades consisting of twenty-five (25) or fewer people and no vehicles shall be confined to the sidewalks and shall not enter the street except for the purpose of crossing from one sidewalk to another.
(2) Parades for which a permit to parade in the street has been issued shall be converted to sidewalk parades on the order of the police officer in charge at the scene if, at the time designated for the start of the parade in the permit, the officer in charge determines:
(A) There are no vehicles prepared to participate in the parade; and
(B) There are twenty-five (25) or fewer people prepared to participate in the parade.
(3) Every person to whom a parade permit is issued and all participants therein shall obey the instructions converting a street parade to a sidewalk parade of the police officer in charge at the scene as though those were the terms and conditions of the original written permit.
(m) Nonpublic forums. Parades, public assemblies and expressive activities are prohibited in nonpublic forums because they are not compatible with the purpose, facts and circumstances of such properties. However, by special written permit the city manager or her designee may allow such an event in a nonpublic forum when under all the facts and circumstances it is determined that the specific event and the specific nonpublic forum are not incompatible. Decisions concerning requests for access to nonpublic forums by special written permit shall be made only with the advice and consent of the city attorney to ensure any denials or restrictions are viewpoint neutral and otherwise consistent with the public forum doctrine under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, as created and revised by the courts.
(n) Severability. If any portion of this section is for any reason held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the remaining portions of this section, and such invalid provisions or portions thereof shall be severable.
(o) Penalty. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.
(Ord. No. 43,391, § 1, 3-24-09)
