Lassen County Municipal Code Ch. 5.12 Outdoor Festivals

For the purpose of this chapter "outdoor festivals" means and includes any outdoor gathering of individuals for the purpose of participation in rock dances and similar musical and/or theatrical type performances which are of a periodic nature and to which the public is admitted with or without the payment of admission charges.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-1, 1976)

(a) It is unlawful for any individual, partnership or corporation to operate, maintain, conduct, advertise, sell or furnish tickets or other types of written authority for admission to an outdoor festival in the unincorporated area of Lassen County unless he, they or it first obtains a license from the county to operate or conduct such festival.

(b) Application for a license to conduct an outdoor festival shall be made in writing to the board of supervisors of Lassen County, accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of one hundred dollars and filed with the county license collector as designated by Ordinance 337, Section 3, codified at 5.04.020, and shall contain the following information:

(1) The name, age, residence, mailing address and telephone number of the applicant. If the application is made by a partnership, the names and addresses of all general partners shall be included. If the applicant is a corporation, the application shall be signed by the president and attested to by the secretary thereof and shall contain the names and addresses of all corporate officers and a certified copy of the articles of incorporation shall be attached to the application. The address and telephone number of the principal place of business of the applicant shall also be included in the application;

(2) The location and legal description of the premises where the outdoor festival is proposed to be conducted, including all lands to be used for parking or other uses incidental to the outdoor activity. The applicant shall submit proof of ownership of the premises for the written consent of all owners thereof for the proposed use;

(3) The date or dates and the hours during which the festival is to be conducted;

(4) An estimate of the maximum number of spectators, participants and other persons expected to attend the outdoor festival for each day it is conducted;

(5) A detailed explanation of the applicant's program and plans to provide security protection, water supply, food supply, sanitation facilities, medical facilities and services, vehicle parking space, vehicle access and on-site traffic control, and if it is proposed or expected that spectators or participants will remain at night or overnight, the arrangements for illuminating the premises and for camping or similar facilities, applicant's plans to provide for number of spectators in excess of the estimate, and provisions for cleanup of the premises and removal of rubbish after the event has concluded;

(6) A detailed explanation of the applicant's plan for policing the activity with particular emphasis on the control and prevention of alcoholic and drug consumption;

(7) All loudspeakers and sound equipment to be used and the intensity of the sound, in decibels, at the boundaries of the premises;

(8) The names and addresses of all persons who will act as security guards during the outdoor festival;

(9) Such other information pertinent to the outdoor festival as any county officer finds necessary and requires in order to determine whether or not the license should be granted and, if granted, the conditions of such license;

(10) A consent to the entry at any time in the course of his duties of any peace officer, the Lassen County engineer state forestry employees or fire wardens, sheriff, county health officer and any other county officer in the performance of his duties.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-2(A), 1976)

At the time of filing an application for a license for an outdoor festival the applicant, at the same time, also shall file:

(1) Four copies of white background prints of a map drawn to scale, showing:

(A) The location of the property concerned,

(B) The location of all highways, streets, alleys, lots and parcels of land within seven hundred feet of the exterior boundaries of the proposed use,

(C) The location of the parking area and of all other areas to be used for other uses incidental to the outdoor festival,

(D) All interior accessways,

(E) Access to the property,

(F) The location and detailed plans of all buildings and structures on the premises or to be erected, including the bandstand, stage, or other facility for performers,

(G) The location of all loudspeakers,

(H) The location of all toilet, medical, drinking and other facilities,

(2) A certified list as shown on the latest available assessment roll of the county of the names and addresses of all persons to whom all property is assessed within five hundred feet of the exterior boundaries of the proposed use;

(3) A document showing that the applicant is the owner of the premises or an agreement in writing signed by the owner permitting such use of the premises and the filing of the application;

(4) The agreements or contracts which show what doctors, first-aid attendants and ambulances will be available at the outdoor festival;

(5) An agreement signed by the applicant that, within seventy-two hours after the conclusion of the outdoor festival, he will clean up the premises and remove all trash and debris therefrom. Such agreement shall be secured by an undertaking or assignment of savings and loan shares or certificates or both in a total amount of not less than five thousand dollars;

(6) If such outdoor festival is not exclusively devoted to religious worship and music incidental thereto, an agreement signed by the applicant and by the owner of the subject premises that they will reimburse all owners and occupants of property adjoining the subject premises for all damages of any kind to such owners or occupants or to their property caused by the applicant, owner of the subject premises, or by any person attending the outdoor festival, which damage would not have occurred had the outdoor festival not been held, and an undertaking, policy of insurance, or agreement accompanied by the assignment of savings and loan shares or certificates, or a combination of any two or all of the above as provided in this section.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-2B, 1976)

The undertaking required by subsection (6) of Section 5.12.030 shall be for the benefit of the county and all persons to whom the licensee or owner may become liable because of the agreement required by subsection (6) or arising from the conduct of the licensee of the outdoor festival.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-2B(l), 1976)

The insurance policy required by subsection (6) of Section 5.12.030 shall insure the licensee and owner of the subject property against all liability incurred by them or either of them to the county or to any person, which liability arises pursuant to the agreement required by subsection (6) of Section 5.12.030 or arising from the conduct of the licensee of the outdoor festival.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-2B(2), 1976)

An applicant for a license for an outdoor festival who deposits with the tax collector and assigns to the county savings and loan certificates or shares in lieu of, or in addition to, the undertaking or policy of insurance required by subsection (6) of Section 5.12.030, also, at the same time shall file with the tax collector an agreement in writing in which he agrees that the county may, satisfy either in whole or in part, from such certificates or shares, any final judgment or any judgment upon which execution may issue, the payment of which is, or would have been guaranteed by the undertaking required by this chapter.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-2B(3), 1976)

The undertaking, policy of insurance, and savings and loan certificates or shares assigned shall each be in such an amount that the total shall not be less than fifty thousand dollars.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-2B(4), 1976)

If an application is filed prior to August 3, 1976, for a license to conduct an outdoor festival, it shall be valid and treated as if it were filed after August 3, 1976, if in all respects it complies with the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-2B(5), 1976)

(a) If, on August 3, 1976, there is pending an application for a license required by Ordinance 337, as codified in Chapter 5.04 of this code, as it read immediately prior to August 3, 1976, and if the activity for which such license is applied for is an outdoor festival, such application may be treated as an application pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. Such application shall be deemed sufficient if it complies with Section 5.04.010 except the applicant also shall supply such information and such documents as are required by this chapter and are requested by any county officer including the board of supervisors.

(b) Such application shall be filed with the Lassen County license collector at least sixty days prior to the time indicated for the commencement of the planned activity. The license collector shall review and submit such application to the board of supervisors and no license shall be issued by the license collector until that officer is authorized to do so by order of the board of supervisors at a regular meeting of the board.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A §§ 2-2B(6), 2-2C, 1976)

Upon receipt of a complete application and the application fee, the license collector shall request the board of supervisors to set a time and date for a public hearing and the board of supervisors shall set the application for a public hearing at a regular meeting of the board, not less than fifteen nor more than thirty days thereafter, and shall give not less than ten days' written notice thereof to the applicant. The clerk of the board of supervisors shall give notice of the hearing and copies of the application to the sheriff, the county health officer, the director of public works and the planning administrator, who shall investigate the matter and report in writing to the board of supervisors not later than the time set for the hearing, with appropriate recommendations concerning the activity.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-3, 1976)

(a) The board of supervisors shall consider the documentary and testimonial evidence of witnesses presented at the hearing, including all reports of investigation, and shall thereafter grant the license without conditions or with conditions which must be met, including security required from the applicant as a guarantee that the conditions will be met, before a license is granted.

If conditions are imposed by the board, the applicant shall furnish or cause to be furnished to the license collector proof that all conditions have been met, and the required security has been given, before the license may be issued by the license collector.

(b) Security required by the board of supervisors may include the posting of an indemnity bond and/or a performance bond in favor of the county in connection with the operation of a public outdoor festival as defined in this chapter. Such bond or bonds shall be prepared by a corporate bonding company authorized to do business in the state by the Department of Insurance, in an amount determined by the board of supervisors of Lassen County. The bond or bonds shall indemnify the county, its agents, officers, employees and the board of supervisors of the county against any and all loss, injury and damage of any nature whatsoever arising out of, or in any way connected with, said outdoor festival and shall indemnify against loss, injury and damage to both person and property.

The board of supervisors may also require that the applicant provide a corporate surety bond prepared by a corporate bonding company authorized to do business in the state of California, indemnifying Lassen County and the owners of property adjoining the outdoor festival site for all costs necessitated by such activity to clean up and/or remove debris, trash, garbage or other waste from, in and around the premises. Such bond shall be in an amount determined by the Lassen County board of supervisors as in its discretion will adequately provide for such indemnification.

The board of supervisors may also require that the applicant provide a corporate surety bond by a corporate bonding company authorized to do business in the state of California securing the performance of each condition imposed as to the issuance of the license. All such conditions shall appear on the license.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(A), 1976)

(a) The licensee shall provide drinking water which the health officer first finds potable and of acceptable quality for a public water system in accordance with applicable provisions of law by providing drinking fountains as follows:

(1) One drinking fountain for the first one hundred persons;

(2) Two drinking fountains for more than one hundred but less than five hundred persons;

(3) One additional drinking fountain for each additional five hundred persons or fraction thereof.

(b) If the health officer finds that lesser or different facilities are sufficient instead of the above, the licensee shall provide such facilities.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(B)(1), 1976)

The licensee shall provide at least one water closet and one urinal for every two hundred males and one water closet for every one hundred females, or major fraction of such number permitted to attend, unless the health officer finds that a lesser number is sufficient in which case he shall provide such number. If a compartment contains one water closet and one urinal the licensee may count it as one water closet or as one urinal but not as both. The sanitary facilities shall first be approved by the health officer. The health officer shall approve such facilities if he finds that they comply with applicable state and county health regulations.

The licensee shall provide one lavatory for each two fixtures required. Where both sexes are admitted, the sexes shall be assumed to be equally divided.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(B)(2), 1976)

Every premises on which an outdoor festival is conducted shall have on such premises or contiguous thereto automobile storage spaces equal to one fifth of the number of persons which the license permits to attend the outdoor festival unless the county engineer finds that a smaller number is sufficient in which case the licensee shall provide such lesser number. The automobile parking spaces shall be graded, marked and separated by a physical barrier from the area where the patrons will watch the performance. At all times between one hour before the beginning of the outdoor festival and one hour after its termination the licensee shall provide parking attendants at all entrances, exits and within the parking lots.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(B)(3), 1976)

(a) At every outdoor festival one male employee approved by the sheriff for each two hundred persons which the license permits to attend, whether actually present or not, shall be constantly in attendance during the entire time the outdoor festival is in progress, and shall devote his entire time and attention to keeping order, and observing and enforcing all applicable statutes and ordinances including this chapter.

(b) The board of supervisors shall approve a security guard unless it finds, as a ground of disapproval, any such person has been convicted of any of the following offenses within the last five years in a court of competent jurisdiction:

(1) Any crime requiring registration under Section 290 of the Penal Code; or

(2) Any violation of Chapter 7.5 (beginning with Section 311) of Title 9, Part 1 of the Penal Code; or

(3) Any violation of Chapter 7.6 (beginning with Section 313) of Title 9, of Part 1 of the Penal Code; or

(4) Any violation of Paragraphs (a), (b), or (d) of Section 647 of the Penal Code; or

(5) Any violation of Section 315, or 316 or 318 of the Penal Code; or

(6) Any offense involving the use of force or violence upon the person of another; or

(7) Any offense involving the maintenance of a nuisance in connection with the same or similar business operation.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(B)(4), 1976)

The licensee shall provide all fire protection and fire safety measures as the State Division of Forestry and chief of any fire protection district within whose jurisdiction the license is sought finds necessary to protect those attending the outdoor festival.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(B)(5), 1976)

If the hours during which the outdoor festival can be held as provided in the license are such that any portion thereof is between sunset of one day and sunrise the following day or the license permits any participant to remain overnight, the licensee shall provide such lighting, including the location of all light standards and electrical switches as the county engineer finds necessary for public safety and welfare.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(B)(6), 1976)

Within seventy-two hours after the end of an outdoor festival the licensee shall clean up the premises and remove all trash and debris therefrom.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337 337-A § 2-4(B)(7), 1976)

The licensee shall install and, at all times during which the outdoor festival is in progress, maintain an emergency communications system which both the sheriff and Division of Forestry and chief of any fire protection district within whose jurisdiction the license is sought adequate for fire and police protection.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(B)(8), 1976)

The licensee shall operate the outdoor festival only on those days and during the hours specified on the license.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(B)(9), 1976)

The licensee shall not admit, and shall prevent the entrance of, to the premises on which the outdoor festival is held, any person who does not possess a ticket, except a peace officer or other public officer in the performance of his duties. Admission shall be by ticket only. The licensee shall not sell, give, or distribute a greater number of tickets than the number which the license permits to attend. The licensee shall not admit any person to an outdoor festival if such admission would result in a greater number of persons present than permitted by the license.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(B)(10), 1976)

A person shall not advertise or announce by any means or medium, including but not confined to pamphlets, handbills, newspapers, radio and television, the holding of an outdoor festival prior to the granting of a license permitting such outdoor festival. The licensee or other person shall not print, distribute, broadcast, or use any such advertising or announcement, or any other advertising of the outdoor festival which has not first been approved by the board of supervisors. The board of supervisors shall approve such advertising if it states that admission is by ticket only, if all statements are true and if there is no statement which might imply any conclusion contrary to fact.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(B)(11), 1976)

A person shall not enter, be, or remain on any part of the premises on which an outdoor festival is conducted while in the possession of, consuming, using, or under the influence of, any alcoholic beverage or drugs. The licensee shall not permit any such person to enter or remain upon the licensed premises.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(B)(12), 1976)

The licensee shall use such methods of dust control as are approved by the health officer. The health officer shall approve such methods if he finds that such methods will prevent the arising of dust to an extent which may endanger the public health or safety.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(B)(13), 1976)

The licensee shall provide all exterior and interior accessways which the sheriff and county engineer find necessary for the use of participants at the festival. All exterior and interior accessways shall be clearly delineated by means of curbs or buffers on the ground. A person shall not occupy any such accessway except for the purpose of access or to cross the same.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4(B)(14), 1976)

In selling, preparing, delivering, or serving food or beverages, or both, all persons shall comply with the California Restaurant Act, Chapter 11 (beginning with Section 28600) of Division 21 of the Health and Safety Code of the state of California.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-4 (B)(15), 1976)

Upon determining that the board of supervisors has ordered the issuance of the license pursuant to Sections 5.12.110 through 5.12.260, and that the conditions, if any, imposed by the board, have been complied with by the applicant, the license collector shall collect a license fee of five hundred dollars per day for each day for which the festival is scheduled and he shall issue a license to the applicant for the specific location authorized for the festival and for the specific days for which the festival is authorized.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-5, 1976)

A neighborhood or community benefit organization, organized for charitable, religious or eleemosynary purposes, shall be exempt from paying the application and license fees provided for in this chapter, provided that net proceeds from any such activity do not inure to the benefit of any private persons, partnership or corporation.

(Ord. 337, 1959; Ord. 337-A § 2-6, 1976)