Ventura County Municipal Code Art. 2.5 Teen-Age Dances

No person shall open, conduct, stage, sponsor or operate a teen-age dance, or series of teen-age dances, or allow any teen-age dance to be held without a license issued pursuant to this article.

A license for a teen-age dance is not required of any agency or department of the County of Ventura, recognized educational institution, recreation and park districts, or other political subdivisions of the State of California which are normally engaged in youth or child-serving activities.

Application for a teen-age dance license shall be made to the Sheriff a minimum of thirty (30) days prior to the dance by an adult sponsoring group on an application form approved by the Sheriff; such application shall contain, but is not limited to, the following information:

(a) Name and address of the adult sponsoring group;

(b) The date upon which the dance is to be held;

(c) The address of the place where the dance is to be held;

(d) The time at which the dance is to begin and end;

(e) The approximate attendance expected and the minimum number of adult supervisors who will be in attendance at all times during the holding of the dance; minimum number of adult supervisors shall not be less than one (1) per fifty (50) teen-agers, or fraction thereof, in attendance; in no event shall there by less than two (2) adult supervisors;

(f) The names and addresses of the adult supervisors who will be in attendance at said dance;

(g) The approximate expenses to be incurred as an incident to holding said dance, and the admission charge or donation, if any, required as an incident to the attendance of said dance;

(h) The minimum number of law enforcement officers to be employed by the sponsoring group and to be in attendance at all times during the holding of the dance; the minimum to be not less than one (1) per hundred (100) teen-agers, or fraction thereof, in attendance; or such larger number as the Sheriff determines is necessary for proper law enforcement;

(i) Certification that the place or premises where the dance will be held is reasonably adequate for the purposes and conforms with existing health, safety and fire ordinances of the County of Ventura, and specifying the maximum number of persons that may safely be accommodated at the dance.

Upon the filing of an application for a teen-age dance license the Sheriff shall cause to be made such investigations as he deems necessary, and if the Sheriff shall find that the conducting of said dance for which the license is requested, and at the place set forth in the application, will not violate any law or ordinance of the County of Ventura, or any law of the State of California or constitute a menace to the health, peace, or safety of the community, and the applicant is an adult sponsoring group approved by the Sheriff, and has not had a permit revoked by the Sheriff within one (1) year prior to the application, the Sheriff shall approve the application for a license. The fee for the license shall be $30.00 per year.

(Am. Ord. 2449—4/27/71)

All places where teen-age dances are held shall be adequately lighted at all times when open for dancing so as to permit adequate supervision in all parts of the building and premises accessible to participants.

All off-street parking facilities made available for the participants of teen-age dances shall be adequately lighted and supervised.

No minor admitted to a teen-age dance shall be permitted to leave and thereafter re-enter the dancing premises during the course of the event, and no pass-out checks shall be issued unless required by the physical arrangements of the premises.

No alcoholic beverages shall be sold, consumed or be available on the premises in or about which any teen-age dance is held. Admission to a teen-age dance shall be denied to any person showing evidence of drinking any alcoholic beverage or who has any alcoholic beverage on his person.

All dancing shall be of an acceptable social standard and the dress of the participants must be in conformity with accepted standards. Sufficient adult supervision shall be provided at all teen-age dances to insure that accepted standards of social conduct are followed.

No dancing at any teen-age dance shall be permitted after the hour of twelve o'clock midnight, unless the license issued for that dance specifically authorizes the continuance for a later hour. Application for authorization to continue dancing after the hour of twelve o'clock midnight may be issued in the discretion of the Sheriff.

A person twenty (20) years of age or over shall not attend any teen-age dance as a participant. This does not prohibit the attendance of chaperons, parents, or sponsors who do not participate in the dancing.

The license issued pursuant to this article shall be available for inspection at all times when the dance is being conducted.

Any person who loiters on or about the premises at which a teen-age dance is being conducted is guilty of a misdemeanor.

The following words and phrases whenever used in this article, shall be construed as defined in this section:

(a) "Adult sponsoring group" shall mean a responsible non-profit organization or association having as one of its objectives the sponsoring, regulation and control of youth activities, and which assumes full and complete responsibility for the direction of a teen-age dance, the receipts or contributions from which are to be expended for only recognized charitable or benevolent purposes.

(b) "Non-profit dance" shall mean a dance where the expenses incurred in connection therewith are reasonable, and the net receipts of any admission fee or contributions collected are expended exclusively for recognized charitable or benevolent purposes.

(c) "Teen-ager" shall mean any person who is thirteen (13) years of age or over, and under the age of twenty (20) years.

(d) "Teen-age dance" shall mean a non-profit dance held or conducted exclusively for teen-agers and to which no persons twenty (20) years of age or older are permitted as participants.

(e) "Alcoholic beverage" shall mean and include alcohol, spirits, liquor, wine, beer and every liquid or solid containing alcohol, spirits, wine, or beer and which contains one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume and which is fit by beverage purposes either alone or when diluted, mixed or combined with other substances.