As used in this chapter:
"Parade"
means any march, demonstration, procession, motorcade, or promenade consisting of persons, animals, or vehicles, or a combination thereof, having a common purpose, design, destination, or goal, upon any public place, which parade, march, demonstration, procession, motorcade, or promenade does not comply with normal and usual traffic regulations or control.
"Assembly"
means any meeting, demonstration, picket line, rally, gathering, or group other than a parade, as defined in subsection (a), that substantially inhibits the usual flow of pedestrian or vehicular travel on a public right-of-way or in a public place or: (i) is comprised of one hundred fifty or more persons, animals, or vehicles, or a combination thereof; (ii) has a common purpose, design, or goal; and (iii) is located upon any public street, sidewalk, alley, park, or other public place or occupies any public area.
"City Manager"
means the City Manager of Santa Maria, or a person designated by the City Manager to act in his or her place.
(Prior Code § 15-38(99); Ord. 2007-09, eff. 7/5/07)
Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, no person shall engage in, conduct, or carry on the activity of a parade or assembly without a permit issued under the provisions of this chapter.
(Prior Code § 15-38(99); Ord. 2007-09, eff. 7/5/07; Ord. 2010-03, eff. 5/20/10)
The permit application provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the following
(a) 
Funeral processions.
(b) 
Spontaneous parades or assemblies occasioned by news or affairs coming into public knowledge within five days of such parade or assembly; provided, however, that the organizers thereof give written notice to the City at least twenty-four hours prior to such parade or assembly, if it is feasible to do so. If twenty-four hour notice is not feasible, the organizers of a spontaneous event shall provide as much advance notice, written if possible, as is feasible under the circumstances. Such written notice shall contain all of the following information:
(1) 
The name, address and telephone number of the person or persons seeking to conduct the parade or assembly. This person or these persons shall be considered a permittee for the purposes of this chapter;
(2) 
The name, address and telephone number of the headquarters of the organization, if any, and of the organizer or responsible head of such organization by whom or on whose behalf the parade or assembly is proposed to be conducted;
(3) 
The name, address and telephone number of the person who will chair the parade or assembly and who will be responsible for its conduct;
(4) 
The location and date of the proposed parade or assembly, including the assembly area, dispersal area, and the route to be traveled;
(5) 
An estimate of the approximate number of persons who will be participating in the parade or assembly and an estimate of the approximate number of persons who will be observing the parade or assembly;
(6) 
The times at which the parade or assembly will start and conclude;
(7) 
The type of security or other arrangements that will be provided to assure that participants are properly directed.
(c) 
The City Manager may deny permission to conduct the parade or assembly within eighteen hours of the submission of the notice pursuant to subsection (b) of this section if the City Manager makes a finding requiring denial pursuant to Section 8-4.05. If the City Manager makes a finding requiring denial pursuant to that subsection, the City Manager shall immediately provide notice of the denial, including the reason for the denial.
(Prior Code § 15-38(99); Ord. 2007-09, eff. 7/5/07; Ord. 2010-03, eff. 5/20/10)
(a) 
A person seeking issuance of a permit pursuant to this chapter shall file an application with the City Manager, on forms supplied by the city.
(b) 
The application shall be filed with the City Manager not less than six days prior to the date of parades or assemblies, except as otherwise provided in this Chapter.
(c) 
An application shall include the following information and other information requested by the form that the City Manager determines to be reasonably necessary to allow the City to process the application and to serve the purposes of this ordinance:
(1) 
The name, address and telephone number of the person or persons seeking to conduct the parade or assembly;
(2) 
The name, address and telephone number of the headquarters of the organization, if any, and of the organizer or responsible head of such organization by whom or on whose behalf the parade or assembly is proposed to be conducted;
(3) 
The name, address and telephone number of the person who will chair the parade or assembly and who will be responsible for its conduct;
(4) 
The location and date of the proposed parade or assembly, including the assembly area, dispersal area, and the route to be traveled. Where parade routes, assembly areas or dispersal areas will be located in a City park, the Department of Recreation and Parks must be notified upon submission of the application;
(5) 
An estimate of the approximate number of persons who will be expected to participate in the parade or assembly and an estimate of the approximate number of persons expected to observe the parade or assembly;
(6) 
The times when the parade or assembly will start and conclude;
(7) 
The type of security or other arrangements that will be provided to ensure that participants are properly directed as to the approved parade route or assembly area;
(8) 
The minimum and maximum speeds that the parade is to travel, if vehicles are included, and the maximum number of platoons or units, if any, in the parade or assembly and the maximum and minimum distance to be maintained between the units of such parade or assembly;
(9) 
The maximum length of such parade or assembly in miles or fractions thereof;
(10) 
The number and type of vehicles, if any, in the parade or assembly;
(11) 
Whether the participants in the parade or assembly are expected to wear masks;
(12) 
Except as provided in subparagraph (d) below, a statement signed by the person seeking the permit that the permittee agrees to defend, protect, indemnify and hold the city, its officers, employees, agents, and volunteers free and harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, expenses, loss or liability of any kind or nature whatsoever arising out of, or resulting from, the alleged willful or negligent acts or omissions of permittee, or its officers, agents, or employees in connection with the permitted parade or assembly; and the permit shall expressly provide that the permittee shall, at permittee's own cost, risk and expense, defend any and all such claims and all legal actions that may be commenced or filed against the city, its officers, agents, employees, or volunteers, and that the permittee shall pay any settlement entered into and shall satisfy any judgment that may be rendered against the city, its officers, agents, employees, or volunteers as a result of the alleged willful or negligent acts or omissions of permittee or permittees' officers, agents or employees in connection with the permitted parade or assembly; and
(13) 
If assembly dispersal area is on or partly on private property, the applicant must submit with the application proof of the property owner's permission for the property to be used for that purpose.
(d) 
An applicant may refuse to provide the indemnity agreement required by paragraph (c)(12) of this section by providing insurance or by cooperating with the City Manager in establishing standards for the parade or assembly to reduce the risk of liability against which insurance or indemnity are intended to protect the City as specified in this paragraph. The amount of insurance required to displace the indemnity requirement shall be based on any specific, demonstrable history of personal injury or property damage claims awarded against the applicant attributable to the applicant's conduct of previous events in the City that are similar in nature to the proposed event and upon the size and location of the event, but not its expressive content nor any expected reaction to that expressive content by others. Such insurance shall protect the City and its officers, agents and employees as additional insureds against any claim to which the indemnity promise set forth in paragraph (c)(12) above would apply. If an applicant wishes to provide neither insurance nor an indemnity, he, she or it shall agree to redesign or reschedule the permitted event to respond to specific risks, hazards and dangers to the public health and safety identified by the City Manager as being reasonably foreseeable consequences of the permitted parade or assembly.
(e) 
Within twenty-four hours after the submission of the application, the City Manager must notify the applicant, in writing, whether the application is complete. If no such timely notice is given, the application will be deemed to be complete.
(Prior Code § 15-38(99); Ord. 2005-01, eff. 3/3/05; Ord. 2007-09, eff. 7/5/07; Ord. 2010-03, eff. 5/20/10; Ord. 2019-09, eff. 12/19/19)
(a) 
The following criteria shall apply to issuance or denial of a parade or assembly permit.
(b) 
The permit shall be issued by the City Manager unless s/he finds that:
(1) 
The information contained in the application is false or intentionally misleading; or
(2) 
The parade or assembly is proposed for the same time and location as another parade or assembly, with the first filed of two or conflicting applications otherwise entitled to approval under this chapter to be approved and the later-filed application denied; or
(3) 
The proposed route or location of the parade or assembly traverses a street or other public right-of-way that was scheduled for maintenance, construction or repair prior to the application for that parade or assembly permit and the conduct of the parade or assembly would interfere with such maintenance, construction or repair or the maintenance, construction or repair would represent a threat to the health or safety of the participants in the parade or assembly, in which case the City Manager shall inform the applicant of other suitable routes and invite an amended application to use such a route; or
(4) 
The proposed area for the assembly or for the set-up or dispersal of a parade could not physically accommodate the number of participants expected to participate in the parade or assembly, as reflected in the application completed and submitted pursuant to the requirements of this chapter; or
(5) 
The parade would result in a violation of any federal, state or local law or regulation. Upon making any finding set forth in this subsection, the City Manager shall deny the permit application and give notice as required by Section 8-4.07 of this chapter.
(c) 
As a condition of the issuance of a permit under the provisions of this chapter, the City Manager may require that a parade or assembly be limited to a portion of the width of the street or right-of-way upon which the applicant seeks to conduct the parade or assembly (such as a particular traffic lane or a sidewalk) or require that the parade or assembly relocate so as to avoid unsafe conflicts with vehicular travel or other permitted parades or assemblies; provided, that such limitation does not limit or interfere with the conduct of the parade or assembly or cause the parade or assembly to violate any other provision of this chapter or any other federal, state or local law or regulation.
(Prior Code § 15-38(99); Ord. 2005-01, eff. 3/3/05; Ord. 2007-09, eff. 7/5/07; Ord. 2010-03, eff. 5/20/10)
The City Manager shall consider each application upon its merits and shall not discriminate in granting or denying applications, and shall not deny any permit based upon political or religious grounds, the content of any message associated with the parade or assembly, or any other reason not expressly stated in this chapter.
(Prior Code § 15-38(99); Ord. 2007-09, eff. 7/5/07)
(a) 
The City Manager shall approve or deny the permit application and shall provide notice to the applicant of the action taken by telephone and by written notice sent via mail and by fax and/or email, if the applicant provides a fax number or email address, within two days after submission of the application.
(b) 
If the permit is denied or conditionally approved as provided in Section 8-4.05(c), the notice of denial or conditional approval shall set forth the reasons for denial or conditional approval. A copy of the notice of denial shall be delivered to the City Attorney by fax or email.
(c) 
The decision of the City Manager to approve, conditionally approve, or deny a permit shall be final except for judicial review.
(Prior Code § 15-38(99); Ord. 2007-09, eff. 7/5/07; Ord. 2010-03, eff. 5/20/10; Ord. 2011-02, 5/5/11)
(a) 
The City Manager shall set forth in each permit the following information if and as that information is set forth in the approved application:
(1) 
The name, address and telephone number of the person to whom the permit is issued;
(2) 
The names, addresses and telephone numbers of the sponsoring organization, if any;
(3) 
The name, address and telephone number of the chairperson of the parade or assembly;
(4) 
The date for which the parade or assembly is scheduled;
(5) 
The assembly area for the parade or assembly;
(6) 
The starting and ending time for the parade or assembly;
(7) 
The minimum and maximum speeds at which the parade is to progress, if vehicles are to be used;
(8) 
The route which the parade or assembly will take;
(9) 
The maximum number of platoons or units, if any, in the parade or assembly and the maximum and minimum distance to be maintained between the units of such parade or assembly;
(10) 
The maximum length of such parade or assembly in miles or fractions thereof;
(11) 
The dispersal area for the parade or assembly and the dispersal time;
(12) 
The number and type of vehicles, if any, in the parade or assembly;
(13) 
Whether any participants in the parade or assembly are expected to wear masks;
(14) 
The type of security or other arrangements that will be provided to ensure participants are properly directed as to the approved parade route or assembly area; and
(15) 
Any condition imposed pursuant to Section 8-4.05(c)
(b) 
The information requested by Section 8-4.04(c)(11) and required to be reflected in a permit by Section 8-4.08(a)(13) is for the information of law enforcement only and is not to be construed as permission for, or a restriction on, the use of masks by any person for expressive purposes.
(c) 
A copy of each permit shall be kept upon the person in charge of the parade or assembly at the parade or assembly site at all times during the parade or assembly, including during assembly and dispersal. The permittee shall advise all participants in the parade or assembly of the terms and conditions of the permit prior to the commencement of the parade or assembly and shall advise all leaders, monitors or others authorized by the permittee to guide the parade or assembly participants of those terms and conditions.
(Ord. 2007-09, eff. 7/5/07; Ord. 2010-03, eff. 5/20/10)
A permittee under the provisions of this chapter shall reimburse the city for all traffic control costs incurred in connection with diverting traffic due to the closure of streets to accommodate a parade or assembly. These costs shall be established from time to time by the city council by resolution prior to the date of any event to which those costs will be charged. No fee shall be charged based upon the need for security or increased police protection due to the content of any message associated with the parade or assembly.
(Ord. 2007-09, eff. 7/5/07)
No person shall knowingly join or participate in any parade or assembly conducted under permit from the city, in violation of any of the terms of said permit, nor knowingly join or participate in any permitted parade or assembly without the consent of the permittee, nor in any manner interfere with its progress or orderly conduct.
(Ord. 2007-09, eff. 7/5/07)
The following prohibitions shall apply to all parades and assemblies:
(a) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to carry any sign, poster, plaque, or notice, unless such sign, poster, plaque, or notice is constructed solely of a cloth, paper, plastic, cardboard or any similar, lightweight, flexible material no greater than one-quarter inch in thickness.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to ride, drive, or cause to be ridden or driven any animal or any animal-drawn vehicle upon any public street, unless specifically authorized by a permit.
(c) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to carry, possess or wear any gas mask or similar device designed to filter air breathed and that would protect the respiratory tract and face against irritating, noxious or poisonous gases lawfully used by public safety officers for the control of unlawful gatherings.
(d) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to abide by the instructions of a traffic control officer given for the purpose of accommodating traffic, including emergency vehicles, through and across the route or location of a parade or assembly.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit a disabled person from using equipment, a service animal or other item necessary so that the person may participate in a parade or assembly.
(Ord. 2007-09, eff. 7/5/07)
Any intentional violation of this chapter or the terms or conditions of a parade or assembly permit by a permittee or a participant in a parade or assembly is a misdemeanor punishable pursuant to Chapter 1-6 of this Code, including, without limitation, the authority of the City Attorney to prosecute any violation as an infraction pursuant to Section 1-6.02.
(Ord. 2007-09, eff. 7/5/07)