Source: https://ecode360.com/6893328
Timestamp: 2019-11-21 16:34:16
Document Index: 372383586

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', 'Art. 11', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 202', '§ 682', '§ 595', 'Art. 11', '§ 202']

City of Bangor, ME Parades, Public Assemblies and Pickets
Ch 202 Art I Parades and Public Assemblies
§ 202-3 Permit required.
§ 202-5 Application for permit.
§ 202-6 Fees.
§ 202-7 Police protection.
§ 202-8 Standards for permit issuance.
§ 202-9 Nondiscrimination.
§ 202-10 Notice of decision.
§ 202-11 Alternate permit.
§ 202-12 Appeals.
§ 202-13 Notice to city officials and others.
§ 202-14 Contents of permit.
§ 202-15 Duties of permittee.
§ 202-16 Prohibited acts.
§ 202-17 Public conduct.
§ 202-18 Revocation of permit.
§ 202-19 Violations and penalties.
Ch 202 Art II Targeted Residential Pickets
§ 202-20 Legislative findings; adoption.
§ 202-21 Definitions.
§ 202-22 Prohibitions.
§ 202-23 Violations and penalties.
Chapter 202 Parades, Public Assemblies and Pickets
Article I Parades and Public Assemblies
Article II Targeted Residential Pickets
Article I Parades and Public Assemblies [1]
[Adopted as Ch. VI, Art. 11, amended 8-12-1996 by Ord. No. 96-199]
Editor's Note: As of the publication date of this Code, enforcement of this article relating to parades and public assemblies had been suspended pending revision of this article to comply with recent court decisions. Pending a revision of this article, parade permits are not currently required by the City of Bangor unless the parade concerned will require closure of the public streets to normal motor vehicle traffic.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Parade and Public Assembly Ordinance of the City of Bangor."
The person holding appointment as the City of Bangor Chief of Police or any other person actually performing duties as the City of Bangor Chief of Police on an acting, temporary or interim basis.
Any organized movement of persons in vehicles or on foot along a definite route or from one point to another, other than for ordinary transportation purposes.
Any march, demonstration or motorcade consisting of persons, animals or vehicles or a combination thereof upon the public streets, parks or sidewalks within the city that interferes with or has a tendency to interfere with the normal flow or regulation of vehicular or pedestrian traffic or that interferes with or has a tendency to interfere with access of any person to public or private premises.
Any meeting, demonstration, picket line or rally of three or more persons for a common purpose, as a result of prior planning, upon the public streets, parks or sidewalks of the city that interferes with or has a tendency to interfere with the normal flow or regulation of pedestrian or vehicular traffic or that interferes with or has a tendency to interfere with access of any person to public or private premises.
Any area, way or bridge set aside or open to the general public for purposes of pedestrian traffic, whether or not it is paved.
Any area, way or bridge set aside or open to the general public for purposes of vehicular traffic, including any berm, shoulder, parkway, right-of-way, traffic island or median strip thereof.
No person shall engage in, participate in, aid, form, start or conduct any parade or public assembly on any public street, park or sidewalk unless a permit is first obtained for that purpose from the Chief of Police.
Funeral processions which are not escorted by police vehicles and which comply with all motor laws. Funeral processions which are escorted by police vehicles for the intent of providing an uninterrupted route must provide a twenty-four-hour written or telephonic notice to the Chief of Police or his or her designee.
[Amended 12-9-1996 by Ord. No. 97-33]
Spontaneous events occasioned by news or affairs coming into public knowledge within three days prior to such parade or public assembly, provided that any organizer of such events gives written notice to the Chief of Police or his or her designee at least 24 hours prior to such parade or public assembly.
All vehicles which interfere with the normal flow of traffic are exempted if the activity is authorized in a permit issued by any state or federal agency.
A person seeking a parade or public assembly permit shall file an application with the Chief of Police on forms provided, and the application shall be signed by the applicant under oath.
An application for a permit shall be filed with the Chief of Police at least seven and not more than 30 days before the parade or public assembly is proposed to commence. The Chief of Police may waive the minimum seven-day filing period and accept an application filed within a shorter period if, after due consideration of the date, time, place and nature of the parade or public assembly, the anticipated number of participants and the city services required in connection with the event, the Chief of Police determines that the waiver will not present a hazard to public safety.
For parades or public assemblies to be held on a regular or recurring basis at the same location, an application for a permit covering all such parades or public assemblies for any period of up to 30 days may be filed with the Chief of Police at least seven and not more than 30 days before the date and time at which the first such parade or public assembly during the period covered by the application is proposed to take place. The Chief of Police may waive the seven-day filing period and accept an application filed within a shorter period if, after due consideration of the date, time, place and nature of the parade or public assembly, the anticipated number of participants and the city services required in connection with the event, the Chief of Police determines that the waiver will not present a hazard to public safety.
The name, address and telephone number of the person who will be the parade or assembly chair and who will be responsible for its conduct.
The route to be traveled, including the starting point and the termination point, or, if the parade or public assembly will occur at a fixed location, the location concerned.
The appropriate number of persons, animals and vehicles which will constitute the parade or public assembly and the types of animals and a description of the vehicles.
If the parade or public assembly is designed to be held by, or on behalf of, any person other than the applicant, the applicant for such permit shall file a letter from that person with the Chief of Police authorizing the applicant to apply for the permit on his or her behalf.
A description of any recording equipment, sound-amplification equipment, banners, signs or other attention-getting devices to be used in connection with the parade or public assembly.
The approximate number of participants (spectators are by definition not participants).
Any additional information that the Chief of Police finds reasonably necessary to a fair determination as to whether a permit should issue.
A nonrefundable fee of $5 to cover administrative costs of processing the permit shall be paid to the City of Bangor by the applicant when the application is filed. No more than one application fee shall be charged for each event for which a permit is sought. Multiple-date events for which a single permit is sought under § 202-5C above shall be charged a single five-dollar application fee. The Chief of Police shall waive this fee upon certification by the applicant that the applicant and any sponsoring organization are each unable to pay the fee.
If the application includes the use of any city property, other than streets, parks or sidewalks, or if any city services shall be required for the parade or public assembly, the applicant shall pay, prior to the issuance of a permit, the charges for those services in accordance with a schedule of service costs approved by the City Council.
The Chief of Police shall determine whether and to what extent additional police protection is reasonably necessary for the parade or public assembly for traffic control and public safety. The Chief of Police shall base this decision on the size, location, duration, time and date of the event, the expected sale or service of alcoholic beverages, the number of streets and intersections blocked and the need to detour or preempt citizen travel and use of the streets and sidewalks. The speech content of the event shall not be a factor in determining the amount of police protection necessary. If possible, without disruption of ordinary police services or compromise of public safety, regularly scheduled on-duty personnel will police the event. If additional police protection for the parade or public assembly is deemed necessary by the Chief of Police, he or she shall so inform the applicant for the permit. The applicant then shall have the duty to secure the police protection deemed necessary by the Chief of Police at the sole expense of the applicant.
Persons engaging in parades or public assemblies conducted for the sole purpose of public issue speech protected under the First Amendment are not required to pay for any police protection provided by the city.
The Chief of Police shall issue a permit as provided for herein when, from a consideration of the application and from such other information as may otherwise be obtained, he or she finds that:
The conduct of the parade or public assembly will not substantially interrupt the safe and orderly movement of other pedestrian or vehicular traffic contiguous to its route or location. No permit may be issued for any public assembly to take place within 30 feet of any street intersection, including intersections of public streets with approved private streets, unless the permit includes arrangements for necessary traffic control as provided in § 202-7A above; provided, further, that at any location where on-street vehicle parking is allowed within 30 feet of a street intersection, permits may be issued for public assemblies on the sidewalk or road shoulder adjacent to that portion of the street where on-street vehicle parking is allowed.
The conduct of the parade or public assembly will not require the diversion of so great a number of city police officers to properly police the line of movement and the areas contiguous thereto as to prevent normal police protection of the city.
The concentration of persons, animals or vehicles at public assembly points of the parade or public assembly will not duly interfere with proper fire and police protection of, or ambulance service to, areas contiguous to such public assembly areas.
If a march, procession or motorcade is planned, the parade or public assembly is scheduled to move from its point of origin to its point of termination expeditiously and without unreasonable delays en route.
Adequate sanitation and other health facilities are or will be made available in or adjacent to any public assembly areas.
The applicant has secured the police protection, if any, required under § 202-7.
Such parade or public assembly is not for the primary purpose of advertising any product, goods or event that is primarily for private profit, and the parade itself is not primarily for profit. The prohibition against advertising any product, goods or event shall not apply to signs identifying organizations or sponsors furnishing or sponsoring exhibits or structures used in the parade.
No parade permit application for the same time and location is already issued or has been received and will be issued.
No event is scheduled elsewhere in the city where the police resources required for that event are so great that the deployment of police services for the proposed parade or public assembly would have an immediate and adverse effect upon the welfare and safety of persons and property.
No permit shall be issued that allows for the erection or placement of any structure, whether permanent or temporary, on a city street, sidewalk or right-of-way unless advance approval for the erection or placement of the structure is obtained from the city.
No permit shall be issued for any parade or public assembly to be conducted at any location where parades or public assemblies are prohibited by applicable federal, state or local laws or ordinances or applicable rules of any court. See, e.g., 21-A M.R.S.A. § 682 and 26 M.R.S.A. § 595, Subsection 4B.
Permits issued under this article shall not be deemed to confer any right to conduct the applicant's parade or public assembly on the private property of any person, except with permission of the property owner or lessee.
The Chief of Police shall uniformly consider each application upon its merits and shall not discriminate in granting or denying permits under this article based upon political, religious, ethnic, race, disability, sexual orientation or gender-related grounds or based upon the content of any message sought to be disseminated by the applicant, organizers or sponsors of the event.
The Chief of Police shall act promptly upon a timely filed application for a parade or public assembly permit but in no event shall grant or deny a permit less than 48 hours prior to the event. If the Chief of Police disapproves the application, he or she shall notify the applicant either by personal delivery or certified mail at least 48 hours prior to the event of his or her action and state the reasons for denial.
The Chief of Police, in denying an application for a parade or public assembly permit, may authorize the conduct of the parade or public assembly at a date, time, location or route different from that named by the applicant. An applicant desiring to accept an alternate permit shall, within five days after notice of the action of the Chief of Police, file a written notice of acceptance with the Chief of Police.
An alternate parade or public assembly permit shall conform to the requirements of, and shall have the effect of, a parade or public assembly permit issued under this article.
Any applicant shall have the right to appeal the denial of a parade or public assembly permit to the City Manager. The denied applicant shall make the appeal within five days after receipt of the denial by filing a written notice with the Chief of Police and a copy of the notice with the City Clerk. The City Manager shall act upon the appeal within two working days of receipt.
In the event that the City Manager rejects an applicant's appeal, the applicant may file an immediate request for review with a court of competent jurisdiction.
The Director of the city's Department of Public Services.
The manager or responsible head of each public transportation utility, the regular routes of whose vehicles will be affected by the route of the proposed parade or public assembly.
To the extent practicable, the owner or occupants of any premises along the parade route or adjacent to the permitted location of the public assembly who may be inconvenienced by the parade or assembly. Such notice may be given by general notice, e.g., by published notice of a parade route, whenever individual notice to affected property owners or occupants is impracticable due to the number of such persons or time constraints.
Any resident of the city who requests notice of issuance of a parade permit in a specific area. If the resident requests such notice, the Police Chief or designee shall provide the resident with a copy of each such permit at the time the permit is issued. Requests for individual notice under this subsection must be renewed annually.
The parade or public assembly chair or other person heading such activity shall be present and shall carry the parade or public assembly permit upon his or her person at all times during the conduct of the parade or public assembly. The chair shall provide the permit for inspection upon request of any law enforcement officer.
The following prohibitions shall apply to all parades and public assemblies. It shall be a violation of this article for:
Any person to stage, present or conduct any parade or public assembly without first having obtained a permit as herein provided.
Any person to participate in a parade or public assembly for which the person knows a permit has not been granted.
Any person in charge of, or responsible for the conduct of, a duly licensed parade or public assembly to knowingly fail to comply with any condition of the permit.
Any person to engage in any parade or public assembly activity that would constitute a substantial hazard to the public safety or that would materially interfere with or endanger the public peace or rights of residents to the quiet and peaceful enjoyment of their property.
Any person participating in any parade or public assembly to carry or possess any length of metal, lumber, wood or similar material for purposes of displaying a sign, poster, plaque or notice, unless such object is 1/2 inch or less in thickness and two inches or less in width, or, if not generally rectangular in shape, such object shall not exceed 3/4 inch in its thickest dimension.
Any person to carry any sign, poster, plaque or notice, whether or not mounted on a length of material as specified in Subsection E of this section, unless such sign, poster, plaque or notice is constructed or made of a cloth, paper or cardboard material.
Any person participating in a parade or public assembly to utilize sound-amplification equipment at decibel levels that exceed those limits set by Chapter 194, Noise, Article II of the Code of the City of Bangor.
Any person participating in a parade or public assembly 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 the permit.
Interference. No person shall unreasonably hamper, obstruct or impede or interfere with any parade or public assembly or with any person, vehicle or animal participating or used in a parade or public assembly.
Driving through parades. No driver of a vehicle shall drive between the vehicles or persons comprising a parade or public assembly when such vehicles or persons are in motion and are conspicuously designated as a parade or public assembly.
Parking on parade route. The Chief of Police shall have the authority, when reasonably necessary, to prohibit or restrict the parking of vehicles along a street constituting a part of the route or location of a parade or public assembly. The Chief of Police shall post signs to the effect, and it shall be unlawful for any person to park or leave unattended any vehicle in violation thereof.
The Chief of Police shall have the authority to revoke a parade or public assembly permit instantly upon violation of the conditions or standards for issuance as set forth in this article or when a public emergency arises where the police resources required for that emergency are so great that deployment of police services for the parade or public assembly would have an immediate and adverse effect upon the welfare and safety of persons or property.
Any person, firm or corporation convicted of violating any of the provisions of this article shall be fined in an amount not exceeding $100. The maximum fine shall be increased to $500 for each repeat offense within a one-year period. Each day's violation for which a separate citation is issued shall constitute a separate offense.
Article II Targeted Residential Pickets [1]
[Adopted as Ch. VI, Art. 11-A; amended 8-12-1996 by Ord. No. 96-318]
Editor's Note: As of the publication date of this Code, enforcement of this article relating to targeted residential pickets had been suspended pending revision of this article to comply with recent court decisions.
The City Council of the City of Bangor hereby finds as follows:
The City of Bangor has a significant governmental interest in protecting its residential neighborhoods through measures that will preserve the sense of safety, well-being tranquility and privacy that Bangor residents currently enjoy within their individual homes.
The City of Bangor also recognizes and seeks to protect the rights of individuals and organizations to peaceably assemble, petition, debate, demonstrate and communicate their views on social and political issues.
Recent organized protests within the City of Bangor, for the first time in memory, have targeted individual residents of the City of Bangor by means of pickets stationed outside individual homes of the residents concerned.
The practice of targeted picketing before or about individual private residences and dwellings causes emotional disturbances and distress to the occupants of those residences and dwellings and subjects them to unwanted, intrusive communications which the occupants cannot avoid.
The presence of targeted pickets before or about targeted residences or dwellings has a disturbing effect on the peace, tranquility and security of other persons residing in the vicinity of the targeted residence.
Targeted pickets of individual residences and dwellings constitute an invasion of individual privacy, have a harassing effect on the occupants of the residences and dwellings picketed and tend to incite breaches of the peace.
Other city ordinances currently in force do not effectively address the activity of targeted picketing of individual residences and dwellings.
A narrowly-tailored prohibition of targeted picketing of individual residences and dwellings will leave ample alternative means of communication for those wishing to utilize the City of Bangor's public streets, parks and sidewalks for marches, protests, pickets or demonstrations or to otherwise express their views.
A prohibition of targeted picketing of individual residences and dwellings is necessary to protect Bangor residents in the peaceful, quiet enjoyment of their individual homes.
In accordance with the foregoing legislative findings, the City Council of the City of Bangor has adopted this article prohibiting the practice of targeted residential picketing within the city limits.
One or more persons stationed, assembled, gathered, standing, marching, demonstrating or patrolling outside of a building or other fixed location carrying or displaying signs, banners, posters or photographs or distributing written, graphic or printed information about the fixed location or activities or persons therein or utilizing any sound-amplification device to communicate such information.
A person engaging in a picket.
Any premises containing a permanent building used by its occupants for nontransient residential use as a primary use. The term "residence or dwelling" includes apartments and apartment complexes. The term "residence or dwelling" does not include any building or premises that is regularly open to members of the general public as a place of business utilized as such by its occupants.
SOUND-AMPLIFICATION DEVICE
Any electrical or mechanical device capable of amplifying and projecting ambient, spoken, recorded or other sound. The term includes, without limitation, loudspeakers, megaphones, microphone systems and sound trucks.
Activity that is directed at a particular residence or dwelling or the occupants thereof, including but not limited to the following activities:
Naming an occupant of the targeted residence or dwelling in signs, banners, posters or written or printed information carried, displayed or distributed by one or more picketers.
Protesting a specific occupation or activity duly engaged in by an occupant of the targeted residence or dwelling.
Inviting of the public to confront an occupant of the targeted residence or dwelling concerning past or prospective conduct, acts or omissions to act by the resident concerned.
Intentionally obstructing or making more difficult an occupant's ingress to or egress from the targeted residence or dwelling.
TARGETED RESIDENTIAL PICKET
A targeted picket conducted in violation of § 202-22A of this article.
Targeted residential pickets prohibited. Except with the prior consent of all occupants of the residence or dwelling concerned, no person shall organize, participate in or engage in a targeted picket on any public street, park or sidewalk within 300 feet of the residence or dwelling of any individual in the City of Bangor. For this purpose, the distance to such residence or dwelling shall be measured from the picketer's location at the time of the picket to the nearest exterior property line of the residence or dwelling concerned.
Parades and public assemblies restricted. Except with the prior written consent of all occupants of the residence or dwelling concerned, no person participating in a parade or public assembly for which a permit has been issued under Article I of this chapter shall, as part of that parade or public assembly, intentionally pass within 300 feet of a residence or dwelling more than twice during any single day's event if the residence or dwelling concerned or its occupants are targeted by the parade or public assembly. For this purpose, the distance to such residence or dwelling shall be measured from the route or location of the parade or public assembly to the nearest exterior property line of the residence or dwelling concerned.
Property lines. In all cases in which the exterior property line of a targeted residence or dwelling is not evident from boundary markers, fence lines or other indicia visible at the location concerned, the exterior property lines of the residence or dwelling shall be deemed to be located as depicted in the City of Bangor tax maps as kept and maintained in the office of the City Assessor. It shall be the affirmative obligation of any person organizing, sponsoring or participating in a picket, parade or public assembly targeted at a specific residence or dwelling to ascertain the location of such property lines prior to such picket, parade or public assembly. Mistakes concerning the location of such property lines arising from failure to ascertain their location as required herein shall not be a defense to prosecution under this article.
Any person, firm or corporation convicted of violating this article shall be fined in an amount not exceeding $100. The maximum fine shall be increased to $500 for each repeat offense within a one-year period. Each day's violation for which a separate citation is issued shall constitute a separate offense.