WOOD COUNTY ORDINANCE #231
LICENSING & REGULATION OF LARGE PUBLIC EVENTS
231.01 INTENT
(1) It is the purpose of the Wood County Board of Supervisors to regulate the assemblage of large numbers of people, in excess of those normally needing the health, sanitary, fire, police, transportation, and utility services regularly provided in Wood County in order that the health, safety, and welfare of all persons in Wood County, residents, and visitors alike may be protected.
(2) It is the intent of this Board that all sections and provisions of this ordinance should have an independent existence, and, should any section or provision be declared invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, it is the intent of this Board that any section or provisions so declared shall be severable from and shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the ordinance.
231.02 LICENSE REQUIRED
(1) No person shall permit, maintain, promote, conduct, advertise, act as entrepreneur, undertake, organize, manage, or sell or give tickets to an actual or reasonably anticipated assembly of 5,000 or more people which continues or can reasonably be expected to continue for 18 or more consecutive hours, whether on public or private property, unless a license to hold the assembly has first been issued by the Wood County Clerk, application for which must be made at least 45 days in advance of the assembly. A license to hold an assembly issued to one person shall permit any person to engage in any lawful activity in connection with the holding of the licensed assembly.
(2) As used in this ordinance:
A. ‘Person" means any individual natural human-being, partnership, corporation, firm, company, association, society, or group.
B. "Assembly" means a company of persons gathered together at any location at any single time for any purpose.
(3) A separate license shall be required for each day and each location in which 5,000 or more people assemble or can reasonably be anticipated to assemble. The fee for each license shall be $100.00.
(4) A license shall permit the assembly of only the maximum number of people stated in the license. The licensee shall not sell tickets to, nor permit to assemble at the license location, more than the maximum permissible number of people.
(5) The license shall not permit the sound of the assembly to carry unreasonably beyond the enclosed boundaries of the location of the assembly.
(6) This ordinance shall not apply to any regularly established, permanent place of worship, stadium, athletic field, arena, auditorium, coliseum, or other similar permanently-established place of assembly for assemblies which do not exceed by more than 250 people the maximum seating capacity of the structure where the assembly is held.
(7) This legislation shall not apply to government-sponsored fairs held on regularly-established fairgrounds nor to assemblies required to be licensed by other ordinances and regulations of Wood County.
231.03 CONDITIONS FOR ISSUING LICENSE
(1) Before he/she may be issued a license, the applicant shall first:
A. Determine the maximum number of people which will be assembled or admitted to the location of the assembly, provided that the maximum number shall not exceed the maximum number which can reasonably assemble at the location of the assembly in consideration of the nature of the assembly and provided that where the assembly is to continue overnight, the maximum number shall not be more than is allowed to sleep within the boundaries of the location of the assembly by the zoning or health ordinances of Wood County.
B. Provide proof that he will furnish at his own expense before the assembly commences:
1. A fence completely enclosing the proposed location, of sufficient height and strength to prevent people in excess of the maximum permissible number from gaining access to the assembly grounds, which shall have at least four gates, at least one at or near four opposite points of the compass.
2. Potable water, meeting all federal and state requirements for purity, sufficient to provide drinking water for the maximum number of people to be assembled at the rate of at least one gallon per person per day and water for bathing at the rate of at least ten gallons per person per day.
efficient, sanitary means of disposing of waste matter deposited, which is in compliance with all state and local laws and regulations; a lavatory with running water under pressure and a continuous supply of soap and paper towels shall be provided with each toilet.
4. A sanitary method of disposing of solid waste, in compliance with the state and local laws and regulations, sufficient to dispose of the solid waste production of the maximum number of people to be assembled at the rate of at least 2.5 lbs of solid waste per person per day together with a plan for holding and a plan for collecting all such waste at least once each day of the assembly and sufficient trash cans with tight-fitting lids and personnel to perform the task.
5. If the assembly is to continue during hours of darkness, illumination sufficient to light the entire area of the assembly but not to shine unreasonably beyond the boundaries of the enclosed location of the assembly.
6. A free parking area inside of the assembly grounds sufficient to provide parking space for the maximum number of people to be assembled at the rate of at least one parking space for every four persons.
7. Telephones connected to outside lines sufficient to provide service for the maximum number of people to be assembled at the rate of at least one separate line and receiver for each 5,000 persons.
8. If the assembly is to continue overnight, camping facilities in compliance with all state and local requirements as set forth in the Wisconsin Administrative Code and Ordinances of Wood County, sufficient to provide camping accommodations for the maximum number of people to be assembled.
9. Security guards, either regularly-employed, duly sworn, off- duty Wisconsin peace officers or private guards, licensed in Wisconsin, sufficient to provide adequate security for the maximum number of people to be assembled at the rate of at least one security guard for every 750 people.
10. Fire protection, including alarms, extinguishing devices, and fire lanes and escapes, sufficient to meet all state and local standards for the location of the assembly as set forth in the Wisconsin Administrative Code and Ordinances of Wood County, and sufficient emergency personnel to efficiently operate the required equipment.
11. All reasonably necessary precautions to insure that the sound of the assembly will not carry unreasonably beyond the enclosed boundaries of the location of the assembly.
12. A bond, filed with the Clerk of Wood County, either in cash or underwritten by a surety company licensed to do business in Wisconsin at the rate of $1.00 per person for the maximum number of people permitted to assemble, which shall indemnify and hold harmless Wood County or any of its agents, officers, servants, and employees from any liability or causes of action which might arise by reason of granting this license and from any cost incurred in cleaning up any waste material produced or left by the assembly.
231.04 APPLICATION
(1) Application for a license to hold an actual or anticipated assembly of 5,000 or more persons shall be made in writing to the Wood County Clerk at least 45 days in advance of such assembly.
(2) The application shall contain a statement made upon oath or affirmation that the statements contained therein are true and correct to the best knowledge of the applicant and shall be signed and sworn to or affirmed by the individual making the application in the case of an individual, natural, human-being, by all officers in the case of a corporation, by all partners in the case of a partnership, or by all officers of an unincorporated association, society or group or, if there be no officers, by all members of such association, society, or group.
(3) The application shall contain and disclose:
A. The name, age, residence, and mailing address of all persons required to sign the application required by (B) and, in the case of a corporation, a certified copy of the articles of incorporation together with the name, age, residence, and mailing address of each person holding 10% or more of the stock of said corporation.
B. The address and legal description of all property upon which the assembly is to be held together with the name, residence, and mailing address of the record owner/s of all such property.
C. Proof of ownership of all property upon which the assembly is to be held or a statement made upon oath or affirmation by the record owner/s of all such property that the applicant has permission to use such property for an assembly of 5,000 or more persons.
D. The nature or purpose of the assembly.
E. The total number of days and/or hours during which the assembly is to last.
F. The maximum number of persons which the applicant shall permit to assemble at any time, not to exceed the maximum number which can reasonably assemble at the location of the assembly, in consideration of the nature of the assembly, or the maximum number of persons allowed to sleep within the boundaries of the location of the assembly by the zoning ordinances of Wood County, if the assembly is to continue overnight.
G. The maximum number of tickets to be sold, if any.
H. The plans of the applicant to limit the maximum number of people permitted to assemble.
I. The plans for fencing the location of the assembly and the gates contained in such fence.
J. The plans for supplying potable water including the source, amount available, and location of outlets.
K.
The plans for providing toilet and lavatory facilities including the source, number and location, type and the means of disposing of waste deposited.L. The plans for holding, collecting, and disposing of solid waste material.
M. The plans to provide for medical facilities including the location and construction of a medical structure, the names and addresses and hours of availability of physicians and nurses, and provisions for emergency ambulance service.
N. The plans, if any, to illuminate the location of the assembly including the source and amount of power and the location of lamps.
0. The plans for parking vehicles including size and location of lots, points of highway access, and interior roads including routes between highway access and parking lots.
P. Plans for telephone service including the source, number, and location of telephones.
Q.
The plans for camping facilities, if any, including facilities available and their location.R. The plans for security including the number of guards, their deployment, and their names, adresses, credentials, and hours of availability.
S. The plans for fire protection, including the number, type, and location of all protective devices including alarms and extinguishers, and the number of emergency fire personnel available to operate the equipment.
T. The plans for sound control and sound amplification, if any, including number, location, and power of amplifiers and speakers.
U. The plans for food concessions and concessioners who will be allowed to operate on the grounds including the names and addresses of all concessioners and their license or permit numbers.
(4) The application shall include the bond required in Section 231.3 (A) (2) (1) and the license fee.
231.05 ISSUANCE
The application for a license shall be processed within twenty days of receipt and shall be issued if all conditions are complied with.
231.06 REVOCATION
The license may be revoked by the Wood County Board of Supervisors at any time if any of the conditions necessary for the issuing of or contained in the license are not complied with, or if any condition previously met ceases to be complied with.
231.07 ENFORCEMENT
(1) The provisions of this ordinance may be enforced by injunction in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(2) The holding of an assembly in violation of any provisions or conditions contained in this ordinance shall be deemed a public nuisance and may be abated as such.
(3) Any person who violates this ordinance or who violates any condition upon which he/she is granted a license may be fined not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $10,000.00. Each day of violation shall be considered a separate offense.