BEVERLY
HILLS
AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: September 10, 2024
Item No.:
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: Laurence S. Wiener, City Attorney
Subject: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS
AMENDING SECTIONS OF ARTICLE 2 (PARADES AND
ASSEMBLIES) OF CHAPTER 3 (OTHER ACTIVITIES
REQUIRING REGULATORY PERMITS) OF TITLE 4
(REGULATION OF CERTAIN TYPES OF BUSINESSES AND
ACTIVITIES) OF THE BEVERLY HILLS MUNICIPAL CODE AND
MAKING A DETERMINATION OF EXEMPTION FROM THE
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
Attachments: 1. Ordinance
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council move to waive the full reading and adopt the ordinance entitled: “AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS AMENDING SECTIONS OF ARTICLE 2 (PARADES AND ASSEMBLIES) OF CHAPTER 3 (OTHER ACTIVITIES REQUIRING REGULATORY PERMITS) OF TITLE 4 (REGULATION OF
CERTAIN TYPES OF BUSINESSES AND ACTIVITIES) OF THE BEVERLY HILLS
MUNICIPAL CODE AND MAKING A DETERMINATION OF EXEMPTION FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT.”
INTRODUCTION
At its meeting of August 20, 2024, the City Council conducted a first reading and introduced an ordinance making minor substantive and non-substantive changes to the City’s parade and assembly regulations. At that meeting, the City Council made a change to the second recital of the draft ordinance to add that demonstrations have a physical and fiscal impact on businesses in the City. This change has now been incorporated into the ordinance being presented to the City Council for adoption.
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Meeting Date: September 10, 2024
DISCUSSION
This ordinance makes two minor substantive changes to the City’s parade and assembly regulations and makes several non-substantive changes that are designed to enhance the readability of the regulations. The two minor substantive changes are: (1) a new application requirement to specify the sound amplifying equipment to be used including, the maximum wattage to be used, the volumes of decibel of sound that will be produced and the approximate distance for which sound will be audible; and (2) an insurance requirement that will apply in limited situations where there has been demonstratedproblems with personal injuries or property damage associated with past events in the City.
FISCAL IMPACT
This ordinance has no direct material fiscal impact on the City, although it may result in additional insurance being occasionally provided in connection with parades or assemblies and such insurance could, potentially, avoid City financial responsibility for personal injury or property damage claims.
Laurence S. Wiener
City Attorney
Approved By
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Attachment
1 ORDINANCE NO. 24-0-
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS
AMENDING SECTIONS OF ARTICLE 2 (PARADES ANDASSEMBLIES) OF CI-IAPTER 3 (OTHER ACTIVITIES REQUIRING REGULATORY PERMITS) OF TITLE 4
(REGULATION OF CERTAIN TYPES OF BUSINESSES AND
ACTIVITIES) OF THE BEVERLY HILLS MUNICIPAL CODE
AND MAKING A DETERMINATION OF EXEMPTION FROM
THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
WHEREAS, the City of Beverly Hills recognizes the importance of public gatherings that allow the community to collectively express its concerns about public issues, and supports the rights of all people to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights to free speech andassembly; and WHEREAS, as set forth in section 4-3-200 et seq. the Beverly Hills Municipal Code attempts to balance protection ofthe First Amendment right to demonstrate with the physical and fiscal impacts of these demonstrations on the City, the Police Department, and the City’s residents and businesses; and
WHEREAS, the City now seeks to revise its parade and assembly regulations to provide minor updates and clarifications in the City regulations; and WHEREAS, the City desires to adopt regulations that will promote the free exercise of First Amendment rights through parades and assemblies, and simultaneously serve the significant interests of protecting the public health and safety of our community; and WHEREAS, the City particularly desires to protect its residents’ rights to enjoy free and unfettered access to the City’s public parks and the features thereof and to protect the health and safety of demonstrators, drivers, and pedestrians.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS HEREBY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council hereby finds that all of the facts set forth in the Recitals above are true and correct.
Section 2. Section 4-3-200, entitled “Parades or Assemblies of Less Than Five Hundred People,” of Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 4 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
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“4-3-200: PARADES OR ASSEMBLIES OF LESS THAN FIVE HUNDRED PEOPLE:
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, parades and assemblies of fewer than five hundred (500) people will be allowed without a permit in La Cienega Park and on the Crescent Drive side of the City Hall.
B. No sound amplification equipment shall be allowed if it will generate significant noise impacts.
C. To protect public access to City parks for public uses other than parades and assemblies, if La Cienega Park experiences any unpermitted parade or assembly which either: (a) takes place in the park for more than two (2) hours within the same six (6) hourtime period for six (6) weeks within a twelve week (12) period, or (b) takes place in the park for at least two hours on a Saturday or Sunday for six (6) weeks within a twelve (12) week period, then the park shall be closed to unpermitted parades and assemblies for a period of six (6) weeks and unpermitted parades or assemblies may take place on the Crescent Drive side of the City Hall.”
Section 3. Section 4-3-202, entitled “Definitions,” of Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 4 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
“4-3-202: DEFINITIONS:
For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
ASSEMBLY: Any meeting, demonstration, picket line, rally, gathering, or g1oup of persons, animals, or vehicles, or a combination thereof, having a common puipose, design, or goal, either (1) upon any public street, sidewalk, alley, or city park path which numbers twenty-five (25) or more and which assembly will or tends to substantially inhibit the usual flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, other than a “parade,” as defined in this section, or (2)upon any park or other public place not specified in (1) which numbers seventy-five (75) or more and which occupies any public area, other than a “parade,” as defined in this section.
PARADE: 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 publicplace, which parade, march, demonstration, procession, motorcade, or promenade does not comply with normal and usual traffic regulations or control.
SIGNIFICANT The generation of noise that is distinctly audible from within the nearest NOISE residence or dwelling.”
IMPACTS:
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Section 4. Section 4-3-203, entitled “Exemptions,” of Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 4 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
“In addition to the parades or assemblies described in Section 4-3-200 above, the permitapplication provisions ofthis article shall not apply to the following:
A. Spontaneous parades or assemblies occasioned by news or affairs coming into public knowledge within three (3) days before such assembly, provided that the organizers thereof, if any, give written notice to the City at least twenty four (24) hours prior to such parade or assembly.
1. Such written notice shall contain all of the following information:
a. The name, address and telephone number of the person or persons seeking to organize or conduct the parade or assembly. This person or these personsshall be considered a permittee for the purposes ofthis article. b. The name, address and telephone number ofthe headquarters of the organization, if any, and of the organizer or responsible head of such organizationby whom or on whose behalf the parade or assembly is proposed to be conducted. c. The name, address and telephone number of the person who will chair the parade or assembly and who will be responsible for its conduct. d. The location and date ofthe proposed parade or assembly, including the assembly area, disbanding area, and the route to be traveled. e. An estimate of the approximate number of persons who will be participating in the parade or assembly and an estimate of the approximate numberof persons who will be observing the parade or assembly. f. The time at which the parade or assembly will start and conclude. g. The type of security or other arrangements that will be provided to assure that participants are properly directed.
h. The number and type of sound amplification equipment, if any, indicating the maximum sound-producing power of the equipment in terms of the specific wattage to be used, the volume in decibels of sound which will be produced, and the approximate distance for which sound will be audible from thesound-amplifying equipment, as well as the electrical generators that will be used, if any.
i. Whether participants in the parade or assembly will be wearing masks.
2. The City Manager or the City Manager’s designee may deny permission to conduct the parade or assembly within eighteen (18) hours of the submission of the noticepursuant to subsection B of section 4-3-205 if the City Manager or the City Managers designee makes a finding requiring denial pursuant to subsection B of section 4-3-205. Ifthe City Manager makes a finding requiring denial pursuant to that subsection, the City Manager shall immediately provide notice ofthe denial, including the reason for the denial,by telephone to the permittee and shall also provide written notice ofthe denial including -3-
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the reason for the denial. If the permittee provides an email address for the purpose of receiving notices, the City Manager shall provide written notice of the denial by email immediately upon making the denial decision. If the proposed parade or assembly is denied, an assembly of less than five hundred (500) persons may still occur pursuant to section 4-3-200 of this article.”
Section 5. Section 4-3-204. entitled “Application for Permit,” of Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 4 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code is hereby amended to include the following paragraphs 13 through 16 of subsection C, with the remainder of Section 4-3-204 remaining unchanged to read as follows:
“13. A statement to be signed by the person seeking the permit that the permittee willhold harmless and indemnify the City of Beverly Hills, its elected officials, officers, employees and agents from any damages which may arise as a result of the alleged willful oi. negligent acts or omissions of permittee, its officers, agents, or employees in connection with the permitted parade or assembly, except for losses to the City occasioned by the reaction to the permittees’ expressive activity.
4. A proposed parade or assembly involving expressive activity shall be required to provide insurance only when there is a specific demonstrable history of personal injury or property damage claims being awarded against the applicant attributable to the applicants conduct of previous events in the City that are similar in nature to the proposed event.
Where there is a specific demonstrable history of property damage, this insurancerequirement may be waived by the City Manager if the applicant designs the parade or assembly 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 event to avoid repetition of past injuries or property damage.
15. lfthe parade or the assembly set up or dispersal is to be conducted on private property, the applicant must submit with the application proof ofthe property owner’s permission for the property to be used for that purpose.
16. The number and type ofsound amplification equipment that will be used in the parade or assembly, if any, indicating the maximum sound-producing power in terms ofwattage to be used, the volume in decibels of sound which will be produced, and the approximate distance for which sound will be audible from the sound-amplifying equipment, as well as the electrical generators that will be used, if any.”
Section 6. Section 4-3-206, entitled “Nondiscrimination,” of Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 4 ofthe Beverly Hills Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
“4-3-206: NONDISCRIMINATION:
The official designated by the City to act on permit applications shall uniformly 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 or expressive content reasons.”
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Section 7. Section 4-3-2 10, entitled “Content of Permit,” of Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 4 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code is hereby amended to add subsection “0” to read as follows, with the remainder of the Section unchanged:
“0. The number and type of electrical generators and sound amplification equipment. indicating the maximum sound-producing power in terms of specific wattage that will be used in the parade or assembly, the volume, in decibels, of sound which will be produced, as well as the approximate distance for which sound will be audible from the soundamplifying equipment.” Section 8. CEQA. The City Council hereby finds, in the exercise of its independent judgment and analysis, that this ordinance is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as State CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5) provides that a project doesnot include organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. This ordinance merely amends the City’sregulations governing parades and assemblies, and does not allow any new uses of land within the City that would result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment. In addition, this ordinance is also exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as there is no possibility the proposed ordinance would have a significant impact on the environment pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 1506 1(b)(3). A Notice of Exemption has been prepared and will be filed in accordance with CEQA and the State CEQA Guidelines.
Section 9. Severability. If any provision of this Ordinance is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be considered a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the other provisionsofthis Ordinance.
Section 10. Publication. The City Clerk shall cause this Ordinance to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the City within fifteen (15) days after its passage in accordance with Section 36933 ofthe Government Code, shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance, and shall cause this Ordinance and this certification, together with proof of publication, to be entered in the Book of Ordinances of the Council of this City.
Section 11. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall go into effect and be in full force and effect at 12:0 1 a.m. on the thirty-first (3 1st) day after its passage. /1/
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Section 12. Certification. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption ofthis Ordinance.
Adopted:
Effective:
LESTER J. FRIEDMAN
Mayor of the City ofBeverly Hills, California
ATTEST:
___________________________(SEAL)
HUMA AHMED
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
LAURENCE S. WIENER NANCY HUNT-COFFEYCity Attorney City Manager -6-
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