ORDINANCE NO. _______
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA, ADDING SECTION 5.88.050 OF THE GLENDALE MUNICIPAL CODE, 1995,
RELATING TO THE COMMERCIAL SPECIAL EVENT PERMIT
WHEREAS, section 5.88.030 of the Glendale Municipal Code, 1995, provides that no person shall use or occupy public property for a commercial special event, or hold or cause to be held a commercial special event that has an effect on public property, without first obtaining from the city manager a written permit therefor; and WHEREAS, commercial special event permit applicants are required to complete a written application that contains, at minimum, the name and residence or business address of the applicant(s), a detailed statement of the location and area of the proposed commercial special event, the date(s) of the proposed commercial special event, and a detailed statement of the proposed event, including, but not limited to, whether the event contemplates sales, displays, and the nature of any goods or services to be displayed, sold, purchased, exchanged or produced; and WHEREAS, in addition to a completed, written application, commercial special event permit applicants are required to remit an application fee to the city; and WHEREAS, the city conducts an interdepartmental review of each commercial special event permit application to identify city liability, parking, traffic, air quality, noise, and other potentially adverse physical impacts of the proposed commercial special event, and whether any conditions are required to ameliorate any identified impacts; and
WHEREAS, the city also submits each commercial special event permit application to all business and community benefit districts and merchant associations, as defined in section 5.88.020 of the Glendale Municipal Code, 1995, to comment and submit recommendations on the permit application; and
WHEREAS, the Glendale Municipal Code, 1995, does not expressly prohibit a person from joining or participating in a permitted commercial special event in violation of any permit conditions, from joining or participating in a permitted commercial special event without the consent and over the objection of the permittee or otherwise interfering with a permitted commercial special event; and WHEREAS, conditions attached to a commercial special event permit are designed to carefully balance economic health and vibrancy, on the one hand, with potentially adverse impacts, on the other hand; and
WHEREAS, joining or participating in a permitted commercial special event in violation of any permit conditions disrupts that careful balance and increases the potentiality of adverse impacts, including city liability, parking, traffic, air quality, noise, and other physical impacts; and
WHEREAS, joining or participating in a permitted commercial special event without the consent and over the objection of the permittee may itself constitute an unpermitted commercial special event in violation of section 5.88.030 of the Glendale Municipal Code, 1995, depriving the city of an opportunity to identify and ameliorate any potentially adverse impacts thereof, and
WHEREAS, a person may join or participate in a permitted commercial special event without the consent and over the objection of the permittee or otherwise interfere with the commercial special event for purposes other than promoting or engaging in a commercial transaction, which does not constitute a violation of section 5.88.030 of the Glendale Municipal Code, 1995; and
WHEREAS, responsible permittees that apply for, and obtain, commercial special event permits pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 5.88 of the Glendale Municipal Code, 1995, are at risk of monetary and non-monetary harm by persons joining or participating in a permitted commercial special event without their consent and over their objection or otherwise interfering in the commercial special event; and WHEREAS, the Glendale Police Department has received calls for service to permitted commercial special events in which the permittees reported that a person had joined or participated in the commercial special events without their consent and over their objection, or otherwise interfered with the commercial special events; and WHEREAS, as recently as March 2026, the Glendale Police Department received a call for service from a commercial special event permittee who reported that an altercation arose after a person set up a table in the commercial special event area for purposes other than promoting or engaging in a commercial transaction, and refused to leave;
WHEREAS, the March 2026 call for service exemplifies a type of incident for which the Glendale Municipal Code, 1995, does not provide a direct and efficient remedy that effective enforcement of Chapter 5.88 requires.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GLENDALE:
SECTION 1. The above recitals are true and correct.
SECTION 2. Section 5.88.050 of the Glendale Municipal Code, 1995, is hereby added to read as follows:
5.88.050 Unlawful participation in a commercial special event.
A. No person shall:
1. Join or participate in a commercial special event duly permitted pursuant to this chapter in violation of any permit conditions;
2. Join or participate in a commercial special event duly permitted pursuant to this chapter without the consent and over the objection of the permittee; or
3. Interfere in any manner with a commercial special event duly permitted pursuant to this chapter.
B. Any person in violation of subsection A of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
SECTION 3. Compliance with California Environmental Quality Act. The City Council finds and determines that this Ordinance does not constitute a “project” pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378, subdivision (a). Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378, subdivision (b)(2), a “project” does not include continuing administrative and maintenance activities, including general policy or procedure making, except as applied to specific instances not germane to this Ordinance.
Even if it is a “project,” the City Council finds and determines that this Ordinance is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301, in that it consists of the operation and maintenance of existing public facilities or topographical features, namely, existing highways and streets, sidewalks, gutters, and similar facilities, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. Moreover, the City Council finds and determines with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment; thus, it is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15061, subdivision (b)(3).
SECTION 4. Severability. This Ordinance is adopted under the authority of the Charter of the City of Glendale and state law. If any section, subsection, clause or phrase is declared invalid or otherwise void by a court of competent jurisdiction, it shall not affect any remaining provisions hereof. In this regard, the City Council finds and declares that it would have adopted this measure notwithstanding any partial invalidity hereof.
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SECTION 5. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days after the date of its passage.
Passed and adopted by the Council of the City of Glendale on the _____ day of _______________, 2026.
____________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________
City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS.
CITY OF GLENDALE )
I, Suzie Abajian Ph.D., City Clerk of the City of Glendale, certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. ___________ was passed by a majority vote of the Council of the City of Glendale, California, at a regular meeting held on the _____ day of _____________, 2026, and that the same was passed by the followed vote.
Ayes:
Noes:
Absent:
Abstain:
______________________________
City Clerk