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TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Law Department
DATE: December 27, 2022
SUBJECT:
Proposed amendments to Chapter 41.5 of the Code of Ordinances pertaining to special events.
PURPOSE:
To further refine the City's policies and procedures for reviewing and approving special events.
BACKGROUND:
Until 2018, the Code of Ordinances provided very little guidance to City officials with respect to the review or approval of special events, including parades and other festivals. While the code provided that the former Government Operations Committee was empowered to issue permits, it did not set forth any criteria for the committee to use to evaluate requests.
In early 2018, the City Council added Chapter 41.5 to the Code of Ordinances. The new chapter provided policies and procedures for the special events office to follow when evaluating permit applications, classified events into multiple tiers, and provided for cost recovery procedures. It also shifted the authority to issue permits to the special events coordinator, establishing an administrative approval process in place of the former legislative process.
Following a special events "hiatus" resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic, it became apparent that further adjustments to the ordinance were necessary in order to properly define what party (the City or a permittee) were responsible for what costs for special events. While the City recognizes its obligation to protect First Amendment speech, the obligation does not require the City to shoulder all of the costs of a special event - particularly when the size and scope of a special event create costs that exceed what the Constitution requires the public to bear.
DISCUSSION:
Because the attached redline includes numerous provisions Chapter 41.5, it may appear to the reader that substantial revisions to the Ordinance have been proposed. This is not the case -- many of the proposed changes are stylistic (to mirror other provisions of the Code), remove redundant language, or use more specific terms when identifying individuals.
Substantively, the proposed amendment creates a new tier of events known as the "Tier 6." A Tier 6 special event is either a procession along a City sidewalk or a stationary assembly upon City property. Though it may be issued upon application to any entity, the Tier 6 permit is specifically designed to facilitate core First Amendment activity that requires only limited City resources - the cost of which are to be substantially borne by the City. In this regard, a Tier 6 event is substantially less burdensome to an organizer that cannot afford a more elaborate special event which necessarily would require a greater amount of City resources for which the organizer would be responsible for bearing the costs of. Prior to denying or revoking a special event permit for a special event of any other tier, the special event coordinator must offer the organizer a permit for a Tier 6 event as an alternative.
The proposed ordinance also discusses the options available both to an organizer and the coordinator when it becomes apparent that the organizer will not be able to hire enough staff or other volunteers to manage a permitted special event. The organizer is required to notify the coordinator as soon as possible of the potential shortage in order to determine how to mitigate the problem, and the coordinator is required to make best efforts to assist. The coordinator is specifically empowered to reduce the scope of a special event or offer the permittee a Tier 6 permit in lieu of the permit previously issued.
Finally, the proposed revisions flesh out key aspects of the coordinator's decision-making process by supplying further criteria.
IMPACT STATEMENT:
The proposed amendments should not substantially impact the day-to-day activities of the Special Events Division, however they do provide the coordinator and applicants with an additional option (short of denial or cancellation) to facilitate the exercise of an applicant's First Amendment rights in a simplified setting and afford greater procedural safeguards for all involved.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the Council approve this ordinance
cc: Rules, Administration and Procedures Committee
CITY OF AURORA, ILLINOIS
ORDINANCE NO. _________
DATE OF PASSAGE ________________
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An Ordinance amending Chapter 41.5 of the Code of Ordinances pertaining to Special Events.
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WHEREAS, the City of Aurora has a population of more than 25,000 persons and is, therefore, a home rule unit under subsection (a) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and
WHEREAS, subject to said Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Chapter 41.5 to the Code of Ordinances, City of Aurora, to create an orderly process to facilitate the application for permits to conduct special events within the City; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that it is appropriate to periodically review portions of the Code of Ordinances to determine whether revisions are necessary or useful; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that, upon its review of Chapter 41.5, various revisions are necessary and useful to provide greater clarity of language, refinement of processes, and additional mechanisms to ensure the exercise of the rights protected by the First Amendment; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has reduced these revisions to writing as set forth in Exhibit A of this Ordinance, which is attached hereto and made a part of this Ordinance as if fully set forth herein
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Aurora, Illinois, as follows: that the respective sections of Chapter 41.5 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Aurora, Illinois, shall be and hereby are amended as set forth in Exhibit A of this Ordinance; and
BE IT ORDAINED, that the City Council finds that an urgency exists, due to the anticipated of numerous special events permit applications in the near future, such that this ordinance shall become effective immediately, if approved upon a vote of two-thirds of all of its members holding office.