Chapter 12.16
PARK USE
Sections:
12.16.010 Permit—Required.
12.16.020 Permit—Application—Filing.
12.16.030 Permit—Application—Contents.
12.16.040 Permit—Decision.
12.16.050 Permit—Grant conditions—Crowd control.
12.16.060 Permit—Grant for another location.
12.16.070 Permit—Denial.
12.16.080 Standards and guidelines—Intent.
12.16.090 Schedule of fees and charges.
12.16.100 Fees and charges—Decoration and clean-up time included.
12.16.110 Additional fees and charges.
12.16.120 Fees and charges—Increase for after-hours use—Minimum charge.
12.16.130 Fees and charges—Financial arrangements.
12.16.140 Caterer approval required.
12.16.150 Security deposit.
12.16.160 Liability insurance.
12.16.170 Permit—Decision appeal.
12.16.180 Reservations.
12.16.010 Permit—Required.
The city’s parks shall be made available for the exclusive use of persons and groups subject to the issuance of a permit by the director and subject to the payment of fees therefor as provided in the city standards and guidelines for use of parks, Sections 12.16.080 through 12.16.180. No exclusive use of any park for pre-advertised assemblies or groups consisting of twenty-five or more persons may be made without the issuance of a permit, except for athletic fields, in which case no exclusive use of any park for pre-advertised assemblies or groups consisting of ten or more persons may be made without the issuance of a permit. All applications of exclusive use of any park must be signed or co-signed by an adult, which adult shall agree to be responsible for said exclusive use. No exclusive use permit will be granted if, prior to the time the application was filed, the city has scheduled a city-sponsored event at the same time and place as the activity proposed in the application. No exclusive use permit shall be granted for a park for any assembly or assembly activity involving more than one hundred fifty participants during any of the time between one hour before sunset and one hour after sunrise, unless the park has the appropriate lighting, except Easter Sunrise Services. No use permit shall be granted to allow rides on ponies, horses, or other animals. (Ord. 540 § 1, 2007: Ord. 504 § 1 (part), 2003: Ord. 436 § 1, 1997; Ord. 81 § 1 (part), 1973: prior code § 6-204)
12.16.020 Permit—Application—Filing.
Any person applying for a park use permit under this chapter shall file an application for such permit with the director not less than twenty days nor more than three hundred sixty-five days prior to the proposed use of the park. The director may waive either period if the applicant waives all appeal rights. (Ord. 504 § 1 (part), 2003: Ord. 81 § 1 (part), 1973: prior code § 6-205)
12.16.030 Permit—Application—Contents.
The application shall contain the following:
A. Name of each applicant, sponsoring organization and the person or person(s) who are in charge of or responsible for the proposed activity;
B. The business and residence addresses and telephone numbers of each person and entity named in subdivision A of this section;
C. The park of portion thereof being applied for;
D. The starting time of the proposed activity;
E. The finishing time of the proposed activity;
F. The number of persons expected to attend the activity;
G. Additional city facilities requested, such as personnel, tables, chairs, etc.;
H. The nature of the proposed activity or activities, including equipment and vehicles to be brought into the park, the nature and duration of the use of such equipment, and the nature and duration of the use of any amplified sound, whether speech or music;
I. Any fees, charges, donations of collections to be collected and/or received and the purpose for which they are to be used; and
J. Estimated number of parking spaces required. (Ord. 504 § 1 (part), 2003: Ord. 81 § 1 (part), 1973: prior code § 6-206)
12.16.040 Permit—Decision.
The director shall grant or deny such application on or before seven days after the filing of the application unless the time for such granting or denial of the permit has been waived by the applicant in writing or unless the size or nature of the event necessitates a review by the interdepartmental evaluation committee (IDEC). The decision granting or denying the application shall be mailed to the applicant by first class mail. (Ord. 504 § 1 (part), 2003: Ord. 81 § 1 (part), 1973: prior code § 6-207(a))
12.16.050 Permit—Grant conditions—Crowd control.
The director shall grant the application when it complies with the standards and guidelines in Sections 12.16.080 through 12.16.180, and upon granting any permit may impose reasonable requirements and conditions concerning the use of the park by the applicant based upon Sections 12.16.080 through 12.16.180. The organizers of all events that are expected to draw one thousand or more attendees are required to submit a security plan that must be reviewed and approved by the police department before an event application will be approved. At a minimum, the police department shall consider the following factors to determine that the appropriate level of staffing is included in the security plan: attendance, street closure, overnight security for multi-day events, ABC permit, potential for unrest. The applicant may, at his/her option, engage police personnel or duly licensed private security subject to the provisions of Chapters 2.48 and 5.48. (Ord. 635 § 1, 2021; Ord. 504 § 1 (part), 2003: Ord. 238 § 1, 1981)
12.16.060 Permit—Grant for another location.
Any resolution passed by the city council revising, changing or initiating any plan for development of any park shall be deemed to have amended Sections 12.16.080 through 12.16.180 and shall be made part of Sections 12.16.080 through 12.16.180. Such change shall be reflected in Sections 12.16.080 through 12.16.180 and shall be made available to the public. The director may grant the application for a park other than that applied for with the consent of the applicant in the event that a permit has already been issued for said park or said park does not meet the needs of applicant or is otherwise unsuitable pursuant to Sections 12.16.080. through 12.16.180. In the event that more than one application is received for one park for use on the same day, the director shall first act upon the application first received; pursuant, however, to the priorities for usage as designated Sections 12.16.080 through 12.16.180. (Ord. 504 § 1 (part), 2003: Ord. 81 § 1 (part), 1973: prior code § 6-207(c))
12.16.070 Permit—Denial.
A. The director shall deny the application if he finds that any of the following conditions exist:
1. That the application reveals that the city has no park which will accommodate the activity of the applicant pursuant to the standards and guidelines contained in Sections 12.16.080 through 12.16.180;
2. That the proposed activity is of a size or nature that requires the diversion of so great a number of police officers of the city to properly police the areas as to hinder police protection to the city;
3. That the applicant has failed to agree to provide a reasonable means of informing all of the persons participating in the proposed activity of the terms and conditions of such permits;
4. That the applicant fails to file a timely application, unless waived by the director and the applicant waives all right of appeal.
B. Such denial shall specify the grounds therefor. (Ord. 504 § 1 (part), 2003: Ord. 81 § 1 (part), 1973: prior code § 6-207(d))
12.16.080 Standards and guidelines—Intent.
A schedule of fees and charges for use of parks shall be adopted and periodically amended by city council resolution as part of the city’s master fee schedule to establish and regulate the fees, charges and priority uses for city parks.
It is further the intent of the city council and the policy that city residents and organizations receive preferential privileges of use over persons and organizations from outside the city. (Ord. 504 § 1 (part), 2003: Ord. 81 Exhibit A (part), 1973)
12.16.090 Schedule of fees and charges.
The following schedule shall apply for purposes of determining priority use as well as applicable fees and charges for use of public parks.
A. Classification A. Meetings of the city council or subdivisions or committees thereof and public recreation activities that are conducted by the department of recreation. There shall be no scheduled service charge;
B. Classification B. Meetings or programs that are conducted by city youth organizations. Also included in this classification are city community service organizations and special interest clubs conducting business meetings or programs which are free and open to the public. There shall be no service charge;
C. Classification C. City residents including any recreation, social or service activity conducted by any person or group of persons not included in Classification A or B, as set forth in this section, including, but not limited to, private parties, local political activities, wedding receptions, church activities, etc., shall be charged in accordance with the service charges listed under C as adopted by resolution;
D. Classification D. Meetings and programs that are organized, promoted, conducted or sponsored by Foster City nonprofit organizations;
E. Classification E. Noncity nonprofit residents, clubs or organizations, including any recreational, social, or service activity conducted by any person or group of persons not included in Classification A, B, C, and D, as set forth in this section, including, but not limited to, noncity nonprofit private parties, wedding receptions, church activities, in accordance with the service charges listed under E as adopted by resolution;
F. Exceptions—Community Fund Raising. Events sponsored by groups under Classification B shall pay a fee in accordance with the service charges listed under B as adopted by resolution;
G. Closed Social Parties. Including those activities purely for the benefit of members in Classification B will be charged in accordance with the service charges listed under D as adopted by resolution.
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
|
No service charge |
No service charge |
Per resolution |
Per resolution |
Per resolution |
(Editorially amended during 11/99 supplement; Ord. 472 § 1, 1999; Ord. 144 § 1, 1976: Ord. 81 Exhibit A § 1 (part), 1973)
12.16.100 Fees and charges—Decoration and clean-up time included.
In computing the fees and charges set forth in Section 12.16.090, the time required for decoration and cleanup will be included in the hours being reserved. (Ord. 81 Exhibit A § 1(a), 1973)
12.16.110 Additional fees and charges.
If the event runs beyond the scheduled hours or additional costs are incurred by the city as a result of the event, all costs will be billed according to applicable rates or actual charges. (Ord. 81 Exhibit A § 1(b), 1973)
12.16.120 Fees and charges—Increase for after-hours use—Minimum charge.
The scheduled rate for each park will be increased by fifty percent per hour during other than regular hours of operation or regular days of operation to cover the necessary additional expenses incurred by the city. Regular operating days and hours shall be Monday through Saturday, eight a.m. to eleven p.m., except when such days fall on holidays. The minimum service charge is for two hours. (Ord. 81 Exhibit A § 1(c), 1973)
12.16.130 Fees and charges—Financial arrangements.
Financial arrangements concerning all deposits, fees and charges should be made at the department of parks and recreation office at least forty-eight hours prior to the date of the event. (Ord. 81 Exhibit A § 1(d), 1973)
12.16.140 Caterer approval required.
All caterers must be approved by the department of parks and recreation. (Ord. 504 § 1 (part), 2003: Ord. 81 Exhibit A § 1(e), 1973)
12.16.150 Security deposit.
A security deposit equal to seventy-five dollars or double the applicable service charge, whichever is greater, shall be required for all uses in Classifications D, E and F. (Ord. 81 Exhibit A § 1(f), 1973)
12.16.160 Liability insurance.
All persons, groups and organizations shall agree to hold the city, the Estero Municipal Improvement District and their elective and appointive boards, commissions, officers, agents and employees harmless from any liability or damages and claims for damages for personal injury, including death, as well as from claims for property damage which might arise from the use of community parks and their furnishings. All noncity persons, groups and organizations and all commercial classifications using community parks pursuant to this policy shall, at least one week in advance of the time of anticipated use, file with the city certificates or other documentation evidencing insurance and endorsements consistent with the requirements set forth by the city council from time to time in the master insurance and indemnity requirements schedule. (Ord. 632 § 6, 2020: Ord. 504 § 1 (part), 2003: Ord. 81 Exhibit A § 1(g), 1973)
12.16.170 Permit—Decision appeal.
A request for use permit may be rejected without cause by the director. Any applicant who does not agree with the determination of the director or an applicant who does not agree with the classification given or service charge assessed shall have the right of appeal to the city council pursuant to Section 12.12.010. The decision of the city council shall be final. (Ord. 678 § 3, 2024)
12.16.180 Reservations.
A. Reservations for community parks use pursuant to Classifications C, D, E and F in Section 12.16.090 may be superseded at any time by uses pursuant to Classifications A and B in Section 12.16.090, unless otherwise determined by the director.
B. Reservations for community parks use pursuant to Classifications D, E and F may be superseded by uses pursuant to Classification C; provided, that the C-use permit is issued at least thirty days prior to the reserved use, unless otherwise determined by the director.
C. The director may exercise their discretion to utilize a different priority for the classifications identified in Section 12.16.090 when necessary to ensure that community park use is available to all classifications in an equitable manner. (Ord. 678 § 3, 2024)