County Adopts Rules For Mass Gatherings
The Fayette County Commissioners Court adopted rules and regulations concerning mass gatherings at their meeting on Thursday, April 24.
Commissioners have been discussing such rules ever since a massive trail ride last fall that brought an estimated 10,000 people to private property near Nechanitz. Following that event, several neighbors lodged complaints to the County about traffic, loud noise and litter.
The rules adopted last Thursday define a mass gathering as any gathering lasting longer than five hours in the unincorporated areas of the County that attracts or is expected to attract more than 2,500 people. The rules would also apply to gatherings of more than 500 people if more than half of those people are expected to be under the age of 21 and the event intents to serve alcohol. In addition, the rules would apply to such gatherings for any amount of time between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.
The rules require promoters of such events to obtain a permit from the county judge’s office. The promoter must disclose their name and address, a financial statement, the location of the gathering, a copy of the agreement between the promoter and land owner where the gathering will be held, dates, times, the maximum number of attendees, names and addresses of any performers, and plans for sanitation, traffic control, medical care and supervision of minors.
Permit applications will be reviewed by the County EMS director, local fire chief, the emergency management coordinator and the sheriff. These officials will determine whether the application meets minimum standards for health and public safety.
The County will hold a hearing no later than the 10th day before the scheduled gathering. Any interested person may attend the hearing and testify for or against granting the permit.
Following the hearing, the County Judge will decide to grant or deny the permit. The rules stipulate that the judge may deny the permit for the following reasons:
• the application contains misleading information or omits information,
• the promoter does not have sufficient funds to ensure the gathering will be conducted as stated in the application,
• location of the gathering is deemed “inadequate,”
• the promoter has not made adequate preparations for the number of people attending or for the supervision of minors,
• the promoter does not have assurances that scheduled performers will appear, or
• the application does not meet minimum standards for health, public safety, traffic control or medical care.
The rules include stipulations for appeals, criminal penalties for holding a mass gathering without a permit, inspections by County officials and fees. The County will charge a $400 fee for gatherings of less than 5,000 people and $800 for gatherings of more than 5,000 people. Inspections will cost $200 each.
Promoters will be required to supply adequate drinking water, toilet facilities and emergency aid stations. They will also have to provide the County with an emergency operations plan. The rules also require cleanup after the event.
The Commissioners grappled with a couple of big questions since considering the new permit process last fall: Would a permit be required for church picnics or antiques shows?
Some of the picnics attract thousands of people, especially the St. John Fourth of July Picnic and the Praha Picnic on Aug. 15 each year. Commissioners doubted that more than 5,000 people attended any of the picnics for five or more consecutive hours. Accordingly, they decided a mass gathering permit would not be required for those events.
Concerning the twice-yearly antiques shows in northern Fayette County, the Commissioners determined the permit process would not apply since there is no single promoter. Furthermore, the Court did not believe that the same 5,000 people gather at any single venue for more than five consecutive hours during the antiques shows.
Anyone organizing an event expected to draw more than 5,000 people will now need to contact the Fayette County Judge’s Office for a permit application.