Mass Gatherings Regulations OrdinancekR
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ORDINANCE FOR REGULATION OF MISS GATHERINGS
1. PURPOSE. The intent and purpose of.this Ordinance is to provide
for the protection of the public health, welfare and safety of those per-
sons in attendance at mass gatherings and of those persons who reside
near or are located in proximity to the sites of mass gatherings or are
directly affected thereby.
2. DEFINITIONS. The following definitions shall apply in the enforce-
ment and interpretation of this Ordinance:
(a) "Mass gathering" means the congregation or assembly in which
admission is charged in reasonable contemplation of profit of more than
50o people for a continuous period of more than six (6) hours in an open space
or open air, or in permanent buildings or structures. A mass gathering in a
permanent building or structure shall include only those assemblies which by
reason of their size the County Health Director determines to be likely to
pose a threat to public health safety or welfare through unsatisfactory
provision of adequate public safety, fire and sanitary facilities. A mass
gathering shall not include an event sponsored by a school or other agency
of government or any private school when the assembly is of a size and
scope such that there is a reasonably apparent . capability to service the
needs of that assembly without threatening the public health, welfare or
safety, as determined by the County Health Director.
(b) "Person" means any person, firm, corporation or legal entity.
(c) "Permittee" means any person who is issued a permit under this
ordinance by the County Health Director.
(d) "County Health Director" shall mean the Harnett County Health
Director or his authorized representative.
3. PERMIT REQUIRED, REVOCATION OF PERMIT. (a) No person shall organize,
sponsor or hold any mass gatherings unless -a permit has been issued to such
person by the County Health Director under the provisions of this Ordinance.
A permit shall be required for each mass gathering and is not transferable
to other persons. -
(b) A permit may be revoked by the County Health Director at any
time if he finds that the mass gathering is being or has been maintained or
operated in violation of this Ordinance, or that prior to the mass gathering,
the planning or preparation for the mass gathering is not in compliance with
paragraph 7 of this Ordinance. A permit may be revoked upon the request of
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the(permi ttee:or upon abandonment o£, the.operation. A permit will otherwise
expire uponY' atis factory completion of the post gathering cleanup following
the close of the mass gathering.
q.' APPLICATION FOR PERMIT. (a) Application for a permit for a mass
gathering shall be made to the County Health Director on a form and in a
,..manner prescribed by him, by the person who will organize, sponsor or hold
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the mass gathering.. The application shall be filed with the County Health
Director at least 30 days prior to the commencement of the mass gathering.
A fee. of Ten Dollars ($10.00) shall accompany the application.
(b) The application shall contain the following information:
identification of the applicant, identification of any other person(s) re-
sponsible for organizing, sponsoring or holding the mass gathering, the
location of the proposed mass gathering, the estimated maximum number of
persons reasonably expected to be in attendance at any one time, the date
or dates and the hours during which the mass gathering is to be conducted,
and a statement as to the total time period involved.
(c) The application shall be accompanied by an outline map of the
area to be used, to approximate scale, showing the location of all proposed
and existing privies or toilets; lavatory and bathing facilities; all water
supply sources including lakes, ponds, streams, wells, storage tanks, etc;
all garbage and refuse storage and disposal areas; all entrances and exits
to public highways; and emergency ingress and egress roads.
(d) The application shall be accompanied by such additional plans,
reports and information required by the County Health Director as he shall
deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this Ordinance.
_ 5. PROVISIONAL PERMIT; PERFORMANCE BOND;.LSAHI LITY INSURANCE. (a) Within
ten (10) days after the receipt of the application, the County Health Director
shall review the application and inspect the proposed site for the mass
gathering. If it reasonably appears that the requirement of this Ordinance
can be met by the applicant, a provisional permit shall be issued.
i (b) If the County Health Director shall deem it necessary to protect
i the health, welfare and safety of those persons in attendance at mass gather-
s
ings and of other persons who may be affected by mass gatherings and to carry
out the provisions of this Ordinance, he may require the permittee within
five days (5) after issuance of the provisional permit to file with the
County Health Director a performance bond or other surety to be executed
to the County in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for up to
10,000 persons and One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) additional for each
additional 5,000 persons or fraction thereof, reasonably estimated to attend
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the mass gathering. The bond, if required, shall be conditioned on full
compliance with this Ordinance and shall be forfeitable upon noncompliance `
and a showing by the County Health Director of any injury, damage or other
loss to the County or local governmental agencies caused by the noncompl-
iance. The permittee shall in addition file satisfactory evidence of
public liability and property damage insurance in an amount determined by
the County Health Director to be reasonable (but not to exceed one Million
Dollars ($1,000,000.00) in amount in relation to the risks and hazards
involved in the proposed mass gathering.
6. ISSUANCE OF PERMIT, REVOCATION)
FORFEITURE OF HONDA CANCELLATION.
(a) If, upon inspection by the County Health Director fifteen (15) days prior
to the starting date of the mass gathering, or earlier upon request of the
d facilities are found to be in place and satisfactory
permittee, the require
arrangements are found to have been made for required services, and other
applicable provisions of this Ordinance are found to have been met, the
County Health Director shall issue a permit for the mass gathering. If,
upon such inspection, the facilities, arrangements, or other provisions
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mit shall be revoked and no permit
are not satisfactory, the provisional per
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issued.
(b) Upon revocation of either the provisional permit or the permit,
the permittee shall immediately announce cancellation of the mass gathering in
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as effective a manner as is reasonably p
assible, including but not limited
promotion the
to Che use of whatever methods were- usedifor advertising or
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mass gathering.
j (c) If the provisional permit or the permit is revoked prior to or
during the mass gathering, the County Health Director may order the permittee
such arrangements as may be necessary to
to install such facilities and make
accommodate those persons who may nevertheless attend or be present at the mass
safe and
gathering despite its cancellation and to restore the site to a
In the event the permittee fails to comply with the
sanitary condition.
e County Health Director may immed-
order of the County Health Director, th
iately proceed to install such facilities and make such other arrangements
be minimally required in the interest of
and provisions for cleanup as may and local funds and resources
II public health and safety, utilizing such county
as may be available to him. prior to or within 60 days after such action,
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a court of competent j urisdiction
the County Health Director may apply to
to order forfeiture of the permittee's performance bond or surety for .h
the proceeds shall
violation of this Ordinance. The Court may order that
reimburse the County and other govern
be applied to the extent necessary to y t G5
ment agencies for expenditures made pursuant to the action taken by
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County Health Director upon the permittee's failure to comply wrth hl s, order .
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"Any excess proc�ryeeds+shall'be'returned to the insurer of the bond or to the
.,� sore ty�after deducEing court costs.
i.';Tx �t �7 RULES 'AND REGULAT IONS. The Rules and Regulations to protect the
} '' health=we lfare i >'and safety of those attending. mass gatherings and of other
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persons. who may be affected by mass gatherings adopted on October 28, 1971,
promulgated by the North Carolina Division of Health Services are here -
3adopted as the rules and regulations of Harnett County, except where they
conflict with any of the provisions of this Ordinance. These rulesand
sc `j regulations dated October 28, 1971 are incorporated hereby reference
pursuant to G.S. 153A -47 and an official copy shall be filed in the 'Office
of the Clerk to the Board of Commissioners and made available by .him, for
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public inspection.
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8. PENALTY. Any person who violates any provision of this Ordinance
k•. shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in
G. S. 14 -4. The County Health Director may through a court of '.competent
jurisdiction enjoin violations of this ordinance. -
9. SEVERABILITY. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or
phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid,`,sucb decision
shall not affect the remaining portions thereof.
Duly adopted this 21Lst day of July -, 1975,
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS'OF. HARNETT.COUNTY
By: .....
Bobby R. Et eridge, Chairman
ATTEST:
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