Loading...
433 ORDINANCE NO. ~ ~~ AN ORDINANCE LICENSING AND REGULATING DRIVE-IN THEATERSf PROVIDING FOR INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION; SETTING FORTH STANDARDS OF OPERATION; PROVIDING FOR REVOCATION OF LI- CENSESt AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION OF ITS PROVISIONS. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS: SECTION 1. - That it be, and is hereby, found and declared by the City Council of the City of West Memphis, Arkansas, that there is a tendency to have public disturbances, the unlawful and excessive drinking of intoxicating liquors, quarrels, affrays, disorderliness, lewd and lascivious conduct in and about drive-in theaters and that such places of business are commonly operated at late night, resulting in numerous law violations and annoyances to inhabitants residing thereby, all of which would produce material annoyances, inconvenience, discomfort and injury to the residents in the vicinity of such places and that the operation and conduct of such drive-in theaters has potential evil consequences to this city and its inhabitants, and is detrimental to the morals, health, welfare and safety of the City and its inhabitants; that such operations should have regulations and con- trols to insure that such above enumerated events do not occur. SECTION 2. - Definitions. For the purposes of this Ordinance, the following terms, phrases, words, and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein when not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number. 2. L directory. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely (a) "City" is the City of West Memphis. L (b) "Drive-In Theater" is any premises in which motion pictures are projected upon a screen or theatrical performances given for viewing by patrons seated in automobiles or other vehicles and for which an admission charge is made. (c) "Licensee" is a person having a City License in full force and effect issued hereunder for a drive-in theater. (d) "Person" is any person, firm, partnership, associa- tion, corporation or organization of any kind. SECTION 3. - License Required. No person shall construct, operate or maintain a drive-in theater within the City without first obtaining a license as hereinafter provided from the City Clerk. SECTION 4. - Application procedure. Applications for licenses issued hereunder shall be made upon blank forms prepared and made available by the City Clerk and shall state: (a) The name, home address and proposed business address of the applicant= (b) The number of automobiles or other vehicles which the drive-in theater is designed to accomodate; (c) The hours of operation for said drive-in theater; (d} The names, addresses and number of employees and attendants; and (e) Such other information as the City Clerk shall find reasonably necessary to effectuate the purpose of this Ordinance and 3. to arrive at a fair determination of whether the terms of this Ordinance have been complied with. (1} Plat or drawing. An application hereunder shall be accompanied by a plat or drawing of said drive-in theater showing: its location, size and capacity; location and size of entrances and exits; kind of ground surface; location, size and construction of all structures; and location, size and construction of walls, fences or barriers surrounding said premises. SECTION 5. - Application Fee. An application hereunder shall be accompanied by an application fee of One Hundred Fifty and No/100ths Dollars (5150.00) which is the license for drive-in theaters. SECTION 6. - Bond or Liability Insurance Required. Every application for a license hereunder shall be accompanied by a bond, approved as to form by the City Attorney, executed by a bonding or surety company authorized to do business in the State of Arkansas, in the penal sum of One Hundred Thousand and No/100ths Dollars (5100,000.00} conditioned upon the payment by the licensee of any and all final judgments for injuries or damages resulting to persons or property arising out of the operation or maintenance of any drive-in theater. A liability insurance policy issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in the State of Arkansas, conforming to the require- menu of this Section, may be permitted in lieu of the bond. SECTION 7. - Within five (5) days after receipt of an application as provided for herein, the City Clerk shall cause an 4. an investigation to be made of the applicant and his proposed drive-in theater operation by the Police Department and the City Inspector or other officials deemed necessary. SECTION 8. - Standards for Issuance. The City Clerk shall issue a license hereunder when he finds: (a) That the applicant and all employees and attendants are of good moral character and capable of operating the proposed business in a manner consistent with public safety and good morals; (b) That the bond or insurance policy, as required by this Ordinance, has been procured; and (c) That the requirements of this Ordinance and of all other governing laws and ordinances have been met. SECTION 9. - Duties of Licensee. A licensee hereunder shall comply with the following requirements and standards of operation= A. Conduct and Operation (1) Quiet and good order. The licensee shall maintain quiet and good order upon the premises where any drive-in theater is operated and loitering shall not be permitted in or about the entrances to or exits from such theater. (2) (a) Indecent and Misleading Advertising. The licensee shall not permit indecent, obscene, immoral or suggestive advertising on the premises of any drive-in theater, and no picture or other form of advertising shall be permitted which is not true to the theatrical performance or moving picture entertainment so advertised, or which misleads or misinforms the public as to the nature of the picture 5. or entertainment to be exhibited. (b) The licensee shall not permit indecent, obscene, immoral or suggestive movies or exhibitions and no motion picture or exhibition shall be permitted which present persons who appear naked or partly so. (3) Hours of operation. The licensee shall not conduct any show, exhibition or entertainment or remain open to the public between the hours of 12:00 o'clock (midnight) and 12:00 o'clock noon on Sunday and between the. hours of 1:00 o'clock A.M. and 9:00 o'clock A. M. on other days. (4) Children Must Be Accompanied. The licensee shall not permit any child or children to any drive-in theater unless accompanied by or in direct personal charge of his or her parent or responsible person for any movies advertised for "adults only". (5) Intoxicating Liquors. No person, upon the premises of a drive-in theater, whether in or outside an automobile, shall give, have in his possession, or under his control, or offer to give to another to drink any intoxicating liquors, nor shall a licensee hereunder permit such conduct. (b) Standards for Maintenance of Premfses. (1) Access. The licensee shall provide access available to public streets or other public ways from at least two points at 4 all times. Such means of access shall be kept clear by the licensee at all times to facilitate departure of persons in vehicles and to permit entrance of fire apparatus or ambulances in case of emergency. 6. (2) Paving or treatment. All drives and areas used by vehicles must be satisfactorily paved by the licensee or treated to avoid creating dust. (3) Lighting. Exits and aisles and passageways leading to them shall be kept adequately lighted by the licensee at all times when open to the pub lic. (4) Fire Extinguishing Equipment. Fire extinguishing equipment shall be furnished by the licensee in such amount and in such locations as may be directed by the Fire Chief. Fire extinguishing equipment shall be inspected and approved by the Fire Chief before the drive-in theater is opened to the public and shall thereafter be open to inspection by the Fire Chief at all reasonable hours. (5) Sanitary Facilities. Adequate and proper sanitary facilities, approved by the Health Department and City Inspector shall be provided by the licensee. (6) Attendants. At all times when a drive-in theater is open to the public, the licensee shall provide an adequate number of qualified attendants on duty at all times, who shall patrol the exits, entrances and parking spaces to see that order is maintained, that disorderly or immoral conduct is prevented, that the entrances and exits are kept free from congestion, and that this Ordinance and all other governing Ordinances, rules and regulations pertaining to drive- in theaters are observed. (7} Fence or Wall. The licensee of any drive-in theater shall provide a wall or fence of adequate height to screen the view of the ~. the picture or exhibition from inhabitants of surrounding property. Such fence shall be of design and structure approved by the City Building Inspector. The perimeter of said fence shall be landscaped with suitable plants and shrubbery to preserve, as far as possible, harmony with the appearance of surrounding property. (8) Noise. Individual loud speakers for each car shall be provided and no central loud speaker shall be permitted by the licensee. (9) Commercial Activities. Any sale of soft drinks, confections or articles of merchandise shall be governed by the laws and ordinances governing such business and shall require the same license as if such sales were conducted elsewhere. (10) Premises free from Refuse. No person shall place, throw or deposit-any food, beverage, paper, bottle or other waste materials upon the premises of any drive-in theater, nor shall the licensee permit suds conduct. SECTION 10. - Revocation. The City Clerk shall have the authority to revoke or suspend a license upon recommendation of the City Council when it finds: (a) That the licensee is operating in violation of this Ordinance or any other governing law, ordinance or regulation. (b) That the licensee is operating so as to constitute a nuisance by reason of noise or immoral activity on the premises. SECTION 11. - Any licensee or agent of licensee who violates any of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by a fine of not to ~t ~ • N , p` i r C7 • exceed Twenty-five and No/100ths Dollars (S25.OOa for each such violation. Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such hereunder. SECTION 12. - Separability. If any section, sub-section, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any Court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof. SECTION 13. - Emergency Clause. It being determined that this Ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and morals of the inhabitants of West Memphis, Arkansas, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval. ADOPTED this ~ day of ~E, ~ v, 1963. -' % ~/ ~' '/ i L ~ MAYOR ATTEST : , ,~+ , ,, CITY CLERK