Tucson, Arizona

ORDINANCE NO. 8683

RELATING TO CIVIL INFRACTIONS AND NUISANCES; ADDING NEW ARTICLE VIII TO CHAPTER 11 OF THE TUCSON CODE; MAKING IT A CIVIL INFRACTION TO CONDUCT LOUD OR UNRULY PARTIES, GATHERINGS, OR OTHER EVENTS RESULTING IN MULTIPLE POLICE RESPONSES; IMPOSING PENALTIES.

WHEREAS, due to inadequate supervision, some large gatherings of people, such as parties, frequently become loud and unruly to the point that they constitute a threat to the peace, health, safety, or general welfare of the public as a result of conduct such as one or more of the following: excessive noise, excessive traffic, obstruction of public streets by crowds who have spilled over into public streets, public drunkenness, the service of alcohol to minors, fights, disturbances of the peace, and litter;

WHEREAS, the City of Tucson is required to make multiple responses to such unruly gatherings in order to restore and maintain the peace and protect public safety. Such gatherings are a burden on scarce city resources and can result in police responses to regular and emergency calls being delayed and police protection to the rest of the city being reduced, and;

WHEREAS, in order to discourage the occurrence of repeated loud and unruly gatherings, the persons responsible for the public nuisance created by these gatherings should be penalized.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF TUCSON, ARIZONA, AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. The Tucson Code, Chapter 11, is hereby amended by adding new Article VIII to read as follows:

ARTICLE VIII. LOUD OR UNRULY GATHERINGS

Sec. 11-140. Loud or unruly gatherings-public nuisance.

It shall be a public nuisance to conduct a gathering of five (5) or more persons on any private property in a manner which constitutes a substantial disturbance of the quiet enjoyment of private or public property in a significant segment of a neighborhood, as a result of conduct constituting a violation of law.
Illustrative of such unlawful conduct is excessive noise or traffic, obstruction of public streets by crowds or vehicles, public drunkenness, the service of alcohol to minors, fights, disturbances of the peace, and litter.
A gathering constituting a public nuisance may be abated by all reasonable means including, but not limited to, an order requiring the gathering to be disbanded and citation and/or arrest of any law violators under any applicable ordinances and state statutes.

Sec. 11-141. Notice of unruly gathering-posting; mailing.

1. When the police department intervenes at a gathering which constitutes a nuisance under this ordinance, the premises at which such nuisance occurred shall be posted with a notice stating that the intervention of the police has been necessitated as a result of a public nuisance under this ordinance caused by an event at the premises, the date of the police intervention, and that any subsequent event within a sixty (60) day period therefrom on the same premises, which necessitates police intervention, shall result in the joint and several liability of any guests causing the public nuisance, or any persons who own or are residents of the property at which the public nuisance occurred, or who sponsored the event constituting the public nuisance as more fully set forth below.
   
2. The residents of such property shall be responsible for ensuring that such notice is not removed or defaced and it shall be a civil infraction carrying a penalty of a minimum, mandatory one hundred dollar ($100.00) fine in addition to any other penalties which may be due under this section if such notice is removed or defaced, provided however, that the residents of the premises or sponsor of the event, if present, shall be consulted as to the location in which such notice is posted in order to achieve both the security of the notice and its prominent display.
   

Sec. 11-142. Mailing of notice to property owner.

Notice of the intervention shall also be mailed to any property owner at the address shown on the Pima County property tax assessment records and shall advise the property owner that any subsequent such intervention within sixty (60) days on the same premises shall result in liability of the property owner for all penalties associated with such intervention as more particularly set forth below.

Sec. 11-143. Persons liable for a subsequent response to a gathering constituting a public nuisance.

If the police department is required to respond to a gathering constituting a public nuisance on the same premises more than once in any sixty (60) day period, the following persons shall be jointly and severally liable for civil fines as set forth below:

1. The person or persons who own the property where the gathering constituting the public nuisance took place, provided that notice has been mailed to the owner of the property as set forth herein and the gathering occurs at least two weeks after the mailing of such notice.
   
2. The person or persons residing on or otherwise in control of the property where such gathering took place.
   
3. The person or persons who organized or sponsored such gathering.
   
4. All persons attending such gathering who engage in any activity resulting in the public nuisance.
   
5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose liability on the resident or owners of the premises or sponsor of the gathering, for the conduct of persons who are present without the express or implied consent of the resident or sponsor, as long as the resident and sponsor have taken all steps reasonably necessary to exclude such uninvited participants from the premises, including landlords who are actively attempting to evict a tenant from the premises.
   Where an invited guest engages in conduct which the sponsor or resident could not reasonably foresee and the conduct is an isolated instance of a guest at the event violating the law which the sponsor is unable to reasonably control without the intervention of the police, the unlawful conduct of the individual guest shall not be attributable to the sponsor or resident for the purposes of determining whether the event constitutes a public nuisance under this section.

Sec. 11-144. Violation a Civil Infraction.

It shall be a civil infraction punishable as set forth herein when intervention at the same location to abate a gathering constituting a public nuisance occurs within a sixty (60) day period after the property was posted in accordance with Section 11-141.

1. For the first such intervention in a sixty (60) day period the fine shall be a minimum mandatory five hundred dollars ($500.00);
   
2. For the second such intervention in a sixty (60) day period the fine shall be a minimum mandatory one thousand dollars ($1,000.00);
   
3. For any further such responses in a sixty (60) day period the fine shall be a minimum mandatory one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) for each such further response;
   
4. The penalties that are provided herein shall be in addition to any other penalties imposed by law for particular violations of law committed during the course of an event which is a public nuisance under this ordinance; and
   
5. The court may also enter an order of abatement against a party found responsible for a violation of this Article pursuant to Chapter 8 of the Tucson Code.

Sec. 11-145. Enforcement.

The police department is authorized to enforce the provisions of the ordinance only in response to a complaint from a member of the public. However, this provision shall not be interpreted to necessarily require the appearance of the complaining member of the public in court before a violator may be found responsible.

SECTION 2section 2. If any provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, is declared invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or application, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are severable.

SECTION 3. The various officers and employees are authorized and directed to perform all acts necessary or desirable to give effect to this ordinance.

SECTION 4. WHEREAS, it is necessary for the preservation of the peace, health and safety of the City of Tucson that this ordinance become immediately effective, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, and this ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and adoption.

The following is the text of notices used to post information about violations or possible violations.

PURSUANT TO TUCSON CODE, "#Sec. 11-140">SEC. 11-140, AS A
RESULT OF A PRIOR DISTURBANCE AT THESE PREMISES,
THE NEXT DISTURBANCE WILL RESULT IN CIVIL PENALTIES
IMPOSED UPON ALL PARTICIPANTS AND SPONSORS OF THE EVENT,
AND ALL PROPERTY OWNERS OF THE PREMISES.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT, pursuant to Tucson Code Sec. 11-140 on (blank) , 199 , at (blank) a.m./p.m., the Tucson Police Department found that a public nuisance caused by a disturbance of the public peace and/or threat to public safety occurred at the premises located at ____________________________ .
If there is a subsequent event on these premises which constitutes such a public nuisance and necessitates the intervention of the Police Department on or before __________________, (count 60 days from date of first police intervention) every participant in and sponsor of such event, and the owner of the premises, shall be jointly and severally liable for the civil penalties connected with this response as set forth in the Tucson Code, Chapter 11, Article VIII.

(Signature of Officer issuing notice)

(Name of Officer)

(Date posted)

As with any law, please consult legal counsel if you have questions. Or, contact the City Attorney's office, 791-4221.