County considers large event permitting
By Steve Herring
Published in News on November 4, 2016 10:48 AM
Special events in Wayne County attracting 500 or more people would be subject to a permitting process under a new ordinance being considered by Wayne County commissioners.
There are some exceptions -- events sponsored by local, state or federal government agencies, or schools located in Wayne County; regular church or worship activities or events; businesses holding events in venues designated to hold large numbers of people and where there is already a safety and emergency plan approved by the county.
There would be no cost to apply for a permit, but event organizers could be responsible for the cost of law enforcement and EMS provided by the county.
"If you are going to tie up a couple of deputy sheriffs out there for four or five hours handling traffic then we really need to know that, and we bring them in extra," County Manager George Wood said. "If you are going to require one or two ambulances on site, we need to know that. That is an extra charge because that shouldn't be something that the rest of the citizens should subsidize."
Normally the charge would be for labor and equipment, Commissioner Joe Gurley said.
"One problem we have had is that the parking is so hap-hazard that we can't get emergency vehicles in (large events)," Wood said. "That is part of the planning, too, to make sure that if something does happen, we can get those pieces of equipment in there and get people the help that they need."
The ordinance, discussed by commissioners during a Tuesday work session, would not apply to any special events inside the corporate limits of a municipality.
However, it would include the extra-territorial jurisdictions surrounding a municipality.
No action was taken, and a public hearing is required before the board can act on the proposal.
"The purpose of this chapter is to establish a structured process for permitting the staging of special planned public events, and/or television and film activities to ensure proper planning and adequate allocation of county resources for events and to protect the health and safety of the public attending such events," County Planner Chip Crumpler said. "What we are talking about here is police protection, fire service, EMS."
The idea is for the county to be able to address issues before an event occurs instead of during or after, Crumpler said.
"The county may set some conditions for permit approval -- maybe require the payment for fire and medical standby and security law enforcement in order for a permit to be approved," he said. "The applicant may be required to pay additional fees if county facilities or services are being used."
The fee schedule has yet to be established, he said.
"You may or may not want to charge for those additional services," he said. "That is going to depend on the size of the event, and the requirement on our resources."
Board Chairman Joe Daughtery asked if such ordinances are customary on the county level.
They are, Wood said.
"The primary need for it is that if you don't have something like this, somebody could hold a large event which requires a large number of sheriff's deputies to handle traffic control," Wood said. "They can put a real burden on your EMS system. Those are the two primary things.
"And then the 911 system because you are getting a lot of calls about traffic backup, and you are getting a lot of calls for EMS. So what happens is that you are completely caught off guard. We don't have time to plan for it, and for instance, bring in extra deputies, to bring in extra EMS personnel to handle that."
Daughtery said that would also apply to fire departments.
"What this is, is basically an ordinance that addresses special events at locations where more than 500 people are assembled, and these are places that may not have the safety and evacuation plan in place with the county already per the North Carolina building code," Crumpler said.
"When you build a structure like the event center that we are under way on, those things already have a plan filed with the fire marshal's office. But some of these places that are holding events do not. They are out in the open and do not have to meet building code requirements so there is no requirement to have that (plan)."
"The problem is if you don't have this, it can put a real burden on you," Wood said. "The other thing is they don't pay you for it because you don't have a provision in there that they have got to pay for those additional services."
Commissioner Joe Gurley asked for an example of what the ordinance would apply to.
"You could have an event, for example Busco Beach could have a special event that could attract a large number of persons that has not been properly planned for," Crumpler said. "An event like a concert, an outdoor concert that is not going to be held inside a facility."
If it is held in a field then it does not have to meet any building code requirements, he said.
"Those are things where a safety plan is not in place with the county," he said. "Whereas this (proposed ordinance) would address a concert that may cause traffic congestion, would require crowd control managers. It would allow us to be notified that additional EMS, police services are requested."
Commissioner Wayne Aycock said there are some "good things" in the proposal, but also several things that he did not agree with.
Aycock said that when he ran for office he had told citizens the less government involvement, the better.
"But it seems like every meeting here lately, we are putting more and more restrictions on the citizens of Wayne County," he said. "Also, when this comes up, I am going to have to abstain from it because I am part owner of a sports complex."
Commissioner Ed Cromartie asked Aycock if he had any specific concerns.
"I just think we are handcuffing the citizens," Aycock said.
"In what way are we handcuffing citizens?" Daughtery said.
"Just some of the restrictions in this," Aycock said. "That's my two cents worth."
All the ordinance does is to require that a citizen apply for a permit that would reviewed, and possibly pay for any additional services, Crumpler said.