ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: April 0, 0 CALENDAR NO. 0,0 NO. MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY: COUNCILMEMBERS CLARKSON AND CANTRELL AN ORDINANCE to amend and reordain Sections -, -., -, -, -, -, -, -, - and - of the Code of the City of New Orleans relative to various definitions, to provide for the function of the Mayor s Mardi Gras Advisory Council, to provide for the number of parade permits issued per year, to provide for the contact names to be listed on the parade permit application, to provide for a protocol with respect to rained out parades, to provide for the numbering of each float in a parade, to provide for the number of pull units allowed in each parade, to provide for the number of truck floats allowed in each parade, to provide a minimum requirement for the number of marching bands in each parade, to provide for a minimum number of riders per float, to provide for the maximum size of truck floats, to require that riders in truck parades use safety harnesses in certain instances, and to require inspection of floats greater than 0 feet in length; to ordain Section -. to provide for mandatory video documentation of parades; and to otherwise provide with respect thereto. WHEREAS, the Mayor s Mardi Gras Advisory Council, an organization that consists of representatives of each carnival organization currently participating in carnival parade festivities, has suggested changes to our City s Carnival ordinances; and WHEREAS, these proposals are intended to create a safer parading atmosphere and preserve the cultural traditions of Carnival parades; NOW THEREFORE SECTION. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That Section - of the Code of the City of New Orleans be and the same is hereby
Sec. -. Definitions. Pull unit means a single tractor or mule pulling a float or tandem float during a Mardi Gras parade. 0 Marching band means a traditional band officially sanctioned by a middle, junior, high school, college, military and/or university composed of no fewer than thirty (0) musicians per marching band. Night parade means any parade beginning at : p.m. or later. Tandem float means two or more floats, attached one to another, and pulled by a single pull unit. SECTION. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That Section -. of the Code of the City of New Orleans be and the same is hereby Sec. -.. Task force established. 0 (c) Pursuant to Section -0 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, the Mayor s Mardi Gras Advisory Council shall be comprised of a representative of each Carnival organization which paraded in the previous year. It shall make recommendations to the Mayor of the City of New Orleans regarding issues concerning the preservation and safety of Carnival parades as follows: () Recommendations shall be approved by vote of the majority. () If an applicant for a Carnival parade permit did not paraded in the previous Carnival parade season, the Advisory Council shall make a recommendation to the Mayor regarding whether or not the permit should be granted. Before submitting the application, an applicant for the permit shall make a presentation to the Advisory Council, except that no presentation shall be required if the applicant s Carnival parade in the previous Carnival season was canceled due to force majeure or an event that the applicant could not evade through the exercise of due care, including inclement weather or strike.
0 (d) The aforementioned task force and committee established under this Section are subject to the open meeting laws and public records laws as stated in R.S. : et seq. and R.S. : et seq. SECTION. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY 0 ORDAINS, That Section - of the Code of the City of New Orleans be and the same is hereby Sec. -. Permit requirements. Any Carnival organization desiring to stage, present or conduct a parade shall first apply for a permit and a written route clearance from the Department of Police and apply for and obtain a mayoralty permit through the Department of Finance. The Department of Police and the Department of Finance must approve or deny an application within 0 days of submission. Parade permits issued under this article shall: () Not exceed a maximum of 0 permits for any single carnival parade season, except that any carnival organization granted a permit in the prior Carnival parade season shall be granted a permit if all requirements of this section are satisfied. SECTION. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That Section - of the Code of the City of New Orleans be and the same is hereby Sec. -. Rescheduling of rained-out parades. If a Carnival parade is canceled because of inclement weather, it may be rescheduled at the discretion of the Mayor. SECTION. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That Section - of the Code of the City of New Orleans be and the same is hereby (g) No more than two permits for a night parade shall be issued for the same date, except that an applicant may be issued a permit for a night parade if in the prior Carnival parade season it paraded on the corresponding night. SECTION. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That Section - of the Code of the City of New Orleans be and the same is hereby
Sec. -. Parade routes generally. 0 (b) Special conditions. The following special conditions shall apply: () No parade route shall cross the Industrial Canal. () No parade route shall include any of the streets bounded by Canal Street, Esplanade Avenue, Rampart Street and the Mississippi River, except that parade routes may include Canal Street and Rampart Street. SECTION. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY 0 0 ORDAINS, That Section - of the Code of the City of New Orleans be and the same is hereby Sec. -. Float parades. All float parades conducted during carnival parade season shall be subject to the following additional requirements: () Each parade shall consist of no less than and no more than pull units. Each pull unit shall bear a unique, sequential arabic number corresponding to the order in which the pull unit appears on the parade route, beginning with the number. () A tandem float shall be considered a single float for the purposes of this section. () The number of marching bands participating in a parade shall be based on the total number of pull units in the parade, as follows: to pull units, a minimum of seven marching bands; to pull units, a minimum of ten marching bands; to pull units, a minimum of fourteen marching bands. Parades which are rescheduled because of inclement weather shall not be required to comply with the aforementioned minimum number of marching bands. Any marching band, mounted unit or other marching unit that contains at least one person under the age of shall provide a minimum of one adult chaperone per every participants, regardless of age. Such adult chaperones shall also be required to have affixed to their clothes, within clear, unobstructed and plain view, while the parade is in progress, placards, badges, or similar identification associating them with the band or parade that individual is chaperoning. () A float must contain at least % of the maximum rider occupancy to participate in the parade. Parades which are rescheduled because of inclement weather shall not be required to comply with the aforementioned rider occupancy minimum standard.
0 0 SECTION. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That Section - of the Code of the City of New Orleans be and the same is hereby Sec. -. Truck parades. () No truck shall be more than feet, six inches high, from ground at highest spot, nor wider than ten feet. No truck shall be longer than 0 feet. () The maximum number of trucks which may participate in the parade sponsored by the Elks Krewe of Orleanians shall be not more than 0 trucks. The maximum number of trucks which may participate in the parade sponsored by the Truck Parade of Crescent City shall not be more than 0 trucks. () Every truck float that uses permanent branch circuit wiring for 0-volt or 0-volt electrical source must comply with section - of this chapter. () Riders in a truck parade shall use a harness as required by Section -, unless the heights of the truck s sides are a minimum of inches from the floor to the top railing. Each truck shall be equipped with such safety equipment as required by state law. () Each carnival organization shall document the entirety of its parade by video and be responsible for custody of the recording. A copy of the recording shall be provided to the Mayor s Mardi Gras Advisory Council upon its request. SECTION. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That Section -. of the Code of the City of New Orleans be and the same is hereby ordained to read as follows: Sec. -. Mandatory video documentation of parades. Each carnival organization shall document the entirety of its parade by video and be responsible for custody of the recording. A copy of the recording shall be provided to the Mayor s Mardi Gras Advisory Council upon its request. SECTION 0. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That Section - of the Code of the City of New Orleans be and the same is hereby Sec. -. Physical requirements.
(a) Any float which is greater than 0 feet in length, including pull unit and generator, shall obtain prior, written approval by the New Orleans Police Department, Department of Public Works, and Safety and Permits to ensure maneuverability on the parade route, except floats that paraded in the prior Carnival Parade season without causing delays shall not be subject to this inspection. 0 SECTION. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That Section - of the Code of the City of New Orleans be and the same is hereby Sec. -. Penalties. (c) If any individual willfully violates a provision of this chapter, the individual shall be punished by a fine of $00, such fine and/or by imprisonment as are allowable by law, or as otherwise provided in this chapter. ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON APPROVED: DISAPPROVED: MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON AT ROLL CALL VOTE: YEAS: NAYS: CLERK OF COUNCIL ABSENT: