1100 TEMPORARY STREET CLOSINGS

1100.1The temporary use of streets by private persons and organizations for activities of a recreational, educational, civic, or charitable nature may be authorized by the Secretary of the District of Columbia, subject to the conditions set forth in this section and the application procedures set forth in §1101.
1100.2Activities shall be sponsored (or co-sponsored, in the case of an organization) by either of the following:
  1. Three (3) adult residents of the District, twenty-one (21) years of age or older, residing in premises abutting the street for which temporary use is requested; or
  2. An organization that has headquarters, offices, or a meeting place in the District and has been in existence for more than sixty (60) days.
1100.3The three (3) adult sponsors, or co-sponsors, as provided in §1100.2, must be present to supervise the activities.
1100.4The sponsors or co-sponsors shall provide at least one (1) additional monitor for each twenty-five (25) persons in excess of seventy-five (75) persons attending the activities.
1100.5The co-sponsors and monitors shall be identified by the use of armbands or other appropriate means, to be supplied by the Secretary to the District.
1100.6The hours during which the activities are to be held shall be set forth on the application and, if approved, upon the letter of authority; but in no event shall the activities be conducted later than 10:00 p.m.
1100.7The area must be left in the same condition as it was prior to the activity.
1100.8Sponsors shall be responsible for the removal of all litter within a period of twelve (12) hours after the conclusion of the activities.
1100.9Refuse containers shall be provided for sanitation purposes by the Department of Environmental Services. Refuse containers shall be picked up by that Department.
1100.10Loud speakers or other means of amplification may be authorized when requested in the application. The instruments shall be adjusted to accommodate only those people in the area of the activities, and so as not to disturb persons outside the confines of the block.
1100.11No fee, collection, or donations shall be solicited or accepted at activities.
1100.12The selling of pamphlets, food, beverages, or other articles is prohibited, except in compliance with the laws and regulations applicable to the solicitations or sales.
1100.13The sponsors, co-sponsors, and monitors shall comply with any instructions from members of the Metropolitan Police Department or other District officials relating to the preservation of good order.
1100.14The sponsors shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless, the District of Columbia, and its officers and employees in the event of injury to any person or damage to property arising out of the use of the street.
1100.15The area to be used for the activities shall not exceed that part of a street located between two intersecting streets.
1100.16If any one (1) of the following agencies objects to the use of the street, action on the application shall be decided by the Mayor:
  1. D.C. Department of Transportation;
  2. D.C. Fire Department;
  3. Metropolitan Police Department; or
  4. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission.
1100.17Activities shall not be permitted within two (2) blocks of any zone of quiet established under District noise control regulations.
1100.18Upon approval of the application, the District Secretary shall prepare a letter of authorization which shall be obtained by the applicant at the appropriate police precinct.
1100.19The letter of authorization provided in §1100.18 shall be kept available at the scene of the activities, and shall be exhibited upon request to any member of the Metropolitan Police Department or other District officials.
1100.20Any person who knowingly and willfully falsifies the signatures required by §1101, furnishes false signatures, sponsors or conducts an activity on public space without authorization, or in any way violates any other provisions of this section or §1101, shall, upon conviction, be punished by fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300) or imprisoned for not more than ten (10) days.

1101 APPLICATION FOR TEMPORARY STREET CLOSING

1101.1Application for temporary street closing shall be filed in the office of the District Secretary on forms provided by the Secretary.
1101.2If activities are sponsored by three (3) adult residents, the signatures and addresses of all three (3) sponsors shall appear on the application form.
1101.3In the case of an organization sponsoring activities, the application shall be signed by a duly authorized officer of the sponsoring organization, and by three (3) adult co-sponsors who satisfy the residence requirement of §1100.2.
1101.4An application shall be filed sufficiently in advance of the proposed closing to allow a minimum of four (4) days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, between the date of filing the application and the date of the scheduled event.
1101.5Each application shall be accompanied by the signatures and addresses of at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the adult householders (the head of a household or family) and proprietors of the business establishments occupying the premises abutting the street for which temporary use is requested.
1101.6The signatures required by §1101.5 shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the Secretary.
1101.7Application and signature forms shall be available in the office of the District Secretary, and at police and fire stations.
1101.8If it is contemplated that food or beverages will be served at or during activities, the applicant shall describe on the application the kinds of food and beverages to be served, and the District Secretary shall forward that description to the Department of Human Services for review and any necessary approvals.

§§1102 - 1104: RESERVED

1105 COMMUNITY BEAUTIFICATION PROJECTS

1105.1Private persons and organizations may beautify public space areas located within highway rights-of-way in the District, exclusive of tree space and sidewalk areas, with small gardens and parks, at locations approved for this use by the Director of the Department of Transportation.
1105.2The use of public space areas as provided under this section shall be in strict accordance with the provisions of a Cooperative Agreement to be entered into between the private person or organization and the Director of the Department of Transportation.
1105.3The Cooperative Agreement shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the conditions set forth in this section. Those conditions shall be agreed to by the private person or organization desiring to occupy public space for the purposes described in this section.
1105.4All plans for the beautification of public space areas authorized by this chapter shall be submitted to and approved by the Department of Transportation.
1105.5All beautification work undertaken in public space areas shall be performed in strict accordance with the plan approved by the Department of Transportation.
1105.6Authorization to beautify public space areas shall require that the public space areas be maintained in accordance with acceptable standards. The areas shall not be permitted to become overgrown with weeds, littered with trash or other debris, or otherwise become unsightly and thereby creating a nuisance to the general public.
1105.7All work involved in beautifying public space areas shall be performed in a manner that will not endanger the public health, safety, and comfort.
1105.8The District reserves the right to remove immediately, without prejudice to the District, any dangerous condition resulting from a beautification project in public space, and to discontinue the use of that space for that purpose whenever the space is required for highway or other public purposes.

1300 CIRCUSES, CARNIVALS, CONCERTS, AND OTHER PERFORMANCES

1300.1A circus, rodeo, carnival, fair, performance, singing, playing of musical or other instruments, dancing or amusement of any kind, or preaching, exhorting, or lecturing may be conducted or operated in a tent or temporary structure of any kind, on vacant land, or in a yard or area appurtenant to any building, subject to the conditions set forth in this section and §1301.
1300.2No amusement, carnival, fair, performance, singing, playing of musical or other instruments, or dancing, shall be conducted for a total of more than ten (10) days at any single location.
1300.3No circus or rodeo shall operate for more than a total of ten (10) days in any calendar year.
1300.4No preaching, exhorting, or lecturing shall be conducted for a total of more than thirty (30) days at any single location.
1300.5The permissible total days any of the activities listed in §1300.2 through 1300.4 may be conducted or operated need not necessarily be consecutive days.
1300.6None of the activities listed in §§1300.1 shall be conducted in a location that is within five hundred feet (500') of a college, university, or public, private, or parochial school during the hours that any class is in session.
1300.7None of the activities listed in §1300.1 shall be conducted on the secular days of the week after 11:30 p.m., nor on Sundays, except between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.; Provided, that preaching, lecturing, or exhorting may be conducted between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. on Sundays.
1300.8Merry-go-rounds, flying horses, ferris wheels, or similar devices shall be permitted only in conjunction with a circus, rodeo, carnival or fair, except as provided in §1310.
1300.9The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to persons holding lawn parties on private premises, for which no admission fee is charged and where the music is produced only by stringed instruments.
1300.10Any person violating any of the provisions of this section or §1301, whether owner, operator, manager, or other person in control of the premises, or managers or persons participating in any of those activities, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300).

1301 SPECIAL PERFORMANCE PERMITS

1301.1The owner, operator, manager, or other person in charge of any of the activities listed in §1300.1 shall either obtain a license from the Director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (the "Director"), in accordance with the License Act and applicable regulations, or a permit from the Chief of Police for all of the activities that do not require a license.
1301.2The license or permit shall not be issued for any of the activities until the Fire Chief of the Fire Department, the Chief of Police, the Director of Public Health, and the Director of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, or their respective agents, certify that the applicable laws and regulations enforced by each of them have been observed.
1301.3Not later than ten (10) days prior to the date on which an activity is scheduled to commence, the owner, operator, manager, or other person in charge of the activity shall submit to the Director a plat secured from the D.C. Surveyor. On the plat shall be shown the location of the proposed activity, together with all of that area within a distance of five hundred feet (500') from the perimeter of lot(s), reservation(s), or parcel(s) of ground to be occupied by the activity, and the location of all properties wholly or in part within that area.
1301.4Not later than ten (10) days prior to the date on which an activity is scheduled to commence, the owner, operator, manager, or other person in charge of the activity shall obta4n the consent in writing of ninety percent (90%) of the resident housekeepers and occupants of business establishments within a distance of five hundred feet (500') from the perimeter of the lot(s), reservation(s), or parcel(s) of ground on which the activity is to be conducted.
1301.5The written consents required under §1301.4 shall be in the form of a list containing, in numerical order by streets, the addresses and names of the resident housekeepers and occupants of business and other establishments domiciled or located on properties shown on the plat as being wholly or in part within the area, and the signature of those resident housekeepers and occupants of business and other establishments indicating they have no objection to the activity to be conducted within the area.
1301.6Each page of the list described in §1301.5 shall contain, at the top of the list, in capital letters, an explanation of the proposed activity, including its nature, the dates during which it is to be conducted, and the hours it is to be conducted on each of those dates.
1301.7The list described in §1301.5 shall be subject to investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department. Should the signature of any person be found not authentic, this shall be valid grounds to deny a license for the conduct of the activity.
1301.8The requirements of this section shall not apply to any of the activities listed in §1300.1 when those activities are conducted on public land officially designated by the Mayor or the federal government as a specific site on which any of the activities may be conducted or operated, or in any duly licensed stadium.

1302 SUNDAY CLOSINGS

1302.1On Sundays, between the hours of 3:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., no owner, proprietor, lessee, tenant, or other person shall, in any public place of amusement, theatre, or other building (or any part of those places), permit, allow, or take part in any manner in any public exhibition of any entertainment, opera, play, motion-picture show, circus, animals, gymnastics, game, dance or dances, or vaudeville performances of any kind to which an admission fee is directly or indirectly charged.
1302.2Nothing in this section shall be held or construed to change, abrogate, or annul the regulations in force for the protection of good order, public peace, and public safety.

§§1303 - 1304: RESERVED

1305 DANCE HALLS AND OTHER PLACES OF ENTERTAINMENT

1305.1A permit to conduct dances or entertainments of any kind in a hall or other place may be refused by the Mayor whenever that place, from the character of the applicant or the nature of the surroundings, is likely to become the scene of disorder of other violation of law. The license may be revoked at any time whenever a place becomes the scene of disorder or other violations of law.
1305.2Any person protesting to action taken pursuant to §1305.1, or the applicant or permittee, shall be entitled to a public hearing before the Board of Appeals and Review. The Board of Appeals and Review shall ascertain and report the facts and the Board's advice regarding the appeal to the Mayor.
1305.3The place for which a permit is sought or obtained shall be subject to inspection and supervision by the members of the police force at all times when open for business.
1305.4No proprietor, manager, or employee of any place for which a permit is sought or obtained shall refuse admittance to any member of the police force who visits that place for the purpose of inspection or supervision, nor hinder or obstruct the officer in doing his or her duty. Each separate refusal or hindrance shall constitute a distinct offense.
1305.5No person shall conduct or take part in any race, dance, or contest in which any individual shall participate for more than a total of twelve (12) hours in any consecutive twenty-four (24) hours.
1305.6No female shall be permitted to be employed in any dance hall for the purpose of dancing with male patrons of the dance hall.

1306 BILLIARD PARLORS AND POOL HALLS

1306.1The provisions of this section shall apply to establishments where billiards or pool are played when those premises are operated or conducted for public use, or are operated for profit or gain.
1306.2The owners or managers of establishments where billiards or pool are played shall not tolerate or permit any minor under seventeen (17) years of age to frequent, visit, use the facilities of, loiter in or about, or patronize the establishment during business hours, or to use the facilities of the establishment at any time.
1306.3No minor under seventeen (17) years of age shall misrepresent his or her age for the purpose of frequenting, visiting, using the facilities of, loitering in or about, or patronizing any establishment where billiards or pool are played, or to use the facilities of the establishment at any time.

1307 FORTUNE TELLERS, MEDIUMS, CLAIRVOYANTS, SOOTHSAYERS, AND PALM READERS

1307.1An applicant for a license as a medium, clairvoyant, soothsayer, fortune teller, or palmist shall satisfy the following requirements before a license shall be issued by the Chief of Police:
  1. The applicant shall have resided in the District for at least one (1) year preceding the date of application; and
  2. The applicant shall submit ten (10) written certificates of good character, satisfactory to the Chief of Police, from ten (10) credible District citizens.
1307.2The requirements of this chapter are in addition to the requirements of §7 of the Act of Congress approved July 1, 1902, as amended in D.C. Code, §47-2840.
1307.3The fee for each license is set forth in D.C. Code, §47-2840.
1307.4Each applicant for a license under this section shall have three (3) sets of his or her fingerprints taken at the Headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Department.
1307.5Fingerprints furnished under this section shall become a part of the application for a license.
1307.6All of the partners in the case of a partnership, and the president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer of a corporation, shall be required to comply with the provisions of §1300.4.
1307.7Any of the persons listed in §§1300.4 or 1300.6 who are not District residents shall have their fingerprints taken by the Metropolitan Police Department, or by the police department or comparable authority where they reside.
1307.8When taken by other than the Metropolitan Police Department, fingerprints shall be attached to and be accompanied by an affidavit of the authority taking the fingerprints which verifies that the fingerprints are the fingerprints of the applicant.
1307.9Fingerprints shall be submitted for comparison and record to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and to any other authorities that the Chief of Police deems advisable.

1308 RESERVED

1309 GAMBLING

1309.1It shall be unlawful in the District to participate in any game of chance for money or property with dice, cards, or any gambling table or other gambling device adopted, devised, and designed for the purpose of playing any game of chance for money or property upon any public property or highway, or upon any vacant or unoccupied property that is so near to a public highway that it is seen or heard from the highway.
1309.2Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine not to exceed three hundred dollars ($300).

1310 MECHANICAL AMUSEMENT RIDES AND DEVICES

1310.1Mechanical amusement rides and devices, including but not limited to merry-go-rounds and ferris wheels, used by or in conjunction with, and on property under the jurisdiction of the Department of Recreation (the "Department") shall meet the requirements of this section.
1310.2The Department shall require that the owner, operator, or contracting party for the amusement rides or devices has in effect a liability insurance policy having a minimum coverage of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for bodily injury to one (1) person, and three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) for bodily injury arising out of any single occurrence.
1310.3The Department shall secure from the Mayor or the Mayor's agent a certificate that the rides or devices have been inspected to ensure that each ride or device is equipped with the following:
  1. A safety clutch; and
  2. In the case of a ride or device having cars or receptacles which persons are permitted to occupy, hand rails of sufficient number and height, or other approved safeguards, to prevent persons from being thrown from the ride or device or coming into contact with parts of the ride or device.
1310.4The Department shall obtain from the District Fire Marshal a certificate stating that the rides or devices, and related equipment, do not present a fire hazard.
1310.5The inspections required under this section shall be conducted at least one (1) time each year, and periodically spot-checked at the discretion of the Department. Rides, devices, or equipment taken out of operation for more than thirty (30) days shall be inspected before being put back into operation.
1310.6The Department of Recreation shall ensure that the Department of Human Services reviews the activities to prevent any unsanitary condition. CHAPTER 14 MECHANICAL AMUSEMENT MACHINES 14OO GENERAL LICENSING PROVISIONS
1400.1Owners or operators of establishments in which mechanical amusement machines are offered for public use shall be required to obtain annual licenses to offer mechanical amusement machines for public use, and to pay the required license fee.
1400.2Annual licenses issued under the provisions of this section shall date from November 1st of each year and expire on the following October 31st.
1400.3Licenses issued at any time after the beginning of the license year shall date from the first day of the month in which the license was issued and end on the last day of the license year prescribed in §1400.2. Payment shall be made of the proportionate amount of the annual license fee; Provided, that no fee shall be prorated to an amount less than five dollars ($5).
1400.4Licenses may be transferred as provided for in §5 of the License Law of July 1, 1942.
1400.5For purposes of this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the term "mechanical amusement machine" shall mean any machine, device, or appliance that may be operated or caused to operate by the insertion of a coin, slug, token, plate, or disk (except a music machine) which is offered for public use as a game, entertainment, or amusement whether or not registering a score, and irrespective of whether the element of skill in the operation of the device predominates over the element of chance or luck.
1400.6Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize, license, or permit the display or use of any gambling device whatsoever, or any mechanism that has been or may be judicially determined to be a gambling device.
1400.7Any person, firm, corporation, or association violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than three hundred ($300) dollars or imprisoned for not more than ninety (90) days for each offense.

1401 LICENSE FEES

1401.1The license fee shall be twelve dollars ($12) per year each for the 9 first three (3) mechanical amusement machines, plus twelve dollars ($12) per year for each additional three (3) machines (or fraction of three machines).
1401.2In no case shall the annual license fee for one establishment exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per annum.
1401.3If any mechanical amusement machine for which the license fee has been paid is replaced within the license year by another, the replacement amusement machine shall not be considered as an additional machine.

1402 APPLICATION FOR LICENSE

1402.1The application for a license for a mechanical amusement machine shall be made to the District Superintendent of Licenses upon a form to be supplied by the Superintendent, and shall contain the following information:
  1. The name, age, and residence of the applicant;
  2. The address and nature of the business conducted by the applicant in the establishment for which the application is made;
    1. The number of mechanical amusement machines to be offered for public use at any one (1) time during the license year in the establishment for which the application is made; and
  3. The location or locations in the establishment at which the mechanical amusement machine or machines and their remote control devices, if any, will be stationed.

1403 ISSUANCE OF LICENSE

1403.1Each application for a license to offer mechanical amusement machines for public use shall be referred to the Chief of Police for a report as to the moral character of the applicant.
1403.2If, upon consideration of the report of the Chief of Police, the Superintendent of Licenses is satisfied that the applicant is a person of good moral character, the license shall be issued.
1403.3If the Superintendent of Licenses and the Director of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs refuse to issue a license, the applicant may appeal in writing to the D.C. Board of Appeals and Reviews which shall review the action of the Director.

1404 CONDITIONS OF LICENSURE

1404.1Each license shall specify the number of mechanical amusement machines authorized by that license.
1404.2Each license shall be conspicuously posted in the premises of the licensee.
1404.3No person, firm, association, or corporation offering any mechanical amusement machine for public use shall knowingly permit any person under the age of sixteen (16) years to operate any machine between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on any day on which the D.C. Public Schools are in session during the regular school year.

1405 REVOCATION OF LICENSE

1405.1Each license issued under this chapter may be revoked if the licensee directly or indirectly permits the operation or maintenance of any mechanical amusement machine contrary to the provisions of this chapter or any District law or regulation.
1405.2A license may be revoked by the Mayor after written notice is given to the licensee which sets forth the reasons for the revocation.
1405.3Before any license is revoked, the licensee shall be given an opportunity to answer and be heard.