DALLAS, Texas — A spokesperson for the Dallas Police Department revealed Friday that officers had visited 'dozens' of businesses scheduled to hold NYE parties and events this weekend for not registering those events with the city and filing a safety plan beforehand.
The spokesperson said that the businesses were visited by the department's Tactical Planning Unit and that owners were given flyers drafted by the City Attorney's Office notifying them that their planned event would be violating city code.
A photo of the flyer is below:
New event regulations were rolled out in June of this year after two were killed and 16 others were injured during a shooting at a concert and trail ride in southern Dallas in May.
Councilmembers passed an ordinance requiring commercial promoters to register with the city's commercial promoter registration program, pay a $175 registration fee and meet safety plan requirements.
The penalties for violating any of the new regulations would be between $500 and $2,000, per the ordinance.
The flyer, however, said fines wouldn't exceed $500. It also said a violation of the ordinance could result in the designation of the property as a habitual nuisance property and or financial liability for any emergency responses.
The portion requiring safety plans was adopted to prevent or respond quickly to any violence or shootings that could happen at an event.
"[C]ity council desires to safeguard residents, visitors, and employees at promoted events by ensuring all commercial promoters develop, maintain, and comply with safety plans, which address crowd management, crowd control, and security to reduce violent crime and harm to persons and property," the ordinance reads.
A "promoted event" as defined by the ordinance would mean any indoor commercial event open to the public, or an outdoor event with an anticipated occupancy of more than 100 people which is open to the public.
Such events which would fall under this would include dance shows, concerts, and theatrical performances.
Safety plans are required to include information such as the maximum occupancy of the venue space, the expected total attendance and maximum expected attendance at any given time, a crowd management plan, a security management plan, and first-aid and medical information including the accident/incident report procedures at the venue.
Any promoter with two or more citations for violating the new ordinance may have their promoter registration suspended, the ordinance states.
Promoters who hold an event without registering with the city, without an approved safety plan, or in violation of an approved safety plan, may be punishable by up to $2,000 per violation.
The spokesperson for DPD told WFAA that the visits and flyer were meant to be educational on the new commercial promoter ordinance.
The flier also said that the Dallas Office of Special Events would work with businesses that applied for registration before 5 p.m. on Dec. 30.
