Presenter
Presented by Mr. Bodack
AS AMENDED
Title
Ordinance amending and supplementing the Pittsburgh Code, Title Seven, Business Licensing, Article III, Sales Businesses, by adding Chapter 726, to regulate the resale of tickets to all events at Heinz Field and PNC Park, and establish a Reselling Zone in which the resale of tickets would be permitted pursuant to the provisions of this Ordinance.
Body
Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Pittsburgh as follows:
Section 1. The Pittsburgh Code, Title Seven, Business Licensing, Article III, Sales Businesses, is hereby supplemented by adding Chapter 726, which reads, as follows:
Chapter 726. Reselling of tickets to events at Heinz Field and PNC Park, and creation of a Reselling Zone for the resale of tickets pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter.
§ 726.01 Resale of tickets without license unlawful.
(a) A person may not sell or offer for sale any ticket for admission to any event at Heinz Field or PNC Park on a public street, sidewalk, public right-of-way, or any other City or publicly owned property, except in the Reselling Zone created in §726.06 of this Chapter, without first obtaining a license from the Bureau of Building Inspection ("Bureau"). The licensee shall carry the license at all times while engaging in the business of ticket sales, and shall if requested to do so by a law enforcement officer, permit the officer to examine and review the license. Each day's operation of such business without a license shall constitute a separate offense. Each refusal to permit a law enforcement officer to examine and review the license shall constitute a separate offense.
(b) By accepting a license, a licensee shall be deemed to have consented to the scanning of any tickets in the licensee's possession by a representative of the sponsor of a subject event to ensure the validity and integrity of any such tickets.
§ 726.02 Reselling License.
(a) An applicant for a license shall file an application with the Bureau for a quarterly or annual license in such form as may be prescribed by the Bureau. The applicant shall furnish two (2) photographs of the proposed licensee, taken within thirty (30) days preceding the date of application, of a size designated by the Bureau, and a copy of such photograph shall be made part of the license.
(b) In the event of loss of a license, the licensee shall file with the Bureau a signed and sworn affidavit that the license was lost, or in the case of theft, a copy of the theft report submitted to an appropriate law enforcement agency, and upon payment of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) shall receive a replacement license which shall expire on the same date as the original license. All terms and conditions relating to application for an original license, as set forth in sub-paragraph (a) above shall apply to a replacement license. During the period from the time of loss or theft of a license until issuance of a replacement license, the licensee shall not engage in the business of ticket reselling. Each and every violation of this prohibition shall constitute a separate offense.
(c) A license or replacement license shall be non-transferable, and any violation of this prohibition shall constitute a separate offense, and a basis for revocation of the license.
(d) A licensee shall operate and conduct business in full compliance with all statutes, ordinances and regulations governing the resale of tickets, and any violation thereof shall constitute a separate violation of this ordinance.
§ 726.03 Ticket sales on public property. A person may not sell or offer for sale a ticket for admission to any event at Heinz Field or PNC Park on a public street, sidewalk, public right-of-way, or any other City or publicly owned property within the City of Pittsburgh, except in accordance with the following provisions:
(a) Tickets may not be offered for sale or sold within the area described in the Map referred to in § 726.06 of this Chapter, except in the Reselling Zone created in § 726.06 of this Chapter.
(b) Tickets may not be offered for sale or sold on sidewalks where passage is restricted by construction.
(c) Tickets may not be offered for sale or sold within fifteen (15) feet of a bus stop marked by an appropriate sign or signs.
(d) Tickets may be offered for sale or sold only from a public sidewalk, except sales to or from a passenger vehicle provided that neither buyer nor seller is in violation of any statute, ordinance or regulation relating to traffic and operation of a motor vehicle in any public right-of-way.
(e) Tickets may not be offered for sale or sold to occupants of vehicles in traffic.
(f) Tickets may not be offered for sale or sold in any manner that blocks, obstructs or restricts the passage of pedestrians or vehicles in the lawful use of the sidewalks, streets, highways or other public rights-of-way, ingress or egress to or from an abutting property, or interferes with the operation of any display stand of a person licensed as a vendor pursuant to Chapter 719 of this Title.
(g) Ticket sellers shall not use a display stand, table, booth, chair or sign other than a hand-held sign for the sale or offering for sale of tickets.
§ 726.04 Ticket reselling license fees.
(a) The initial license fees for engaging in the trade or business of reselling tickets shall be Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) for a quarterly license and Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for an annual license. A quarterly license shall be valid for three (3) months from the date of issuance, and an annual license shall be valid for a period of one (1) year from the date of issuance. All license fees are payable to the Bureau at the time of application.
(b) In the first calendar year succeeding the effective date of this Ordinance and in subsequent calendar years thereafter, the Chief of the Bureau ("Chief:") is authorized to alter such fees and the replacement license fee provided for in § 726.02 (b) of this Chapter as circumstances may warrant.
§ 726.05 Revocation of license.
(a) The Chief may revoke a license for any violation of this Chapter, but shall revoke the license of any licensee who has committed three (3) violations within the term of the license or if the licensee has failed to pay any civil fine imposed for violations of this Chapter within fifteen (15) days of imposition of the fine.
(b) A person whose license has been revoked may request a hearing to contest the revocation. The hearing shall be held before the Chief or his/her designee. The request shall be filed in writing with the Chief within ten (10) days of the date of notice of revocation. The hearing shall be held within ten (10) days of the request for a hearing, unless the persons whose license has been revoked requests a delay, which the Chief or his/her designee may refuse to grant, or a delay is otherwise warranted in the interests of justice. At the hearing, all testimony shall be under oath, and a decision shall be rendered within fifteen (15) business days following the end of the hearing.
(c) If the revocation is affirmed, the revocation shall be effective immediately, subject to any rights of appeal available to the licensee. If the person whose license has been revoked fails to request a hearing within ten(10) days of notice of revocation, the revocation shall be effective at the end of the ten (10) day period.
§ 726.06 Reselling Zone. Tickets shall not be offered for sale or sold within the area described in that certain Map ("Map") incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof, which Map shall be available for public inspection in the office of the City Clerk, 5th Floor, City-County Building, 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, except in the Reselling Zone hereby created. The Reselling Zone shall be located at the northeastern corner of Dorsett Way and North Shore Drive, and consist of an area approximately twenty-three (23) feet x thirty (30) feet. The Reselling Zone shall be identified by appropriate signage, and signage which may include for the protection of the public, information such as, but not limited to, the validity of tickets and the maximum price at which tickets may be sold. Placement and size of signage shall be subject to the approval of the Zoning Administrator in accordance with the applicable provisions of Title IX of this Code.
§ 726.07 Penalties.
(a) Any person attempting to resell a ticket outside the Reselling Zone shall first be warned and instructed to move back into the Zone. If the person again attempts to resell outside the Zone, the person shall be punished as provided in § 101.09 (a), Title I-Administrative of this Code, except that the fine shall be Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). A citation in such amount shall be issued to the person at the time of the prohibited conduct.
(b) If after issuance of the citation provided for in sub-paragraph (a) above, the person again attempts to resell tickets outside the Zone, such conduct is hereby deemed a public nuisance, punishable as a misdemeanor of the second degree pursuant to applicable provisions of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code.
(c) Any person charged pursuant to the provisions of sub-paragraphs (a) or (b) above who is thereafter charged within the term of his/her license or thereafter at any time, whether licensed or not, is hereby deemed a public nuisance, punishable as a misdemeanor of the second degree pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code.
NOTE: I do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance duly engrossed and certified, was delivered by me to the Mayor for his approval of disapproval and that the Mayor failed to approve or disapprove the same, whereupon it became law without his approval, under the provisons of the Act of the Assembly in such case made and provided.
Linda M. Johnson-Wasler
Clerk of Council