Staff at the Town of Normal are proposing strict limits on crowd size, noise, and disruptions caused by pop-up parties. Such parties and disturbances at a youth sporting event have recently resulted in gunfire and death.
"We have to take a zero-tolerance approach. I am confident council will be right there with us," said City Manager Pam Reece.
Reece said fines for promoters and participants in the pop-up parties would start at a hefty $1,000.
"Does that necessarily change behavior? I don't know. But that is one of a number of measures and tools that we hope can start to change behavior," said Reece.
Police would break up crowds of more than 50 people in public spaces. There would be a complete ban on amplified sound.
Reece acknowledged some of these limits may seem too harsh but it's important to get a handle on the party problem.
"Everyone might be inconvenienced to some regard. But this doesn't have to be permanent. These are strategies to get a handle on how our parks are being used today and into the near future," said Reece.
Family reunions or youth club events could easily exceed the crowd size limit. Reece said if it becomes apparent the proposed rules cause too much inconvenience they could be adjusted.
“If 50 is too much, we can bump it up. Or we can eliminate a limit. If we find we need to modify, let’s modify,” said Reece.
The town already has a noise ordinance, but Reece defended taking it a step further to eliminate all amplified sound.
“The noise ordinance does apply in public spaces. Generally, it’s not supposed to travel beyond 100 feet or so. We believe that if we say no amplified sound, let’s just nip that in the bud for now,” said Reece.
The ban raises the possibility that even a small Bluetooth speaker that would not be considered bothersome could be targeted for enforcement or ignored. A commonsense reading of such a situation suggests there is potential for uneven enforcement.
"If we could regulate or ascertain common sense or group behavior or just how people are treating their neighbors, that would be easy. For now, I think we’re looking at group size and what size is easiest to work with. We’re not going to eliminate every problem. We’re not going to eliminate noise. Right now, there are noise issues with the loudness of vehicles that we’re trying to figure out other solutions,” said Reece.
Staff developed the proposals headed to a Normal Town Council work session Wednesday evening by looking at measures used in other college and non-college towns across the nation, said Reece.
And she said Parks and Recreation Staff will develop a code of conduct for people and expectations for using park space, with penalties for violations.
“Not just for park shelter reservations but all activities; youth programs, all youth sports. And take this as an opportunity to start working with coaches and parents and participants and lay out a code of conduct and behavior expectations that we can all buy into,” said Reece.
She said staff will have a conversation with the council about potential consequences and fines that would apply to tournaments at Maxwell Park as much as One Normal Plaza, the site of a recent disturbance involving gunfire near a youth football game.
She said there is a community engagement component as well. She said police are reaching out to neighborhoods to get input on potential measures.
Although the most recent pop-up party did not originate with Illinois State University students, Reece said the town has engaged the Student Government Association and the administration in dialogue about the issues involved.
She acknowledged out-of-town organizers of pop-up parties might not be aware of town regulation, she said town leaders can only hope that word will get out and party promotes might “think twice.”
