There would be no ban on amplified sound and no limit on the size of a park gathering in Normal, under a revised ordinance the town council will consider on Monday night.
Town staff made a number of changes to a nuisance gatherings ordinance after many residents spoke out against the plan in October, calling it unnecessarily harsh.
The town drafted the ordinance after a series of pop-up parties in Normal in the fall, including one where a person was shot to death at an unsanctioned gathering in September.
The plan also loosens the definition of a nuisance gathering. It says there must be multiple violations of town code before police can order the crowd to disperse. The initial ordinance required only one violation.
The town lists 11 possible violations that could prompt enforcing the ordinance, including unlawful possession or consumption or alcohol, marijuana or other drugs at a town park, and assault, battery or firing a weapon.
The town removed noise violations from the list of qualifying offenses, and the revised ordinance also says such a gathering must involve at least 10 people, as opposed to at least three people in the first draft.
"Town staff believes that the proposed ordinance, in its current form, will provide the necessary tools to address the public safety threats caused by nuisance gatherings while reducing the threat of unintended consequences and over-regulation," according to a memo to the council.
The new proposal would still move up nightly closing time for town parks from 11 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Fines would still start at $1,000 per party participant and could go as high as $5,000.
The town would not fine party organizers, event promoters and property owners if they cooperate with police in their response to the gathering, or they "took reasonable steps" to stop the gathering, according to a draft of the ordinance.
The ordinance also requires police to get a supervisor’s approval before ordering a gathering to disperse, or issuing citations.
Last month, the town council passed a six-month moratorium on new short-term rentals, partly amid concerns they were helping to facilitate nuisance gatherings, while also contributing to the community-wide housing shortage.
