This article may be cited as the "outdoor theater ordinance."

As used in this Article, the following words and phrases have the following meanings: Commission. The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Department. The Department of Health and Human Services. Director. The Director of the Department of Health and Human Services or the Director's designee. Drive-in theater. Any premises in which motion pictures are projected upon a screen which are viewed by patrons seated in automobiles or other outdoor stationary seats and for which an admission is charged, but not to be considered as an opera house. Outdoor theater. Same as drive-in theater.

The director is hereby charged with the responsibility for the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this article under the direction of the county executive.

The director, the county fire marshal, the superintendent of police or any of their authorized representatives shall have the right of entry upon the premises of any outdoor theater grounds, buildings or houses, for the purposes of enforcing this article.

In addition to the requirements of the applicable laws of the county and the state pertaining to outdoor theaters, the following requirements shall also be met in order to promote the health, safety and welfare of the county, and prior to the issuance of a license by the council: (a) Ticket gates. One (1) ticket gate shall be provided for each three-hundred-car capacity theater, two (2) gates for six-hundred-car capacity, three (3) gates for eight hundred (800) cars and four (4) gates for one thousand (1,000) cars. A ticket gate which serves two (2) lanes of traffic shall be considered as two (2) ticket gates. (b) Entrances and exits. (1) Exits to a street or road from an outdoor theater shall be so arranged that lines of incoming and outgoing travel do not cross. (2) At no point in the exit travel of any car shall the width of driveway be less than necessary to accommodate two (2) cars abreast of each other, unless the public road is not able to accommodate this volume of traffic, in which event the exit lane shall be the width prescribed by the director. (3) Except when backing from the parked position, it shall not be necessary for any car to travel in reverse to reach an exit. (4) All exit and entrance drives shall be surfaced so as to be resistant to erosion as determined by the director. (5) The path of exit travel from each row of cars shall be plainly marked by directional lights or signs which shall be clearly visible at night to the drivers. (6) The view of the entrance shall not be obstructed. (7) A theater marquee will be permitted at the entrance, but it shall not be higher than thirty-five (35) feet nor wider than eighty (80) feet. (8) Entrances shall not be used for exits. (9) All entrances and exit service drives shall be constructed soas to accommodate at least thirty (30) percent of the capacity of the theater. A minimum capacity of one hundred (100) cars or ten (10) percent of the theater capacity, whichever is greater, shall be provided for at the entrance drive, between the ticket gates and the public highway, to provide ample stack up space for patrons waiting to purchase tickets. (c) Disposition of cars. (1) There shall be a minimum separation of thirty-eight (38) feet between the line of speaker post in one (1) row or ramp and the line of speaker post in the adjacent row or ramps. (2) The distance between the first row of cars or seats and the screen shall exceed the height of the screen structure by at least twenty (20) feet. (d) Screen and screen structure. (1) The screen shall be of incombustible materials. Its supporting structure shall be of incombustible materials or of heavy timber construction protected by an enclosure of incombustible materials. (2) The screen and its supporting structure shall be designed to withstand a wind pressure of at least twenty-five (25) pounds per square foot. (3) The picture screen shall be placed so that not more than twenty (20) percent of its area can be seen from the public highway within one-fifth of one (1) mile of the screen and shall be set back from the most traveled public highway a distance not less than one hundred fifty (150) percent of the screen tower height. (e) Motion picture film and projection booth. The construction of the motion picture projection booth and the storage, use and handling of motion picture film shall be in accordance with the county fire prevention code and the county building code. (f) Where permanent stationary seats are provided for patrons. (1) Seats of any kind shall only be permitted in areas where cars may not be driven. (2) Where permanent seats are provided for the use of patrons, the seats shall be installed in compliance with the county fire prevention code and the county building code. (g) Fire extinguishers. Approved class B-1, C-1 extinguishers in case a parked car catches fire. Attendants shall be instructed in their use. (h) Advertising on billboards. If the premises is enclosed, advertising on billboards enclosing the premises is prohibited.

The following area and capacity requirements shall be met at each outdoor theater, depending on the size of the theater: (a) For each five-hundred-car capacity, six and one-half (6 1/2) acres shall be required; for each one-thousand-car capacity, twelve and one-half (12 1/2) acres shall be required, plus ten (10) acres for each additional five hundred (500) cars; for any theater of less than five hundred (500) cars, six and one-half (6 1/2) acres shall be required; for any number of cars between five hundred (500) and one thousand (1,000), one and three-tenths (1.3) acres shall be required per one hundred (100) cars. (b) The number of cars, ramps and distances shall be according to the following table: Capacity | Number of Ramps | Distance from Screen to Rear of Last Drive 500 cars | 10 | 510 feet 586 cars | 11 | 548 feet 670 cars | 12 | 586 feet 778 cars | 13 | 624 feet 886 cars | 14 | 662 feet 1,000 cars | 15 | 700 feet

(a) Grade requirements. The grade at each outdoor theater shall be fairly level, either sloping toward the screen, away from the screen, toward the center of the area, or from center to each side. If the grade is toward the center, adequate drains shall be provided to carry away the water. The grade shall be no greater than three (3) feet to five (5) feet per one hundred (100) feet horizontal, unless the building inspector shall waive this requirement due to the terrain. (b) Screen tower. The soil pressure or impressions at the screen tower at an outdoor theater shall conform to the following pressure test. Permissible pressure for various soils is: Bedrock, twenty thousand (20,000) pounds per square foot Stiff gravel, six thousand (6,000) pounds per square foot Hard dry clay, four thousand (4,000) pounds per square foot Soft wet clay, three thousand (3,000) pounds per square foot Soft wet sand, three thousand (3,000) pounds per square foot Quicksand, one thousand (1,000) pounds per square foot Wet mulch, five hundred (500) pounds per square foot. All screen tower plans shall be submitted to the director for approval before construction. The engineer's or architect's description of conditions and the structural specifications for meeting them shall cover soil pressure, foundation and anchorage as well as the structural resistance of the tower itself. The screen tower shall be enclosed so that none of the internal beams or supports are visible. (c) Lighting facilities. Access drives shall have sufficient light to give proper directions. Lights which reflect onto the highway or into any building shall be shielded as prescribed by the director.

The electrical system and equipment at every outdoor theater must be insulated by proper elevation or concealed under the ground surface, and all electrical fuses, contact points, outlets and switches must be enclosed and safeguarded by devices and equipment approved by the Director of Permitting Services. Cables in the ground traversed by the public must be placed in trenches or conduits or protected by approved covers. All electrical installations must conform to the requirements of the National Electrical Code, the County electrical code and the County fire prevention code.

When the county council shall find that it is required for the purpose of safeguarding the health, safety and welfare of surrounding residential development, then, in that event, the operator of any drive-in theater shall provide a wall or fence of adequate height to separate the patrons and cars in attendance in the theater from surrounding property. The fence shall be of substantial construction made of wood, metal or masonry and erected solely upon the property used for the outdoor theater proposed, in accordance with the requirements specified by the director, but it shall not be treated as a partition or line fence. The outside of the fence, as far as possible, shall be landscaped with suitable plants and shrubbery to preserve harmony with the appearance of the surrounding property.

No outdoor theater shall be maintained or operated in violation of the following requirements and it shall be unlawful for the owner, operator or manager of any outdoor theater or its agents, servants or employees to violate or permit violation of any such requirements: (a) Loitering. Loitering shall not be permitted in or about the entrance to or exits from any outdoor theater. (b) Disturbances. Quiet and good order shall be maintained upon the premises where any outdoor theater is operated. (c) Advertising pictures, etc. No obscene or immorally suggestive advertising pictures or writing shall be permitted on the premises of any outdoor theater and no picture or other form of advertising shall be permitted which does not accurately describe the theatrical performance or moving picture entertainment being advertised or which misleads or misinforms the public as to the nature of the picture or entertainment to be exhibited. (d) Hours of operation. No outdoor theater licensee shall permit any show, exhibition or entertainment to remain open to the public between the hours of 12:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., except by special permission from the county council. (e) Minors. No owner, operator or employee of any outdoor theater shall knowingly permit any child under the age of fourteen (14) years to be admitted to any drive-in theater unless accompanied by and directly under the personal charge of his parent or other responsible person. (f) Lotteries, etc. No owner, operator or employee of any outdoor theater shall maintain, operate or carry on any lottery, game of chance, game of skill, bank night, screeno, luck-o-game or any other game of similar nature or engage in any similar device or plan in connection with the operation of any outdoor theater; except, that this provision shall not be construed to prevent the promotion of good will by gratuitous presentations of gifts or articles of value to patrons selected by lot. (g) Sanitary facilities. Adequate provision shall be made for sanitary needs of patrons as determined by the state board of health and the department and all other pertinent laws and ordinances. (h) Dust. The parking and driving areas shall be so treated to prevent the creating of dust, either by chemical treatment or hard surfacing. (i) Employees. The operator, owner or manager of an outdoor theater shall furnish the necessary employees for adequate policing of the outdoor theater so as to maintain order within the theater and to avoid confusion in the movement of cars in and out thereof. (j) Exits, etc. Exits, aisles and passageways leading to them shall be kept adequately marked, either by lighting or reflecting lights, at all times when open to the public.

Individual loudspeakers for each car shall be provided at all outdoor theaters. No central loudspeaker or public address system shall be permitted to be used between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., except for emergency announcements of impending danger, such as fire, storm or similar dangers.

Soft drinks, food, confections or other articles of merchandise may be sold on the premises of an outdoor theater. Their sale shall be governed by the laws and ordinances pertaining to the sale of such merchandise and shall require the same license as if the sale were conducted elsewhere.

Any person who violates any provision of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be subject to a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) or imprisonment for not more than six (6) months. Each day such violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense. In addition, the county may institute injunction, mandamus or other appropriate action or proceedings pursuant to section 2-95 to prevent the violation of this article.

No person shall construct, operate or maintain an outdoor theater in the county without first obtaining a license from the director for which a fee of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per annum shall be charged.

All applications for a license required by this division shall be made to the department on such form as shall be designated. Applications shall not be accepted for filing unless accompanied by a receipt of the director of finance showing payment to the county of a filing fee of fifty dollars ($50.00), or such other amount as may be established by regulation adopted by the county executive under method (3) of section 2A-15 of this Code, such fee to cover the cost of advertising in the newspaper and providing a transcript of the testimony at the hearing. No fee shall be refunded.

Within five (5) days after acceptance for filing of an application for an outdoor theater license, the applicant shall erect a sign, to be furnished by the county, on the land proposed to be used as an outdoor theater. Such sign shall be erected by the applicant within ten (10) feet of whatever boundary line of such land abuts the most traveled public road or, if no public road abuts thereon, facing in such manner as may be most readily seen by the public. The bottom of the sign shall be not less than two and one-half (2 1/2) feet from the ground. The sign furnished by the department shall be of metal, shall have a height and width of not less than two (2) feet by three (3) feet respectively and shall bear conspicuously in lettering in black on a yellow background, not less than four (4) inches in height, the words: APPLICATION FOR OUTDOOR THEATER PERMIT ON THIS PROPERTY. Application No. _________________ Date of Hearing _________________ The blanks shall be filled in by inserting the assigned application number and the date set for the public hearing. If the land sought to be used lies within more than one (1) block as shown on a plat recorded in the land record of the county, then a sign shall be erected by the applicant on the land in each of such blocks. No sign shall be furnished by the department to the applicant unless the applicant has first delivered to the department a receipt of the director of finance showing payment to the county of a deposit of fifteen dollars ($15.00) for such sign. On return of the sign to the department by the applicant, as hereinafter provided, there shall be repaid to the applicant on order of the department twelve dollars and fifty cents ($12.50) of the amount of such deposit. If the applicant is a person other than the owner, his attorney, agent or other representative or a person who has contracted with the owner for the purchase of the land, or a person otherwise privy with the owner, and the applicant files an affidavit stating such fact and that the owner is unwilling to permit the posting of any such sign, then posting shall be made in such manner as the department shall direct. At the hearing it shall be the duty of the applicant to prove by affidavit that he has fully complied with this section and has continuously maintained the sign or other posting up to the time of the hearing. Any such sign or other posting shall be maintained at all times by the applicant until a decision on the application has been made public by the county council and then shall be removed by the applicant and, in case of a sign furnished by the department, returned by him within five (5) days thereafter. It shall be unlawful for any person to remove or tamper with such sign during the period it is required to be maintained under this section.

The Director must not issue a license under this division unless the following certificates have been filed with the Department. However, the following certificates are not required to renew a license unless the plans and specifications were materially altered after the initial license was issued. (a) A certificate from the Department that the plans and specifications comply with the applicable building electrical and plumbing codes and any additional building, electrical, and plumbing regulations set out in this Article. (b) A certificate from the fire marshal that the plans and specifications comply with the fire prevention code of the County and any additional fire regulations set out in this Article, and the fire protection standards, rules and regulations of the state and local board of health. (c) A certificate from the Director of the Department stating that the plans and specifications are in compliance with the applicable standards, rules and regulations of the County and state boards of health and any additional standards set out in this Article. (d) A certificate from the Department of Transportation that the traffic design will not impair the flow of traffic on public highways and that the entrance, exit, and parking of vehicles will not interfere with an orderly flow of traffic, in addition to any other requirements in this Article.

(a) Generally; publication of notice. Upon accepting an application for filing under this division, the department shallset the application for a public hearing at a specified time and place and shall cause notice of the same to be published once a week for two (2) successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, stating the applicant's name, the date of the hearing and the time, place thereof, the location of the property and such other information as the council may direct. There shall be at least a thirty-day interval between the last newspaper notice and the date of the hearing. (b) Record; adjournments; rehearing. There shall be a complete stenographic transcript of the testimony at the hearing, and all exhibits offered will become a part of the record. All zoning maps and any sectional or district zoning plan, as well as any sectional or regional or district highway plan adopted by the commission for the general area of the property proposed to be used as an outdoor theater, shall be considered a part of the record whether actually submitted as an exhibit at the hearing or not. The hearing may be adjourned from time to time on a date certain on public announcement at the hearing.

An application for an outdoor theater license shall be decided on its merits. The application shall either be approved, denied or dismissed or allowed to be withdrawn. A decision by the council shall be rendered within sixty (60) days after the hearing by the council, unless such time is extended. The hearing shall be conducted by the council or the council may by resolution authorize and appoint an administrative board, hearing examiner or the board of appeals to conduct the hearing and to make recommendation as to denial or approval and conditions therefor.

The application for a license under this division shall be denied if the applicant fails to comply with any provision of this article or the premises do not conform to the requirements of this article.

No license shall be issued under this division where it would be in violation of chapter 59 of this Code.

No license shall be issued under this division so long as any building, driveway, parking lot or any other building or facility used in the operation of the outdoor theater is within five hundred (500) feet of any residential building or any building used for a hospital, sanitarium, public institution, church or school.

A license issued under this division shall not be transferable without approval of the director.

The license required by this division shall be renewed annually upon the payment of the prescribed fee in section 4-30 without further public hearings, unless it is revoked or suspended. Upon application for renewal of a previously issued license, the director shall make an investigation and inspection of the premises, and, if he finds that the provisions or intent of this article are not being complied with, he shall make a finding of the violations and refuse to renew the license. The director shall first serve on the applicant a copy of his finding listing the violations and give him an opportunity to correct the same or grant him a hearing to show cause why the license should be renewed. If the applicant fails to correct the violations or to appear within ten (10) days after notice of such finding is mailed to the applicant, the director shall refuse to renew the license.

(a) The director may revoke or suspend any license issued under this division upon finding that the licensee is in violation of any provision of this article or any other state or county law pertaining to drive-in theaters. (b) The director may revoke or suspend any license issued hereunder upon a finding that the establishment is being so operated as to constitute a nuisance by reason of noise or indecent or immoral activity on the part of guest, owner, operator or their employees. (c) Any revocation or suspension under this section shall be by written notice, with an opportunity for a hearing as provided in section 4-40.

(a) Any person aggrieved by the granting or denial of a license by the county council after public hearing under this division may appeal to the circuit court of the county for a review of such granting or denial. (b) Any person aggrieved by the revocation or suspension or refusal to renew a license by the director may appeal to the county board of appeals. Such person shall file a written notice of appeal with the county board of appeals within twenty (20) days after notice by the director of the revocation or suspension or refusal to renew a license. Upon receiving such appeal, the county board of appeals shall hold a hearing thereon as soon as practical. The county board of appeals shall either affirm, rescind or modify the action of the director. All actions, decisions and determinations of the director or the county board of appeals shall be made and taken only in accordance with the provisions of this division or any other applicable laws, ordinances or regulations, but nothing herein contained shall prevent recourse to a court of competent jurisdiction after a decision on such appeal.