Park Rules

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ORDINANCE NO. 2003- 47

AN ORDINANCE REPEALING THE BOERNE CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES, CHAPTER 16 - PARKS AND RECREATION; AND ESTABLISHING A NEW CHAPTER 16 – PARKS AND RECREATION; ESTABLISHING RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR PARKS WITHIN THE CITY OF BOERNE; PROVIDING FOR A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED $200.00 FOR EACH VIOLATION OF ANY PROVISION OF THIS ORDINANCE

WHEREAS, the City of Boerne desires to make available to the public for limited recreational purposes the Boerne City Lake, Boerne City Park, Northrup Park, Main Plaza, Veterans Park, Roeder Park, River Road Park, and Optimist Park; and

WHEREAS, the City of Boerne recognizes that all of its property is public property, and as such, the citizens have certain rights to utilize the City property; and

WHEREAS, rules and regulations are necessary to insure personal safety, public safety, and protection of City property and to protect and preserve natural resources;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BOERNE, TEXAS:

That Chapter 16 - Parks and Recreation of the Boerne City Code of Ordinances be repealed and a new Chapter 16 - Parks and Recreation be inserted, to read as follows:

Section I. General Provisions

The following provisions apply to all parks, recreational areas, and other public open spaces and facilities within the City of Boerne:

A. Hunting, boating, wildlife, vegetation, and domestic animals

1. No hunting or trapping shall be allowed.

2. No discharge of any firearms shall be allowed.

3. State fishing laws shall apply, except that no trot lines, throw lines, or set lines shall be allowed.

4. No boats with combustion type motors, no skiing of any kind, and no motorized watercraft (with combustion type motors) shall be allowed unless solely as a life safety precaution used by law enforcement agencies, fire service personnel, maintenance personnel, or emergency services in the pursuit of official business.

5. Boats shall be operated and equipped in accordance with the State Water Safety Act.

6. It shall be unlawful for any unauthorized person to intentionally or knowingly pick, pull, uproot, dig up, cut, break, injure, burn or otherwise destroy any flower, shrub, or tree, or to deface, mark, injure, damage, or destroy any natural or artificial improvement in any public space owned by the City.

7. Animals taken upon the land owned by the City shall be under restraint by a responsible individual at all times.

8. It shall be unlawful for any person to frighten, annoy, injure, or kill or attempt to frighten, annoy, injure, or kill any wild or native animal or bird in any public space, with the exception of City Staff and or approved representatives of the City who may need to attend to wildlife management issues.

9. Park curfew for community parks is 12:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. Park curfew for neighborhood parks is 10:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m.

B. Proper use of park grounds and roads

1. It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally or knowingly dump or otherwise dispose of trash, junk, garbage, refuse, unsightly matter, or other solid waste on the grounds.

2. It shall be unlawful to intentionally or knowingly destroy any property owned by the City or located on property owned by the City.

3. No overnight camping shall be allowed.

4. No ground fires shall be allowed.

5. All motorized vehicles shall be street legal and will be permitted only on developed and designated park roadway systems and parking areas.

6. Speed limit on improved roads within property owned by the City shall be fifteen (15) miles per hour unless otherwise posted.

7. it shall be unlawful for any person to carry in or possess any glass beverage containers.

8. No heavy equipment may be placed on the plaza or parks, or any staked tents raised or structures constructed.

9. No admittance will be allowed within the fenced area of the City water wells located in City parks.

10. It shall be unlawful for any person to enter or remain in a park or recreation area which is designated as restricted or is closed for the season. Posted signs will designate restricted areas.

11. Athletic fields and park facilities are to be utilized for the purposes for which they were designed and built. A deviation of use must be requested in writing and submitted to the City Manager or his/her designated representative.

12. It shall be unlawful for any person to practice golf in any portion of a park or recreation area not designated for that purpose; provided, however that the practice of golf with knit or plastic balls may be permitted in any open area not specifically designed or designated for some other specialized activity.

C. Alcoholic beverages

The consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages within athletic field areas, their perimeter fences, and pool area shall be prohibited.

E. Commercial activities

1. No commercial activities will be permitted on City-owned property except as authorized under the provisions of this Chapter.

2. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale any goods, wares, services, or merchandise within any parkways, medians, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, or other recreational areas without permission of the Parks and Recreation Department. Any person wishing to sell food or drink items in a park must apply for a Park Vendor Permit at the Parks and Recreation office and a Health Permit from the Health Department (Kendall County).

F. Requirements for scheduled group events

1. Any group or organization desiring to hold a scheduled group event on City-owned property shall complete all the necessary application forms and other documents as directed by the Parks and Recreation Department or other City office.

2. All events that are sanctioned by the City and held on City property must provide proof of liability insurance with a “hold harmless” clause naming the City. Determination of the need for proof of insurance will be made by the City Manager or his/her designee.

3. Events that require City staff services other than those normally provided by the City staff shall be responsible for compensating the City for those services.

4. Reserving parties and user groups with current contracts with the City of Boerne have priority use. Reservations are made through the City of Boerne Park and Recreation Department.

5. User groups that desire to operate on-going league activities on City-owned athletic fields or complexes must contract with the City for such use. User groups will be required to have a current Facility Use Agreement on file with the City of Boerne and meet all requirements therein.

6. The City Manager is hereby authorized to close city streets for scheduled group events if such action is deemed to be in the best interest of the public.

Section II. Boerne City Lake

A. No swimming or boat launching within one thousand (1,000) feet of the Water Treatment Plant intake is permitted.

B. No vehicles shall be allowed on the dam structure at Boerne City Lake except City emergency or maintenance vehicles.

C. No person shall locate, build or construct any dock, boat house or other structure that projects out from the shore of Boerne City Lake into the body of the lake.

D. No admittance will be allowed within the fenced area of the Water Treatment Plant without property authorization from a duly authorized official of the City.

E. No person, except duly authorized personnel, shall enter onto the primary spillway structure at the Boerne City Lake.

F. No swimming or wading allowed within fifty (50) feet of the boat ramp.

G. Fires are only allowed for the purposes of cooking/grilling food and such fires must be located within the permanent grilling units provided by the City. Use of personal grills for the purposes of cooking/grilling food will be allowed as long as they are self contained above ground pits. Ashes must be extinguished. Ashes SHOULD NOT BE discarded in trash receptacles, on park grounds or in the lake.

Section III. Boerne City Park

City Park, south of the paved public parking area located near the swimming pool and athletic fields, shall be closed to vehicular traffic from 10:00 PM to 8:00 AM.

Section IV. Main Plaza, Veterans Park, River Road Park, and Northrup Park

A. Uses are primarily intended for non profit, nonsectarian organizations for a maximum of twenty-four (24) hours. Uses longer than twenty-four (24) hours must have prior approval by the City Manager or his/her designee. Group events and activities shall not detract from the quality of life for residents surrounding the parks due to increased traffic, trash or noise.

B. Reservations will be made on a first-come, first-served basis.

C. Reservations must be made in the Parks & Recreation Department during regular business hours. A reservation form must be completed and signed by a representative of the organization making the request.

D. The group using the City property is responsible for its clean-up within twenty-four (24) hours following the event.

E. Any event that would require any extraordinary measures (i.e., closure of a State controlled highway, crowd control, helicopter landings, etc.) must be pre-approved by City Council.

F. Permanent signs shall not be placed on Main Plaza at any time. A maximum of two (2) “permitted” temporary signs may be places on other City property for a period of up to two (2) weeks.

G. Is shall be unlawful for an unauthorized individual to walk or run across the top of the dam at River Road Park. It shall also be unlawful for an individual to jump, dive, sit, or stand on the prohibited section of the dam at River Road Park. This prohibition does not apply to duly authorized personnel. A violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200.00) and shall be considered trespassing as defined by state law.

H. No amplified sound will be permitted at Veterans Park or in neighborhood parks.

I. Group events and activities in Veterans Park shall only be held during the daylight hours from dawn to dusk.

J. Event coordinators or their designee must be present during the entire duration of public events.

Section V. Roeder Park and Optimist Park

Roeder Park and Optimist Park shall not be used for group activities or events, other than approved children’s events, that would cause increased vehicular traffic in the neighborhood.

Section VI. Old Number Nine Greenway

No unauthorized motorized vehicles shall be allowed at any time on any portion of the greenway.

Section VII. Fees

The fees for the various uses of City Parks, recreational areas, and other public open spaces and facilities are found in the City’s Fee Ordinance, which is on file in the office of the Parks and Recreation Department.

Section VIII. Exceptions

In the best interest of the public, the City Manager may allow for special uses of City parks, recreation areas, and other open spaces and facilities for specified periods of time and may waive or amend the rules and regulations contained herein for the duration of such special use. City Council will be notified of any waivers granted within 48 hours.
The City Manager may require the execution of a Standard Short-Term License Agreement in connection with the granting of such special use in order to further the health, welfare, or safety of the public.
In the event that a special use is denied, for any reason other than the property being previously reserved, the applicant may appeal the denial to the City Council at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

Section IX. Severability Clause

If any part of these regulations should be found invalid or unconstitutional, the validity of the remainder hereof shall not be impaired.

Section X. Penalty Clause

Any person violating any provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined an amount not to exceed two hundred $200.00 dollars, for each day any violation of this Ordinance shall continue to occur. Every such additional day shall be considered a separate offense and punishment shall be assessed accordingly.

READ and APPROVED on first reading this the 25^th day of November, 2003.

READ, APPROVED and ADOPTED on second reading this the 13^th day of January, 2004.