Sec. 12-1. - Opening and closing hours of town parks; remaining in parks after closing.

Except as authorized by the director of parks and recreation, or his designee, the following town parks and greenways are closed from thirty (30) minutes past sunset until 6:00 a.m.:

Battle Branch Trail;

Bolin Creek Trail;

Booker Creek Trail;

Burlington Boulevard Park;

Emily Braswell Perry Park;

Gomains Tot Lot;

Greendale Park;

Hargraves Park (playground and picnic shelter only);

Jones Park;

North Forest Hills Park;

Northern Community Park (basketball court, volleyball court, picnic shelters, and playground only);

Pine Knolls Neighborhood Park;

Tanyard Branch Trail;

Westwood Park;

All entranceways, greenways, parks, and open space lands not specifically mentioned in this section.

Except as authorized by the director of parks and recreation, or his designee, the following town parks are closed from 11:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m.:

Cedar Falls Park;

Community Center Park;

Ephesus Park;

Hargraves Park (excluding the playground and picnic shelter);

Lincoln Gymnasium and Arts Building;

Oakwood Park;

Northern Community Park (excluding the basketball court, volleyball court, picnic shelters, and playground);

Phillips Park;

Pritchard Park;

Umstead Park;

Wallace Parking Plaza.

Upon complaint by any person or town police or public safety officer or town parks and recreation department employee, any person upon any town park after the park has closed may be asked to leave, unless that person is participating in a town sponsored program or has obtained, from the director of parks and recreation, written permission to remain on the site. It shall be unlawful to remain upon the park during the time the park is closed [after being asked to leave by any police or public safety officer or employee of the town parks and recreation department].

(Ord. No. O-80-14, 3-10-80; Ord. No. O-82-47, § 1, 6-28-82; Ord. No. 93-7-6/O-6, 7-6-93; Ord. No. 96-6-10/O-1; Ord. No. 97-11-24/O-1, 11-24-97; Ord. No. 98-9-28/O-4.5, § 1, 9-28-98; Ord. No. 2005-04-25/O-4, § 1)

Sec. 12-2. - Compliance with regulations; enforcement.

The regulations set out in section 12-3 shall apply in all parks, greenways, open spaces, entranceways, playgrounds, recreation and community centers, facilities temporarily leased by the town for parks and recreation purposes, swimming areas and facilities (collectively "park" or "parks") owned or controlled by the town, whether within or outside the town limits. These regulations and other provisions of this article may be enforced by any law enforcement officer within the officer's appropriate territorial and subject matter jurisdiction or by the parks and recreation director, or by any parks and recreation department employee so designated and empowered by the parks and recreation director.

(Ord. No. O-85-52, § 1, 8-26-85; Ord. No. 93-7-6/O-6; Ord. No. 99-5-24/O-2, § 1)

Sec. 12-3. - Rules and regulations for town parks.

(a)

No person shall willfully mark, deface, disfigure, injure, tamper with, or without the authorization of the town, displace or remove any structure, equipment, facility, or any other real or personal property, that is the property of or under the control of the parks and recreation department.

(b)

No person shall willfully damage, cut, carve, transplant or remove any tree, shrub, bush or plant within any park except in maintenance or other activity under the direction of the town.

(c)

No person shall willfully disturb, harass, capture, harm, molest, or injure any wild animal or its habitat within any park except in maintenance or other activity under the direction of the town.

(d)

No person shall drive, park or ride any motorized vehicle in any park except in areas so marked, signed or designated for motorized vehicular traffic and except in maintenance or other activity under the direction of the town and by persons requiring the use of motorized wheelchairs.

(d.1)

No person shall park or leave standing a vehicle of any kind within the Cedar Falls Park for a period of time in excess of three (3) hours, between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, during normal operating school sessions.

(e)

No person shall drive, park, or ride nonmotorized vehicles in any park, greenway, entranceway, or open space signed for the exclusion of nonmotorized vehicles except in maintenance or other activities under the direction of the town and by persons requiring the use of nonmotorized wheelchairs.

(f)

No pedestrian, or person utilizing a nonmotorized vehicle, on trails and roads located within parks, greenways, entranceways, or open space shall act in a manner that endangers other users. The following shall be prohibited by all park users:

(1)

Passing pedestrian or nonmotorized vehicle users on the right.

(2)

Traveling left of the centerline of the trail.

(3)

Failing to control nonmotorized vehicles.

(4)

Using public trails under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol.

(5)

Failing to signal with voice, bell, or horn prior to passing pedestrian or nonmotorized vehicle users.

(6)

Exceeding posted speed limits.

(7)

Acting in a manner which causes more than fifty (50) per cent of a trail, path or road to be blocked.

(8)

Failing to yield the right-of-way when crossing trails, bike paths, or roads.

(9)

Using public paths or greenway trails to gain unlawful or uninvited access to private property.

(g)

All persons operating a bicycle on a public trail within the town shall wear a protective helmet on his or her head, with the chin strap fastened under the chin. Said helmet shall be fitted to the size of the operator and shall meet or exceed the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Z90.4 or subsequent bicycle helmet standards, or the Snell Memorial Foundation's 1984 Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling or subsequent standards.

(h)

No person shall dump, deposit, leave or place trash, rubbish, garbage, ashes, wastes, broken glass or other rubbish within any park, greenway, entranceway, or open space except in garbage, trash, recycling or other property receptacles provided for the purpose. No person shall dispose of household garbage or rubbish within any park.

(i)

No person shall camp or stay overnight in any park, except with written permission from the parks and recreation director.

(j)

Except for authorized personnel or agents of the parks and recreation department or law enforcement personnel, no person shall enter any park or remain in any park during the hours the park is closed to the public as set out in section 12-1 above.

(k)

(1)

Except as otherwise specifically prohibited by this chapter, dogs, cats, and other pets, excluding horses, livestock and animals not commonly domesticated, are allowed within the parks. All animals are subject to the town animal control ordinance.

(2)

Dogs, except service animals, are not permitted, whether on or off leash, within fences and/or other boundaries that identify any developed, improved playing fields in any parks.

(3)

Dogs brought within parks, open space, and greenways must be restrained at all times by a leash that is no longer than six (6) feet in length.

(l)

No person shall solicit, peddle or beg within any park, or sell any merchandise or wares. This subsection shall not apply to:

(i)

any concession franchise granted by the parks and recreation department for a park; or

(ii)

any solicitation or sale of goods by nonprofit or civic groups, provided that written permission is obtained in advance from the parks and recreation director or the director's designee.

(m)

No person shall carry, possess or use any firearm or other dangerous weapon within any park. This section shall not apply to law enforcement or other government personnel acting within the scope of their employment.

(n)

Except as authorized and permitted by resolution of the town council adopted pursuant to section 3-5 of this Code, no person shall use, consume or possess any alcoholic beverages, beer or wine within any park. No person shall use, consume or possess any narcotic drug or hallucinogen or any other controlled substance within any park without a valid physician's prescription for the substance.

(o)

All persons in any park shall obey all posted regulations, signs and directions.

(p)

No person shall swim or boat in parks except in waters and in areas designated for such purpose or purposes by the parks and recreation department.

(q)

No person shall engage, either verbally or physically, in any loud, disruptive or offensive conduct, or engage in any activity or sport in a manner which threatens the safety or welfare of other patrons of the park, or which unreasonably impairs the public's opportunity to use and enjoy the park.

(r)

All persons using or present in the vicinity of swimming pools or other water areas shall obey oral instructions from pool staff members, posted regulations and notices relating to conduct of patrons, safety requirements, and health and hygiene requirements.

(s)

Participants in organized league sports shall obey the special rules and regulations relating to such activities in the park as prescribed by the parks and recreation department.

(t)

No person other than parks and recreation department personnel acting within the scope of their employment shall, without the permission of the town, place, maintain or erect any sign, poster, notice or advertising device within any park.

(u)

No person, except those persons requiring the use of an assistance animal, as defined in North Carolina State Statute 14-163.1, or receiving written permission from the director of the parks and recreation department, shall bring any animal onto public sidewalks and streets which have been closed by the town council for the purpose of holding street fairs, races, or other community events. All animals are subject to the town animal control ordinance.

(v)

Any person shall immediately leave park premises after being requested or directed to leave by the parks and recreation director or the director's designee. The parks and recreation director or director's designee shall make such a request only upon a reasonable belief that the person has violated the provisions of this section. Any person leaving or removed from the park shall not re-enter the park unless he or she obeys all regulations governing use of the park.

(w)

Parking facilities owned or operated by the town for the purpose of providing public access to parks and trails shall be restricted to park and trail users only, if the parking facility is so signed. No vehicle shall be parked without authorization in a space designated as reserved for park use only (by a sign at the space or at the entrance to the off-street parking facility) except for the purpose for which the space is reserved. A vehicle parked in violation of this subsection may be removed pursuant to procedures in the Chapel Hill Code of Ordinances and may be recovered only upon payment of towing and storage charges; and violations shall be subject to civil penalty as provided in section 12-4 of the Town Code.

(Ord. No. O-85-52, § 2, 8-26-85; Ord. No. 93-7-6/O-6; Ord. No. 96-6-10/O-1; Ord. No. 97-6-23/O-5, § I, 6-23-97; Ord. No. 97-11-24/O-1, 11-24-97; Ord. No. 99-5-24/O-2, § 2; Ord. No. 2000-10-23/O-3, § 1; Ord. No. 2005-05-09/O-4, § 3; Ord. No. 2009-06-22/O-10, § 3; Ord. No. 2010-12-6/O-7, § 1)

Cross reference— Additional restrictions on possession and display of firearms, § 11-130 et seq.

Sec. 12-4. - Penalty for violation of section 12-3.

Each violation of the provisions of section 12-3 shall be a misdemeanor and be subject to a fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days; except, however, that a violation of section 12-3(d.1) and section 12-3(w) shall be subject to the penalty as provided in section 21-38(e) of this Code.

(Ord. No. O-85-52, § 3, 8-26-85; Ord. No. 92-4-13/O-4, § 7; Ord. No. 93-7-6/O-6; Ord. No. 97-6-23/O-5, § II, 6-23-97, 97-11-24/O-1, 11-24-97; Ord. No. 2010-12-6/O-7, § 2)

Secs. 12-5—12-15. - Reserved.