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HomeMy WebLinkAbout111924-06.5 A ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF REPORT 6.5 TO: Mayor and Town Council November 19, 2024 SUBJECT: Ordinance No. 2024-10, repealing the existing chapter 13 of the Danville Municipal Code and adding a new Chapter 13 regarding Parks and Community Facilities BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION On November 6, 2024, the Town Council introduced Ordinance No. 2024-10, which would repeal the Town’s existing regulations for use of Town parks and community facilities (Danville Municipal Code Chapter 13) and replace it with a new, updated chapter. The new chapter deletes obsolete references, updates definitions and adds new regulations to address current uses of parks and facilities. One change was approved to clarify Section 13-2.3.o restricting riding bikes, e-bikes or motorized scooters in park playgrounds. The ordinance is now before the Council for adoption. PUBLIC CONTACT Posting of the meeting agenda serves as notice to the general public. FISCAL IMPACT None. RECOMMENDATION Adopt Ordinance No. 2024-10, repealing the existing chapter 13 of the Danville Municipal Code and adding a new Chapter 13 regarding Parks and Community Facilities. Prepared by: Robert B. Ewing City Attorney Attachment: Ordinance No. 2024-10 ORDINANCE NO. 2024-10 REPEALING THE EXISTING CHAPTER 13 OF THE DANVILLE MUNICIPAL CODE AND ADDING A NEW CHAPTER 13 REGARDING PARKS AND COMMUNITY FACILITIES The Danville Town Council does ordain as follows: SECTION 1. REPEALING CHAPTER 13 OF THE DANVILLE MUNICIPAL CODE. The existing Chapter 13 of the Danville Municipal Code is hereby repealed in its entirety. SECTION 2. ADDING A NEW CHAPTER 13 TO THE DANVILLE MUNICIPAL CODE. A new Chapter 13 is hereby added to the Danville Municipal Code to read as follows: PARKS AND COMMUNITY FACILITIES 13-1 DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this chapter the following words and phrases shall have the definitions set forth herein, as follows: a. Adult shall mean an individual who is 18 years of age or older. b. Camp or camping shall mean to pitch, erect or occupy space for the purpose of, or in a way that facilitates, outdoor sheltering or living accommodation purposes or for remaining outdoors overnight. c. Child shall mean in individual who is 12 year of age or younger. d. Director shall mean the Director of the Town of Danville’s Recreation, Arts and Community Services Department. e. Facility or community facility shall mean any park, recreational area, or building owned and managed, controlled or operated by the Town. f. Fee facility shall mean a building, structure, or park amenity which may be rented and reserved for the exclusive use of individuals or groups and for which a fee has been established by Town Council resolution. g. Open space shall mean lands managed by the Town of Danville left in their natural, undeveloped state to promote the scenic and aesthetic beauty, and used for the preservation of natural resources and outdoor recreation. h. Park shall mean all open spaces, parks, school-parks, recreation areas, roadside greenways, and trails owned and maintained or under the care and supervision of the Town. This definition shall include Hap Magee Ranch Park, which is jointly owned by Docusign Envelope ID: 8A540E9B-A141-46D6-8D7A-F24DEF32710C PAGE 2 OF ORDINANCE NO. 2024-10 the Town of Danville and Contra Costa County, and which is maintained by the Town of Danville. i. Permit shall mean a permit issued by the Director or the Director’s designee which shall contain the following information: 1. The name of the person or organization to whom the permit is issued; 2. The name of the park or facility and/or the identification of the activity to which the permit applies; 3. Effective date(s) and times of the permit; and such other administrative information as may be necessary. j. Park playground shall mean any area of a Town owned park, including Hap Magee Ranch Park, which has been designated by the Director as a children’s playground and on which clear and visible signage has been posted providing notice of the status as a children’s playground and the prohibition set forth in section 13-2.3 of this code. k. Picnic area shall mean an area within a park which contains picnic tables and which is regularly used as a place for picnics. l. Town shall mean Town of Danville. 13-2 USE RESTRICTIONS. 13-2.1 Hours. a. Parks shall be open for public use from dawn to dusk and shall be closed at all other times, except as otherwise permitted or limited by the Director in cases such as lighted ballfields or uses with more restricted hours. b. The Director may exclude members of the general public or individuals or groups from parks or community facilities, or portions of such parks or community facilities, where such exclusion is necessary to protect public property or the public health, safety or welfare. c. Whenever any area of any park or community facility has been reserved for exclusive use of a person or group of persons, that area may be posted and closed to the use of all other persons not associated with that exclusive use. d. It shall be unlawful, and punishable as an infraction, for any person to enter or remain in any park during the hours it is closed. e. Any person who remains in any closed park or any area of any closed park after being advised by a police officer that it is closed and who refuses to leave shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and subject to arrest. 13-2.2 Hazardous Activities. a. The Director may determine that certain types of activities or events create a risk of danger to parks, users or community facilities. The Director may issue such regulations as are necessary to prohibit such activities or events within parks or community facilities or to restrict their occurrence to specific locations within a given park or community facility. Docusign Envelope ID: 8A540E9B-A141-46D6-8D7A-F24DEF32710C PAGE 3 OF ORDINANCE NO. 2024-10 b. Whenever any activity is restricted or prohibited in specified areas of any park or community facility, or whenever the use of specified areas is restricted or prohibited, the Director may cause signs to be posted notifying the public of such restrictions or prohibitions. Failure to obey the restrictions stated in any properly posted sign shall be an infraction. 13-2.3 Prohibitions. a. Amplified Sound. No one shall operate any sound amplification equipment at a volume that that is plainly audible at a distance of fifty feet (50’) in any park without a valid permit issued by the Director. b. Large Gatherings. The Director can deny a group permit if the number of persons in the group is so large that it constitutes a threat to park property or public safety. c. Fires. 1. No person shall build, light or maintain in any park any outdoor fire except for a fire maintained in a regulation park fire pit or park barbecue, unless authorized by a permit issued by the Director 2. No person who builds, lights or maintains any fire in any park shall not leave until the fire has been extinguished and is cold to the touch. 3. No person shall ignite any fireworks in any park, open space, or on any Town property, or possess fireworks at any time in any park, open space, or on any Town property. d. Camping. No person shall camp or lodge in a tent, on the ground, in a motor home or other vehicle, in any park or community facility, including the parking lot of any such area, without the written permission of the Director. e. Guns and Dangerous Instruments. No person, other than peace officers in the discharge of their duties, shall have in their possession in any park or community facility any firearm, , bow and arrows, , sling shot, air or gas weapon or any other weapon potentially dangerous to human safety or wildlife. f. Motorized Boats and Planes. No person shall operate in any park or community facility any airborne or waterborne boat, plane, drone, rocket or missile, without the written permission of the Director. g. Hunting, Injuring Park Wildlife; Animals and Pets in Parks. 1. No person shall set out food intended for any wild or tame animal, bird, fish, or reptile, in any park, except at feeding stations so designated by the Director. In parks where there are water features where wild and domestic fowl gather, birds may be fed bread or birdseed without written permission of the Director (although this practice is strongly discouraged for the overall health of the birds). 2. No person shall abandon any animal, bird, fish or reptile in any park. 3. No person shall hunt, capture, harm, or attempt to hunt, capture or harm any land, air or water animal in any park. All state fish and game laws and regulations shall be in force in all parks. Children under twelve (12) years of age are allowed to fish without a license at Oak Hill Park. While fishing, poles and/or lines may not be left in the water unattended. Docusign Envelope ID: 8A540E9B-A141-46D6-8D7A-F24DEF32710C PAGE 4 OF ORDINANCE NO. 2024-10 4. No person shall remove the unhatched eggs of any wild animal found in any park. 5. Horses and other equine animals may be ridden or led only in those areas of parks designated for such use. 6. No person shall damage, remove or destroy any tree, plant or plant material from or within any park without the permission of the Director. h. Dogs. With the exception of areas designated as dog parks, no person shall bring or allow a dog owned or maintained by them into any park unless such dog is on a leash under complete control at all times. 1. The Town may designate areas of any Town park as a dog park, in which dogs may be allowed off leash within the limits of the area so designated. 2. Any person having the custody or control of any dog shall have the duty to immediately remove any feces left by such animal on any public place and to dispose of such feces in a sanitary manner. 3. Any person having the custody or control of any dog in or on a Town property shall have in such person’s immediate possession a bag or equipment for the picking up and removal of animal feces. 4. The provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 above shall not apply to any person using a “seeing eye” or guide dog i. Swimming. No person shall swim, wade, float, dive, or otherwise immerse themselves in any water feature in any park except in those areas so designated by the Director by the placement of appropriate signs. j. Golfing. No person in a park or community facility shall golf, including but not limited to chipping, putting, driving or otherwise practicing golf. k. Commercial Activities. No person shall: (a) sell any goods or services; (b) conduct or maintain any show, performance, concert, place of amusement or exhibition; or (c) conduct private lessons or classes unless such person has received the prior written permission of the Director. This section shall not apply to sidewalk vendors as defined in and licensed pursuant to Chapter 5-9 of this Code nor to concessionaires of the Town or to persons acting under a lease, license or special permit issued by the Town. l. Smoking. Smoking and vaping shall be prohibited in all parks, facilities and buildings owned or maintained by the Town of Danville. m. Alcohol. 1. No person shall consume any alcoholic beverage, with the exception of beer and wine, in any area of a park, including parking lots associated therewith. Individuals twenty-one (21) years and over may consume beer and wine in parks providing it is consumed in conjunction with picnicking activities. Park users may not gather in picnic or other areas for the sole purpose of consuming beer and wine. 2. Beer and wine may be consumed in community buildings providing approval is granted in conjunction with a Facilities Use Permit. Docusign Envelope ID: 8A540E9B-A141-46D6-8D7A-F24DEF32710C PAGE 5 OF ORDINANCE NO. 2024-10 3. Beer and wine shall not be sold in parks. Beer and wine may be sold in community facilities with approval of the Director and with a one (1) day license from the Alcohol Beverage Control Board. 4. No alcoholic beverages shall be consumed or possessed on school premises including school grounds defined as parks and maintained by the Town of Danville. n. Vehicles in Parks. 1. No person, except for peace officers and Town employees acting in the course and scope of their employment, shall drive any motorized vehicle onto any park grounds except by permit issued by the Director. Violation of this paragraph shall constitute a misdemeanor, and a public offense authorizing the impoundment of the motor vehicle used in the commission of the offense. For the purposes of this paragraph, park grounds shall include all areas within all parks except for roadway and parking lots intended for public use. 2. All sections of the California Vehicle Code in effect in the Town of Danville shall be enforced in Town parks. 3. Food trucks operating with a permit may not use more than one parking space. o. Bicycles, E-bikes and motorized scooters. No person shall ride or operate a bicycle, e- bike or motorized scooter in a negligent, unsafe or reckless manner, or in any way that endangers the life, limb or property of any person in a Town park or trail. Riding bicycles, e-bikes and motorized scooters in park playground areas is prohibited. p. Yard Clippings or Garbage. No person shall place or dump any grass clippings, tree or shrub pruning, rubbish, garbage or other refuse in any park, except for garbage from food or drink consumed in the park which shall be placed only in receptacles provided for such. q. Advertising. No person shall place or affix any handbill, circular, pamphlet or advertisement to any tree, fence, shrub or structure in any park. r. Graffiti. No person shall destroy, mar, spoil, deface, or mutilate any park property by means of painting, carving, writing, or otherwise. s. Structures. No structure shall be erected or placed in any park or open space other than by permit issued by the Director. t. Adults not accompanying children 12 and under prohibited from park playgrounds. 1. No adult shall be present on any Town park playground unless the adult is accompanying a child age 12 and under, lawfully under their custody or control, who is using the playground. 2. Any person who violates this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. SECTION 3. CODIFICATION. Section 2 of this ordinance shall be codified in the Danville Municipal Code. SECTION 4. SEVERABILITY. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the ordinance. The Danville Town Council hereby Docusign Envelope ID: 8A540E9B-A141-46D6-8D7A-F24DEF32710C PAGE 6 OF ORDINANCE NO. 2024-10 declares that they would have adopted the ordinance, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases was declared invalid. SECTION 5. PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE. The City Clerk shall have a summary of this ordinance published twice in a newspaper of general circulation, once within five (5) days before its adoption and once within 15 (fifteen) days after adoption. This ordinance shall become effective 30 days after adoption. The foregoing Ordinance was introduced on November 6, 2024, and approved and adopted by the Danville Town Council at a regular meeting held on November 19, 2024, by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSTAINED: ABSENT: ______________________ MAYOR APPROVED AS TO FORM: ATTEST: _______________________ CITY ATTORNEY CITY CLERK CLERK'S CERTIFICATE I, Marie Sunseri, City Clerk of the Town of Danville, hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and accurate copy of Ordinance No. 2024-10 of said Town and that said ordinance was published according to law. Dated: __________________________ _________________________________ City Clerk of the Town of Danville Docusign Envelope ID: 8A540E9B-A141-46D6-8D7A-F24DEF32710C