TITLE X—PUBLIC PROPERTY

CHAPTER 1—PARKS AND GROUNDS

(Ord. 981, eff. 12/4/1981; Ord. 1205, eff. 6/4/1993; Ord. 1242, eff. 11/17/1995; Ord. 1317, eff. 1/19/2001; Ord. 1340, eff. 5/2/2003)

Sec. 10000 City parks, buildings, and grounds.

All parks, buildings and grounds owned by the City of Arcata shall be subject to the provisions of this Chapter. (Ord. 1412, eff. 4/20/2012)

Sec. 10001 Regulations to apply.

In addition to any other regulations contained in this chapter, all the police regulations of the City of Arcata are hereby declared to be applicable to, and shall apply to the premises included in city parks, buildings and grounds.

Sec. 10003 Prohibiting the operation of any motorized vehicle or cycle in city parks and grounds.

No person shall operate, nor shall the owner thereof permit the operation of any motorcycle, motor driver cycle or any motor vehicle within the confines of any City park or ground except when such operation is on a public street.

Sec. 10004 Overnight use prohibited.

There shall be no camping on or in City parks, buildings and grounds, nor overnight use of City parks, buildings and grounds unless specifically authorized by the City Manager or her/his designee. “Camping” is defined as the use of public parks, buildings or grounds for living accommodation purposes such as sleeping activities, or making preparations to sleep (including the laying down of bedding for the purpose of sleeping), or storing personal belongings, or making any fire, or using any tents or shelter or other structure or vehicle for sleeping, or doing any digging, or earth breaking, or carrying on cooking activities. The above-listed activities constitute camping when it reasonably appears, in light of all the circumstances, that the participants, in conducting these activities, are in fact using the area as a living accommodation regardless of the intent of the participants or the nature of any other activities in which they may also be engaging. (Ord. 1205, eff. 6/4/1993; Ord. 1412, eff. 4/20/2012)

Sec. 10006 Regulation of use of public parks, buildings and grounds.

A.    No individual or group may use City parks, buildings or grounds without first obtaining a permit from the City Manager or her/his designee for activities or events which include any of the following:

1.    Nonspontaneous large group activities consisting of fifty (50) or more persons;

2.    The charging of an admission or entrance fee;

3.    The use of City facilities not ordinarily available for public use;

4.    Regularly occurring organized team or league use of City sports fields or courts;

5.    The sale of merchandise, food or beverages;

6.    The setting up of booths, stages, vending carts or stands, kiosks, bleachers or similar structures;

7.    The barricading of any City street or other street use that would impede the normal flow of traffic;

8.    Amplified music or sound;

9.    The need for access to City electricity;

10.    The need for garbage collection specific to the activity or event; or

11.    The staging or shooting of commercial motion or television pictures or still photography, exempting local businesses, filming for educational purposes, and tourism productions, as further defined by the City Council, when such activities do not otherwise require a City permit.

B.    Public parks are closed between sunset and sunrise, except the Plaza, which is closed between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. The City Manager or her/his designee may authorize specific activities in designated areas during these closed hours. Any unauthorized use of public parks or the Plaza during closed hours is unlawful.

C.    If an individual or group receives a permit to use City parks, grounds or buildings, it shall be unlawful to conduct any activity in violation of said permit provisions.

D.    No individual or group of individuals may use City parks, grounds/facilities or buildings contrary to posted signs or markings.

E.    Applications for permits to use City parks, grounds and buildings as required in this chapter are available at Arcata City Hall, and shall be processed pursuant to those regulations established in accordance with Section 10011. (Ord. 1205, eff. 6/4/1993; Ord. 1242, eff. 11/17/1995; Ord. 1340, eff. 5/2/2003; Ord. 1412, eff. 4/20/2012; Ord. 1415, eff. 6/15/2012; Ord. 1455, eff. 4/3/2015)

Sec. 10007 Fires on City grounds.

Fires will be allowed in City buildings and on City grounds only in those areas equipped with fireplaces for the containment of fires. Any fire maintained outside a fireplace constructed or approved by the City shall be considered an “open fire.”

Sec. 10008 Animals prohibited.

Unless otherwise prohibited by resolution of the City Council, it shall be unlawful for any person to ride, lead, or let loose any cattle, horse, mule, goat, sheep, swine or fowl or animal of any kind in any public park. However, it shall not be unlawful to maintain dogs on a leash not in excess of six (6) feet.

Sec. 10009 Non-motorized vehicles in Community Forest.

Individuals on nonmotorized vehicles (includes horses and mountain bikes) shall be allowed by resolution on specified roads and trails in the Arcata Community Forest.

Sec. 10010 Injury to plants, buildings and equipment.

No person shall cut, break, injure, deface or disturb any tree, turf, shrub, plant, rock, building, monument, fence, bench, structure, apparatus or property, or pluck, pull up, cut, take out or remove any shrub, bush, plant or flowers or remove or write upon any building, monument, fence, bench or other structure within any public park or ground.

Sec. 10011 Duty of the City Manager to administer parks, buildings and grounds.

A.    The City Manager or her/his delegated representative shall be responsible for establishing reasonable fees, rules, regulations and policies pertaining to the use of public parks, buildings and grounds. Such fees, rules, regulations, and policies shall be promulgated by resolution of the City Council and shall be duly noticed and published so as to inform the public.

B.    To the extent permitted by law, the City Manager may deny an application for a permit to use a City park, building or ground if the applicant or person on whose behalf the application for a permit was made has on prior occasions made material misrepresentations regarding the nature or scope of an event or activity previously permitted or has violated the terms of a prior permit issued on behalf of the applicant. The City Manager may also deny an application for a permit to use a City park, building or ground for any of the following reasons:

1.    The application for a permit (including any required attachments and submissions) is not fully completed or executed;

2.    The applicant has not tendered the required application fee with the application or has not tendered the required special activity event fees, insurance certificate when required or deposit within the times prescribed by the City Manager;

3.    The application for a permit contains a material falsehood or misrepresentation;

4.    The applicant is legally incompetent to contract or to sue and be sued;

5.    The applicant or the person on whose behalf the application for a permit was made has on prior occasions damaged City property and has not paid in full for such damage, or has other outstanding and unpaid debts to the City;

6.    A fully executed prior application for a permit for the same time and place has been received, and a permit has been or will be granted to a prior applicant authorizing uses or activities which do not reasonably permit multiple occupancy of the particular park, building or ground, or part thereof;

7.    The use or activity intended by the application would conflict with previously planned programs organized and conducted by the City and previously scheduled for the same time and place;

8.    The proposed use or activity is prohibited by or inconsistent with the classifications and uses of the park, building or ground, or part thereof designated pursuant to this title or City Council regulation adopted in accordance with this title;

9.    The use or activity intended by the applicant would present a danger to the health or safety of the applicant, or other users of the park, building or ground, or City employees or the public;

10.    The applicant has not complied or cannot comply with applicable licensure or permit requirements, ordinances or regulations of the City, Arcata Fire Protection District, County and State concerning the sale or offering for sale of any goods or services, recycling and waste diversion and erection of temporary structures; or

11.    The use or activity intended by the applicant is prohibited by local, state or federal law or regulation. (Ord. 1412, eff. 4/20/2012)

Sec. 10012 Penalties.

It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any of the provisions of this chapter, and any such violation shall be an infraction of this code and shall be punishable pursuant to this code.

Sec. 10013 Amplified sound.

The use of any system for amplifying sounds, whether for speech, music or otherwise, is prohibited in any City park or upon any City grounds, excluding City-owned buildings, or on any public street or sidewalk, unless a special use permit is first secured from the Arcata City Manager. Special use permits for amplified sound shall be issued only for events of community-wide significance. Denial of any such permit may be appealed to the City Council, in writing, within ten (10) days of the Manager’s action. (Ord. 981, eff. 12/4/1981)

Sec. 10014 Overnight parking restrictions in Redwood Park.

Parking shall be prohibited on Redwood Park Drive from 14th and Union Streets eastward, and in all delineated parking spaces and parking lots in Redwood Park, between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. (Ord. 1317, eff. 1/19/2001)