Clearlake Municipal Code § 5-10 Conduct in Public Parks and Beaches

Nothing in this section shall prevent the Clearlake City Council from adopting special rules and regulations as may be currently needed or desired. The Clearlake City Council may issue exemption permits to enable citizens to utilize the parks and beaches to their fullest extent for recreation purposes. (Ord. #64, S2; Ord. #75-96, S2)

5-10.1A Disorderly Conduct on Park Property and Order to Vacate Any Property Maintained by the City. a. Any person who receives a citation or is arrested on City park or beach property or any property maintained by the City of Clearlake for a violation of the City of Clearlake Municipal Code or State law may be ordered by the citing/arresting police officer at the time of the citation/arrest to vacate that park or beach property and not to re- enter said property again for the period of time specified below. Any such order shall apply to either park or beach property at which the citation/arrest occurs and to any other park or beach property maintained by the City of Clearlake. Any person who violates such an order from a City officer shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to arrest as permitted by law. 1. First Offense. Violator must vacate City property for twenty-four (24) hours from the time of the citing/ arresting officer’s order. 2. Second Offense within One (1) Week of the First Offense. Violator must vacate City property for one (1) week from the date of the citing/arresting officer’s order in response to the second offense. 3. Third Offense within Thirty (30) Days of the Second Offense. Violator must vacate City property for thirty (30) days from the date of the citing/arresting officer’s order in response to the third offense. 4. Fourth Offense within Six (6) Months of the Third Offense. Violator must vacate City property for six (6) months from the date of the citing/arresting officer’s order in response to the fourth offense. 5. Fifth Offense within One (1) Year of the Fourth Offense. Violator must vacate City property for one (1) year from the date of the citing/arresting officer’s order in response to the fifth offense. b. Any person who receives an order to vacate pursuant to this section and who desires to appeal that order shall, within five (5) business days of the order, file a written notice of appeal with the City Manager. The City Manager or the City Manager’s designee shall hear the appeal within two (2) business days from the date the written appeal is received by the City Manager’s office. The appeal shall list the appellant’s full contact information including a phone number, if any. 1. The appellant shall be notified of the date, time and location of the appeal hearing. The appeal board shall consist of the Clearlake City Manager, or his/her designee, the City of Clearlake Chief of Police, or his/her designee, and the City of Clearlake Public Works Director, or his/her designee. The appellant must personally appear at the appeal hearing, may call witnesses, may provide any evidence and may hear and examine the City officer who issued the order. Alternatively, the appellant may set forth the basis for the appeal and the arguments in support of the appeal in the written appeal notice and waive the appeal hearing. 2. The appeal hearing shall not be governed by the rules of evidence. 3. If the appeal board determines by a preponderance of the evidence that the appellant did not engage in the conduct for which the order to vacate was issued, the order to vacate shall be immediately withdrawn and of no further force or effect.

The appeal board shall issue a decision on the appeal no later than twenty-four (24) hours after the appeal hearing has been completed or the appeal notice waiving the hearing has been submitted. The decision of the appeal board shall be final. (Ord. #179-2015)

All public parks and beaches within the City Limits shall be open for activities other than fishing, tennis or skate park activities only during the following hours: May 1 - Oct. 31 6:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. Nov. 1 - Apr. 30 Sunrise to Sunset (Ord. #64, S2; Ord. #91-98, S1)

a. No persons shall willfully mark, deface, disfigure, injure, tamper with, displace or remove, any building, bridges, tables, benches, fireplaces, railings, paving material, water lines, sprinkler system, or other public utilities or parts or appurtenances thereof, signs, notices or placards whether boundary markers, or other structures or equipment, facilities or park property or appurtenances whatsoever, either real or personal. b. No persons shall dig, or remove any beach sand, whether submerged or not, or any soil, rock, stones, trees, shrubs or plants, down-timber or other wood or materials, or make any excavation by tool, equipment, blasting, or other means or agency. c. No persons shall construct or erect any building or structure of whatever kind, whether permanent or temporary in character, or run or string any public service utility into, upon, or across such lands, except on special written permit issued hereunder. d. No persons shall damage, cut, carve, transplant or remove any tree or plant or injure the bark, or pick the flowers or seeds, of any tree or plant. Nor shall any person attach any rope, wire, or other contrivance to any tree or plant. A person shall not dig in or otherwise disturb grass areas, or in any way injure or impair the natural beauty or usefulness of any area. e. No persons shall climb any tree or walk, stand or sit upon monuments, vases, fountains, railing, fences, or upon any other property not designated or customarily used for such purpose. f. No persons shall tie or hitch a horse or other animal to any tree or plant.

g. No persons shall hunt, molest, harm, frighten, kill, trap, chase, tease, shoot or throw missiles at any animal, reptile or bird; nor shall he remove or have in his possession the young of any wild animal, or the eggs or nest, or young of any reptile or bird. h. No persons shall give or offer, or attempt to give to any animal or bird any tobacco, alcohol or other known noxious substances. i. No persons shall throw, discharge, or otherwise place or cause to be placed in the waters of any fountain, pond, lake, stream, bay or other body of water in or adjacent to any park or any tributary, stream, storm sewer, or drain flowing into such waters, any substance, matter or thing, liquid or solid, which will or may result in the pollution of such waters. j. No person shall possess or consume in any park or in any park parking area any alcoholic beverage. Alcoholic beverage includes alcohol, spirits, liquor, wine, beer and any liquid or solid containing alcohol by volume in which is fit for beverage purposes either alone or when diluted, mixed or combined with other substances. 1. Exceptions. (a) Special Event permit; consumption and possession of alcohol may be allowed in conjunction with a community special event, subject to obtaining a special event permit from the City of Clearlake pursuant to Section 5-19 of the Clearlake Municipal Code. (Ord. #192-2016) k. No persons shall have brought in or shall dump, deposit or leave any bottles, broken glass, ashes, paper, boxes, cans, dirt, rubbish, waste, garbage, refuse, or other trash. No such refuse or trash shall be placed in any waters in or contiguous to any park, or left anywhere on the grounds thereof, but shall be placed in the proper receptacles where these are provided; where receptacles are not so provided, all such rubbish or waste shall be carried away from the park by the person(s) responsible for its presence and properly disposed of elsewhere. No refuse containers shall be used for the deposit of private household trash. l. No persons shall fail to cooperate in maintaining restrooms and washrooms in a neat and sanitary condition. No person over the age of five (5) years shall use the restrooms and washrooms designated for the opposite sex. (Ord. #64, S2; Ord. #47-94, S1; Ord. #2008-134, S1; Ord. #192-2016)

a. No persons shall park a vehicle in a park other than in an established or designated area and then only in accordance with posted directions there or with the instructions of any attendant who may be present. At no time shall vehicles be driven or parked off of a paved roadway or lot. b. No persons shall drive or operate any vehicles, including bicycles, in a park other than on a paved vehicular road or path provided for that purpose. Provided, however, that a bicyclist shall be permitted to wheel or push a bicycle in any area in which pedestrian traffic is permitted.

c. No persons shall drive or operate any vehicles, including bicycles within or on the interior roads or paths of any park, beach or playground in excess of five (5) miles per hour. (Ord. #64, S2)

a. No persons shall swim, bathe, or wade in any waterways in or adjacent to any park, except in such waters and at such places as are provided therefor, and in compliance with such regulations as are hereinsetforth or may be hereafter adopted. Nor shall any such person frequent any waters or places customarily designated for the purpose of swimming or bathing, or congregate thereat when such activity is prohibited by the Park Superintendent upon finding that such use of the water would be dangerous or otherwise inadvisable. b. No persons shall frequent any waters or places designated for the purpose of swimming or bathing, or congregate thereat, except during operational hours. c. No persons shall erect, maintain, use or occupy on or in any beach or bathing area any tent, shelter or structure of any kind unless there shall be unobstructed view into such tent, shelter or structure from at least two sides; nor shall any guy wire, rope or extension or exterior brace or support be connected or fastened from any such structure to any other structure, stake, rock or other object outside thereof. d. No persons shall fish or angle for fish in any area reserved for bathing. e. Swimming and bathing are specifically prohibited at the following public parks except as permitted under a special events permit with adequate supervision: Redbud Community Park Highlands Community Park (Ord. #64, S2; Ord. #87-98, S1)

a. No persons shall bring into or operate any boat, raft, or other water craft, where motor-powered or not, upon any waters, except at place designated for boating by the Park Superintendent. Such activity shall be in accordance with applicable Lake County regulations as are now or may hereafter be adopted. b. No persons shall use the public docks for dockage in excess of thirty (30) minutes at Redbud Park between the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. c. No person shall navigate, direct, or handle any boat in such a manner as to unjustifiably or unnecessarily annoy or frighten or endanger the occupants of any other boat, or any person in or near the water adjacent thereto. (Ord. #64, S2)

a. No persons shall leave a picnic area before the fire is completely extinguished and before all trash in the nature of boxes, papers, cans, bottles, garbage and other refuse is placed in the disposal receptacles where provided. If no such trash receptacles are available, then refuse and trash shall be carried away from the park area by the picnicker to be properly disposed of elsewhere. b. No persons shall build or attempt to build a fire except in such areas and under such regulations as may be designated by the Park Superintendent. No persons shall drop, throw or otherwise scatter lighted matches, burning cigarettes or cigars, tobacco paper or other inflammable material, within any park area or on any highway, road or street abutting or contiguous thereto. c. No persons shall sit, lie, lounge or otherwise occupy with any portion of the body below the waist, any portion of any table. d. No persons shall use or possess any glass beverage container within the boundaries of the park or beach. (Ord. #64, S2)

a. No persons shall hunt, trap or pursue wild life at any time. No persons shall use, carry, or possess firearms of any descriptions, or airrifles, spring-guns, bow and arrows (except in areas which may be set aside as archery ranges), slings or any other forms of weapons potentially inimical to wild life and dangerous to human safety, or any instrument that can be loaded with and fire blank cartridges, or any kind of trapping device. Shooting into park areas from beyond park boundaries is forbidden. b. No persons shall set up tents, shacks, or any other temporary shelter for the purpose of overnight camping, nor shall any person leave in a park after closing hours any movable structure or special vehicle to be used or that could be used for such purposes, such as a house-trailer, camp-trailer, camp-wagon or the like. c. No persons shall take part in or abet the playing of any games involving thrown or otherwise propelled objects such as balls, stones, arrows, javelins or model airplanes except in areas set apart for such forms of recreation. The playing of rough or comparatively dangerous games such as football, baseball and quoits is prohibited except on the fields and courts or areas provided therefor. Roller-skating shall be confined to those areas specifically designated for such pastime. d. No persons shall ride a horse except on designated bridle trails. Where permitted, horses shall be thoroughly broken and properly restrained, and ridden with due care, and shall not be allowed to graze or go unattended, nor shall they be hitched to any rock, tree or shrub. e. No persons shall set off or otherwise cause to discharge any fireworks or explosive material including “safe and sane” fireworks during the period starting one hour before and ending one half hour after the annual Fourth of July Community Fireworks display.

f. No persons shall solicit alms or contributions for any purpose, whether public or private. g. No persons shall enter an area posted as “Closed to the Public,” nor shall any person use, or abet the use of an area in violation of posted notices. h. No persons shall protractedly lounge on the seats, or benches, or other areas, or engage in loud, boisterous, threatening, abusive, insulting or indecent language, or engage in any disorderly conduct or behavior tending to a breach of the public peace. i. No persons shall broadcast any noise produced by means of musical instruments, speech, music, or other sound amplified by any electronic or mechanical device without having first obtained a permit from the Park Superintendent. This section does not apply to a radio, phonograph, or tape player with a reasonable level of volume that does not interfere with or disturb other person or persons using the park. The provisions of this paragraph shall not prohibit nor apply to the following: 1. Any peace officer while carrying out his duties as a peace officer. 2. Persons engaging in an organized public celebration on public holidays or other occasions generally celebrated. 3. The use of radio, television or phonograph sets located within building or vehicle when all the loudspeakers thereof are directed toward the interior of such building or vehicle. 4. The noise produced by a vehicle necessary to propel the vehicle. j. No persons shall take, carry or lead, or permit to be taken, carried or led, any dog upon any beach or park, except as provided in paragraph 1. below. Dogs are not allowed at any time on the ballfields, playgrounds, or beachfront. 1. Lawfully licensed dogs may be on leash and the dog(s)’ guardian must have a leash for each dog not to exceed six (6) feet long. Dog(s) must be under the control of the dog(s)’ guardian, at all times which includes not being vicious, aggressive and/or unsocialized in the designated areas of the following City parks: (a) Austin Park, excluding the beachfront and playground areas; (b) North of the Austin Park playground and beach, within the Austin Resort area. If property is sold, the area will no longer be included in the allowed areas of the City. (c) Within the signed area on the large grassy field east of the boat ramp at Red Bud Park next to the restrooms; (d) Within the signed area at Haverty Field. (e) Dogs are allowed on boat ramps/courtesy docks if they are getting in or out of a watercraft within the City Parks.

A vicious, aggressive and/or unsocialized dog is defined as a dog that through its behavior demonstrates an intention to inflict harm or otherwise place a person in reasonable fear for his or her safety. Any dog exhibiting such behavior may, with its owner, be removed from the park. 3. All guardians will be held responsible for the removal of all animal feces and placement in park trash cans. 4. Guide, Service, or Signal Dogs. Not withstanding anything else contained in this chapter, any guide dog, signal dog, or service dog, as defined by California or Federal law, may be in or on any public ball field, playground, beachfront, or park when accompanying: (1) a qualified individual with a disability within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, who requires such guide, signal, or service dog to enjoy full and equal access to the public ball field, playground, beachfront, or park; or (2) a person licensed under California law to train that guide, signal, or service dog, who is taking the dog into or onto the public ball field, playground, beachfront, or park for the purpose of training it. Persons authorized to bring a dog into or onto a public ball field, playground, beachfront, or park pursuant to this section shall ensure that the dog is on a leash and tagged as a guide dog, signal dog, or service dog by the appropriate identification tag issued by an authorized State or local agency. (Ord. #64, S2; Ord. #2012-155, SS 2–5)

In addition to the Rules of Conduct in public parks and beaches as set forth in Section 5-10 of Chapter V of the Clearlake Municipal Code, rules and regulations for use of the Skate Park shall be as follows: a. Hours of Operation. The hours of operation of the Skate Park are sunrise to sunset. b. Safety Equipment Required. Persons riding a skateboard or other wheeled vehicle in the Skate Park are required to wear a safety helmet, elbow pads and knee pads pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 115800. c. Food and Beverage. Food and beverages are prohibited on the skating surface. For the purposes of this subsection, skating surface includes the concrete pad and obstacles. d. Obstacles/Materials. Additional obstacles or other materials (ramps, jumps, etc.) may not be brought into the Park. e. Motorized Vehicles Prohibited. Motorized vehicles are prohibited. f. Required Age of Skate Park Users. Skate Park users must be twelve (12) years of age or older. g. The penalty for violation of subsection 5-10.9 shall be the same as that provided under subsection 5-10.10 of this code. (Ord. #91-98, S2; Ord. #2008-136; Ord. #184-2016)

Whenever any act is prohibited by this section or is made or declared to be unlawful, or an offense, or the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, the violation shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment; provided, nevertheless, that any such aforesaid violation or offense may be deemed an infraction as defined by Section 19C of the California Penal Code and charged as such in the discretion and at the election of the City prosecuting attorney, in which event the punishment therefor shall not be imprisonment, but a fine not to exceed the amounts specified by Government Code Section 36900 as then in effect. (Ord. #47-94, S2; Ord. #91-98, SS2, 3)