Hemet Municipal Code Art. II Park Use Rules

(a) Large group events, including Hemet-based group events that qualify as such, may only take place at a park upon issuance of a permit by the city manager or his or her designee in accord with all applicable provisions of this chapter.

(b) Although group events generally shall not require permit, park sites may be reserved for group events via the permit process provided in section 50-40. Any person or party who secures a permit authorizing a particular group event to take place at a particular park site shall be entitled by this chapter to hold the group event in question at the park site in question, to the exclusion of all other persons and parties.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

(a) Except in accord with a specific written permit provision, no person shall remain, park a vehicle, stay, or loiter in any unlit park between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. or any lit park between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

(b) The city manager may designate extended park hours for any park when the city manager determines that such extension of hours is consistent with sound use of park resources, will enhance recreational activities in the city, and will not be detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare. The prohibitions contained in subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to any person present in a park during extended park hours designated pursuant to this subsection.

(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the police chief may order any park closed before sunset and after sunrise when he or she determines that activities constituting a threat to public health, safety or welfare have occurred or are occurring in the park and that such closing is necessary to protect the public health, safety or welfare. At least one sign designating the hours when the park is closed shall be installed prominently in the park. During any time when a park is ordered closed, it is unlawful for any person to remain, stay, or loiter in said park during said period.

(d) It shall be unlawful to enter or remain in a children's playground area if such person is 18 years of age or older unless actually engaged in the care, custody or supervision of a person younger than 18 years of age who is using the child playground facilities.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

No person shall light or maintain any fire, except in a place designated by the city as a park amenity, feature or fixture, or as specifically approved by the fire chief concurrent with the issuance of a permit under this chapter. This section shall prohibit the use of any personal barbeque equipment in any park.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

Except as authorized by state or federal law, or specifically permitted by the city or another authorized governmental authority, no person shall possess, carry or discharge any weapon in any park.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

(a) City issuance of a permit for any group event under this chapter shall not exempt the event from compliance with any other provision of this Code related to noise.

(b) Nothing in this section or Code shall be construed to limit conduct or speech that is permitted or protected by state or federal law.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

Except as authorized by a permit issued per this chapter, no person shall ride or drive any horse or other animal or propel any vehicle, electric bicycle, cycle or automobile in a park except in locations designated as roads, trails, parking lots, or driveways provided for that purpose, and only in a direction as may be posted.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

No person shall throw, discard, place or dispose of any garbage or refuse in a park, in any place other than a garbage can or other receptacle maintained for that purpose. No person shall bring or transport garbage or refuse generated outside a park to a park for disposal.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

No person shall sell, offer or solicit the sale of goods or services within a park, or pass out commercial handbills or advertising, or commercially offer or provide teaching services within a park. This prohibition shall not apply to activity specifically authorized by a vending permit or other permit issued per this chapter. Sales of food or goods from vending carts is prohibited except as authorized by this Code or addressed by a specific written permit provision.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

(a) Camping in any park shall be prohibited consistent with section 53-1.

(b) No food, beverage, merchandise or service shall be sold or distributed or offered for sale or distribution, whether from a vehicle or otherwise, in a park consistent with subsection 34-118(c).

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

No person shall:

(1) Pick, dig, remove, destroy, injure, mutilate or cut any tree, plant, shrub, bloom or flower, or any portion thereof growing in a park; or

(2) Cut, break, deface or injure any building, structure, monument, sign, fence, bench, equipment or property in a park.

(3) Open, expose, or interfere with any water system or utility, provided that this prohibition shall not apply to the use of any drinking fountain for its intended purpose."

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

(a) No dog shall be permitted within any park except where specifically authorized by posted signage.

(b) Any dog at any location within a park shall be restrained by a leash; provided, however, that the provisions of this section may be temporarily waived per the terms of a permit issued pursuant to this chapter.

(c) In park areas designated by the city council as off leash areas, dogs are permitted off-leash under the rules stated in section 50-21.

(d) Each person having care or custody of a dog anywhere in a park shall be solely responsible for promptly placing that dog's waste into a garbage can or other trash or rubbish receptacle maintained in the park in question.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

The following rules apply within off-leash areas:

(1) No dog is permitted in an off-leash area except in the care, custody and control of a person 13 years of age or older.

(2) No person may have more than two dogs in an off-leash area at any time.

(3) Any dog in an off-leash area must be under the voice control of its caretaker(s) at all times.

(4) No dog is permitted in the off-leash area except during that area's posted hours of operation.

(5) Any dog in an off-leash area must be at least four months of age, vaccinated for rabies, and have a current animal license.

(6) No dog that is sick, in heat, or unreasonably aggressive is permitted in an off-leash area.

(7) Any person having care or custody of a dog in the off-leash area shall promptly remove that dog's waste.

(8) No animals other than dogs are permitted in an off-leash area.

(9) No dog obedience classes may be conducted in an off-leash area.

(10) The use of an off-leash area by a dog's owner or any other person having care, custody, or control of the dog in question shall constitute an agreement by the dog owner or custodian in question to follow the rules stated in this section, and further, a waiver and release of any and all claims of the city, and agreement to protect, indemnify, defend and hold the city harmless from any claim, injury or damage arising from or related to such use.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

No person shall take part in or abet the playing of a game of golf or the practice thereof in any park. Further, no person shall cause any object such as a ball or stone to be propelled by use of a golf club or similar instrument within any park. This section shall not apply to the use of an area designated for the playing of golf by the city council or activity authorized by a permit issued pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

No person shall erect, install, or use any inflatable structure or fixture (such as waterslide, inflatable, bounce house, jumper, or any similar device) in any park. This section may only be waived pursuant to the terms and conditions of a permit issued pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

(a) No person shall enter, be or remain in any park while in possession of any can, bottle, or other receptacle containing any alcoholic beverage that has been opened, or a seal broken, or the contents of which have been partially removed.

(b) No person shall consume, or provide or offer for consumption, any alcoholic beverage in any park. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a violation of this division may, within the discretion of the city attorney, be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or an infraction.

(c) This section may only be waived pursuant to the terms and conditions of a permit issued pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

General and temporary regulations shall apply to park use and shall facilitate the function of this parks ordinance. The city manager, or their designee, may administratively issue, modify or repeal temporary regulations for any park's use. No temporary regulation issued hereunder may be enforced for more than 180 consecutive days. Each new park regulation adopted, or a summary statement explaining the modification or repeal of an established park regulation, shall be submitted to the city council for ratification by resolution. The city council retains and may exercise at its discretion authority to adopt, modify or repeal any park regulation.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

No formally organized sports competition may be scheduled to take place in any park unless a permit for said scheduling has been approved by the city manager, or their designee.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

(a) The purposes of this section are to establish regulations for the use and enjoyment of city skate park facilities in the interest of public safety, to comply with Health and Safety Code § 115800 by adopting an ordinance requiring the use of safety equipment, with penalty by citation and notice by sign, and to satisfy the conditions of Health and Safety Code § 115800 for qualified immunity from liability for hazardous recreational activities.

(b) The terms used in this section, e.g. "skateboard," shall have the meanings in common usage, except as otherwise defined in this chapter or by the Health and Safety Code and other applicable laws. For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

Skate park means the skate park facility(ies) located in the city.

Skating area means the area within the skate park designed for all-wheel (e.g. skateboards, in-line skates, scooters, bicycles) activities, which are limited to the adjacent concrete.

(c) Health and Safety Code § 115800 prohibits any operator of a skateboard park to permit any person to ride a skateboard therein unless that person is wearing a helmet, elbow pads and knee pads. Furthermore, pursuant to Health and Safety Code 115800, the city requires that:

(1) Any person riding a skateboard at the skate park must wear a helmet, elbow pads and knee pads; and

(2) Notice of the safety equipment required and notice of the penalty for violation shall be provided.

Any person using in-line skates, scooters, bicycles, or other wheeled vehicles must wear a helmet, elbow pads and knee pads.

(d) The city manager shall develop a system for recording skateboarding injuries and claims, and shall report those incidents to the judicial council in accordance with Health and Safety Code § 115800.

(e) Skateboarding is deemed a hazardous recreational activity, within the meaning of Government Code § 831.7, and by Health and Safety Code § 115800 under specified conditions.

(f) The city adopts the pertinent state law definitions of hazardous recreational activities and affirms that use of the skate park is deemed a hazardous recreational activity to the fullest extent permitted by law.

(g) Stunts or tricks with skateboards, luge skateboarding, and the like, and stunts, tricks and the like with in-line skates, scooters, or bicycles are prohibited in any picnic areas, parking lots, curbs, and surrounding areas of the skate park and permitted only in the skating area.

(h) Skateboarding, in-line skating, bicycling, and scootering are the only activities permitted in the skating area.

(i) The safety of the skating area is reduced by the presence of debris of any kind and by wet conditions. Food and beverage consumption produces foreseeable litter and are not permitted within the skating area. Use of the skating area under wet conditions is also prohibited.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

The city council may from time to time consider and approve park programs, including but not limited to facilitating the rental or leasing of a park, and may also sponsor city events incorporating the use of a park that will serve to advance the public welfare and allow the city's use of its parks as a revenue-generating enterprise.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

The city council shall from time to time, by resolution, set and modify the fees payable by any applicant:

(1) That applies for a permit to have a large group event in a city park pursuant to section 50-3;

(2) That applies for a permit to engage in use of park fields pursuant to section 50-26 and any applicable park regulation;

(3) That applies for a permit that necessitates the presence of city staff at a park during a group event pursuant to the park regulations;

(4) That wishes to appeal any determination or citation under this chapter and the park regulations.

Fees shall generally not be payable by any applicant for a group event permit that does not meet the criteria of a large group event. However, notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any applicant for a group event permit shall pay fees payable upon an appeal, fees payable for a background investigation, and fees payable to fund the presence of city staff at a group event per this chapter. No fees payable per this chapter shall exceed the costs reasonably borne of providing the corresponding services provided per this chapter. No fees shall be payable with respect to the filing or consideration of an application for a city event. The fees payable in relation to a Hemet-based group event shall be at least 20 percent lower than any fees payable for any other group event. Any appellant under this chapter that prevails upon its appeal shall be entitled to the city's return of its fees that were payable on appeal.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

(a) It is unlawful for any person to smoke or to dispose of any lighted match or cigarette, cigar ashes or any flaming or glowing substance in any park.

(b) For the purposes of the section:

(1) Smoke or smoking means and includes any of the following: (a) the direct burning or indirect heating of any cigar, cigarette, pipe, electronic smoking device, or any similar kind of smoking equipment or article, using any form of tobacco, cannabis, plant product, or other combustible substance in any form, or (b) the holding or carrying of a lighted or operated cigar, cigarette, pipe, electronic smoking device, or any other lighted smoking equipment or device, or (c) emitting or exhaling the smoke directly from a cigar, cigarette, pipe, electronic smoking device, or any other lighted smoking equipment or device. "Smoke" also means the gaseous or vaporous products or particles created by the use of a lighted or operated pipe, cigar, cigarette, electronic smoking device, or other kind of smoking equipment or article.

(2) Electronic smoking device means an electronic device that can be used to deliver an inhaled dose of nicotine, or other substances, including any component, part, or accessory of such a device, whether or not sold separately; and includes any such device, whether manufactured, distributed, marketed, or sold as an electronic cigarette, an electronic cigar, an electronic cigarillo, an electronic pipe, an electronic hookah, or any other product name or descriptor.

(3) Park shall have the same meaning as in section 50-1, except shall not include golf courses.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)

Any document prepared per this chapter shall be a public record maintained in accord with the city's records retention policy, and shall be subject to redaction only per a decision by the city attorney in accord with the California Public Records Act.

(Ord. No. 2048, § 1, 1-14-25)