Oxnard Municipal Code Art. XXI Park and Park Facility Exclusion

The city council finds as follows:

(A) City parks and park facilities should be open to use and enjoyment by all city residents, businesses, and visitors during specific hours that the city parks and facilities are open to the public;

(B) Violators of local park laws, rules, or regulations infringe upon the enjoyment and use of city parks and park facilities; and

(C) In adopting this article, the city council has specifically exempted conduct and activities involved the exercise of First Amendment rights from its application, purpose, and intent.

(Ord. No. 2966)

For the purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply.

(A) CITED INDIVIDUAL - A person who receives an exclusion notice.

(B) CITY - The City of Oxnard.

(C) PARK or PARK FACILITY - Any body of water, park, athletic field, tennis court, picnic site, skateboard facility, dog park area, open space land, land, campsite, recreation area, open space park facility, building, structure, system, equipment, machinery, or other appurtenance managed, controlled, or operated by the city, and includes any public parking lot facility adjacent thereto.

(D) POLICE CHIEF - The chief of police of the Oxnard Police Department.

(E) POLICE DEPARTMENT - The Oxnard Police Department.

(F) REQUEST - The written request for administrative review submitted to the police chief by a person excluded from a park or park facility.

(Ord. No. 2966)

(A) Any police officer, when specifically authorized in writing by the police chief to enforce this article, may exclude any person who, while present in a park or park facility, violates any applicable ordinance, statute, posted rule or regulation, or city policy after being put on notice of the same. Nothing in this article shall be construed to authorize the exclusion of any person lawfully exercising free speech rights or other rights protected by the state or federal constitutions unless that person is also committing acts that are not protected that violate a specific provision of the law that would allow for exclusion.

(B) The police department shall maintain a database of those persons excluded from parks or park facilities.

(Ord. No.2966)

Exclusion from a park or park facility under the provisions of this article shall be for the specified time periods following the occurrence of the following violations in a park or park facility:

(A) One day: single infraction of park rules or ordinance. Such exclusion shall be limited to the park or park facility in which the offense occurred, and shall be for a period of 24 hours.

(B) Thirty days: arrest or citation for nonviolent offense (for example, public intoxication) or two or more infractions of park rules or ordinances within the previous 365 days. Such exclusion shall be limited to the park or park facility in which the offense occurred.

(C) Ninety days: two arrests or two citations for nonviolent offenses within the previous 365 days. Such exclusion shall be limited to the park or park facility in which the offense occurred.

(D) Six months: three arrests or three citations for nonviolent offenses within the previous 365 days, or an arrest for one felony nonviolent offense. Such exclusion shall apply to any park or park facility within the city.

(E) One year: four or more arrests or four or more citations for nonviolent offenses within the previous 365 days, or any arrest for any violent offense. Such exclusion shall apply to any park or park facility within the city.

(Ord. No. 2966)

The police chief or his/her designee shall provide written notice to any person excluded from any park or park facility under this article. Such notice shall specify the date the exclusion begins and ends, shall identify the conduct leading to the exclusion, and shall inform the cited individual of the right to appeal the exclusion.

(Ord. No. 2966)

(A) Requesting an administrative review. A cited individual may request an administrative review of the exclusion as set forth in this section. A request for administrative review is a mandatory prerequisite to a request for an administrative hearing.

(1) The request must be made by the person excluded from a park or park facility, in writing, to the police chief, within three calendar days following the date the police chief issued the exclusion notice.

(2) The request shall include the exclusion notice number, a reason the person should not have been excluded, and an address at which the city may serve the cited individual a response to his or her request.

(B) Responding to a request for administrative review. Within five days of receiving the request, the police chief or his/her designee shall review the request, the exclusion notice, and any other pertinent information, and based on the totality of the circumstances, uphold or vacate the exclusion order.

(C) Notice of determination for administrative review. Upon making his or her determination on a request, the police chief shall cause a notice of the determination to be served on the cited individual at the address set forth in the request and shall cause a copy of the notice to be provided to the city clerk. Where the police chief has upheld the exclusion, the notice shall also set forth a new date by which the exclusion shall begin, as well as the individual subject to the exclusion notice’s right to request an administrative hearing to further contest the exclusion in the manner provided for below.

(D) Request for administrative hearing. A cited individual dissatisfied with the determination of a police chief or designee following a request for an administrative review of an exclusion notice may further contest the exclusion by requesting an administrative hearing in the manner provided for by this section.

(1) Such request must be made in writing and must be served on the city at the address set forth in the police chief’s notice of determination within ten calendar days after the date the individual subject to the exclusion notice is served with notice of such determination.

(2) Requests for an administrative hearing must be filed in the office of the city clerk and shall be in a form required by the city clerk.

(3) The city manager, or a designee, will select the hearing officer for the administrative citation hearing.

(4) Hearing date. Upon receiving a timely request for an administrative hearing to contest an exclusion notice, the city clerk will set an administrative hearing on a date not less than 15, nor more than 60 calendar days from the date the hearing is requested. Written notice of the date, time, and location of the administrative hearing will be provided to the individual subject to the exclusion notice at least 15 days prior to the hearing date.

(E) Administrative hearing procedures.

(1) Hearing scope. The issues to be determined at the hearing are limited to whether the violation alleged in the exclusion notice actually occurred; and whether the individual subject to the exclusion notice was responsible for the violation.

(2) Burden of proof and evidentiary rules. At the hearing, the hearing officer shall render his or her decision based on the preponderance of the evidence. However, the exclusion notice shall constitute prima facie evidence of the facts contained in the notice.

(a) Both the individual subject to the exclusion notice and police officer shall have the opportunity to testify and present additional evidence concerning the exclusion notice.

(b) Evidence may include, without limitation, witness testimony, documents, or other similar evidence.

(c) The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing in an informal fashion and shall not be bound by the technical rules of evidence. Evidence sought to be introduced shall not be limited by any legal rules of evidence, save and except for the rule that it is relevant and material to the issues of whether the violation alleged in the exclusion notice occurred and whether the individual subject to the exclusion notice was responsible for the violation.

(3) Personal appearance. In lieu of personally appearing at an administrative hearing, the cited individual may request that the hearing officer decide the matter based on the notice’s face and any other documentary evidence submitted to the city clerk by the cited individual or police officer prior to the hearing date.

(4) Attendance and continuation. Failure of the cited individual to appear at the hearing shall be deemed a waiver of the right to be personally present at the hearing. The hearing officer shall then decide the matter based upon the facts set forth in the notice, any documentary evidence previously submitted, and any additional evidence that may be presented at the hearing by the police officer. The police officer who issued the exclusion notice shall attend the hearing. The hearing officer may continue any hearing and request additional information from the police officer or the cited individual prior to issuing a written decision.

(5) Decision. Within ten days after closing the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a written decision to uphold or set aside the exclusion, shall set forth the reasons for such decision, and shall forward a copy of the decision to the city clerk. After receiving the hearing officer’s decision, the city clerk shall promptly cause the hearing officer’s decision to be served on the cited individual at the address set forth in the request for an administrative hearing together with the notice required by this section, and shall cause a copy of the decision and such notice to be provided to the police chief. If the decision of the hearing officer is to sustain the exclusion, then the city clerk shall accompany the hearing officer’s decision with a notice advising the individual subject to the exclusion notice the new date by which the exclusion shall begin.

(F) Penalty for violation of exclusion order. It shall be unlawful and a misdemeanor, subject to the provisions of section 1-10 of the city code, for any person subject to the exclusion notice to enter or remain in any park or park facility at any time during the period indicated by the exclusion notice.

(Ord. No. 2966)