Porterville Municipal Code Art. VI Use of Skateboards

The city council finds and declares that the purpose of this article is to promote the public peace, morals, safety, and general welfare of persons in the city by regulating the activity of skateboarding on certain public property and on certain private property which is accessible to the general public. (Ord. 1661 § 2, 3-1-2005)

"Skateboard" means any vehicle, device, or contrivance with any number of wheels, with a riding surface of any design, upon which a person may place one or more feet, and which is designed to be, or can be propelled by human power, and which is not defined as a bicycle by the California Vehicle Code. The term skateboard also includes motorized skateboards. (Ord. 1661 § 2, 3-1-2005)

A. The use of skateboards is prohibited on any sidewalk, walkway, crosswalk or other area designed primarily for pedestrian travel in the area bounded by Morton and Olive and Second and D Streets.

B. The city council may, by resolution, prohibit the riding of skateboards, as defined in section 18-62 of this article, on public streets, sidewalks, parking lots, and other public property over which it has jurisdiction when it is determined to be necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of pedestrians, motorists, or persons operating said skateboards on said streets and sidewalks. The riding of skateboards shall be prohibited upon any public property when such property is posted pursuant to this article. (Ord. 1661 § 2, 3-1-2005)

No person shall skateboard on any privately owned property which is posted with "No Skateboarding" signs as required by this article, without the express consent of the property owner or property manager/agent. Private property owners and/or their managers or agents are authorized to post or erect signs, at their own expense, prohibiting the riding of skateboards in or on those premises for which such a request has been made to, and approved by, the chief of police or his or her designee. (Ord. 1661 § 2, 3-1-2005)

A. The city manager, or his or her designee, is hereby authorized to post or erect, or cause to be posted or erected, signs prohibiting skateboarding or the use of skateboards on public streets, sidewalks, or facilities so designated by resolution of the city council.

B. A property owner shall post or erect, or cause to be posted or erected, at the property owner's sole cost and expense, signs that are readily visible to the general public. Authorized signs shall be a minimum of seventeen inches by twenty two inches (17" x 22"), with one inch (1") letters, posted adjacent to the entrances to the subject property. These signs may be erected in such a position to prevent vandalism or theft. The property owner, or manager, shall have on file with the police department a signed consent form authorizing the police to enforce said ordinance. Example sign:

Skateboards Prohibited on Posted Property by CPMC Section 18-65, Porterville Police Department 782-7400

(Ord. 1661 § 2, 3-1-2005)

No person shall use a skateboard in a manner that creates a danger to others or in a manner that creates a nuisance. (Ord. 1661 § 2, 3-1-2005)

The provisions of this article shall not be deemed to make punishable an act or acts which are prohibited by any statute of the state of California. (Ord. 1661 § 2, 3-1-2005)

A. A person over the age of eighteen (18) who violates subsection 18-63A of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

B. Any violation of the provisions of this article shall be deemed to be an infraction, and punishable as such, notwithstanding the fact that at the discretion of the city or district attorney, the violation of any section of this article may be filed as a misdemeanor. The complaint charging such violation shall specify whether the violation is a misdemeanor or an infraction. Each day a violation of any provision of this article shall continue, it shall constitute a new and separate violation.

C. A violation of any of the provisions of this article shall constitute a nuisance and may be abated by the city through a civil process by means of restraining order, preliminary or permanent injunction, or in any manner provided by law for the abatement of such nuisances. With regard to violations committed by minors, the parent or legal guardian having control or custody of the minor whose conduct violates this section shall be jointly and severally liable with the minor for all penalties and/or costs and fees. (Ord. 1661 § 2, 3-1-2005)

Notwithstanding the police department's ability to confiscate a skateboard as an instrumentality or evidence of a violation of this article, and in addition to the enforcement provisions of the preceding section, the city may seize and hold the skateboard at the time an individual is cited for any violation of any provisions of this article for the second time within a one year period 1 . Any time a violator's property is confiscated pursuant to this section, the city shall provide the violator with a receipt and notice of a time and location for an automatic hearing in front of the city's designated administrative hearing officer no later than ten (10) days from confiscation of the skateboard. The violator shall be entitled to the return of the skateboard either one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of the confiscation, or at the time as determined at the conclusion of the hearing. (Ord. 1661 § 2, 3-1-2005)

It is declared to be the intention of the city council that the subsections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, and phrases of this article are distinct and severable and, in the event that any subsections, paragraphs, clauses and/or phrases are declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality, invalidity, or unenforceability shall not affect any of the remaining subsections, paragraphs, clauses, or phrases of this article. (Ord. 1661 § 2, 3-1-2005)