Chapter 98

 

 

PARKS AND RECREATION LAW

 

§  98-1.      Title.

§  98-2.      Purpose.

§  98-3.      Use regulations.

§  98-4.      Penalties for offenses.

§  98-5.      Provisions to be minimum requirements; conflict with other regulations.

§  98-6.      Definitions.

 

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Lansing 6-6-1984 as L.L. No. 5-1984. Amendments noted where applicable.]

 

§ 98-1. Title.

 

  This chapter shall be known as the "Village of Lansing Parks and Recreation Law."

 

§ 98-2. Purpose.

 

  The purpose of this chapter is to establish and provide for rules and regulations, and the administration and enforcement thereof, applicable to any public park within the Village of Lansing.

 

§ 98-3. Use regulations.

 

  No persons shall make any use whatsoever of any public park within the Village of Lansing for purposes other than recreation. The use of any public park within the Village of Lansing shall be in accordance with and subject to the following rules and regulations:

      A.     All public parks shall be closed to the public from 10:00 p.m. to sunrise daily.  Some public recreational areas may be closed during winter months and inclement weather.  Such public recreational areas may include, but are not limited to, stairs, bridges and steep slopes.  Public recreational areas closed during winter months and inclement weather may be identified on signage posted by the Village.  Use of all public recreational areas during winter or inclement weather shall be at the risk of the user, and the Village shall assume no liability for performing any maintenance or repair of public recreational areas during winter or inclement weather.  [Amended 12-19-1995 by L.L. No. 7-1995]

B.           No person shall carry, transport, possess or use any firearm or archery equipment of any kind or nature whatsoever in any public park. This restriction shall not apply to duly constituted police or peace officers.

C.           No motorized vehicles, except motorized wheelchairs, shall be permitted in any public recreational area except on paved shoulders and in those areas specifically designated for parking and the direct approach thereto from the highway or street.  This restriction shall apply to, but not limited to, cars, trucks, motorcycles, motorbikes and snowmobiles.  This restriction shall not apply to law enforcement or emergency vehicles and shall not apply to vehicles used by authorized employees, contractors or agents of the Village of Lansing for necessary service, maintenance or repair to or in the public recreational areas. [Amended 12-19-1995 by L.L. No. 7-1995]

      D.     No vehicle of any kind shall be parked or left standing at any place in the public park except at those places duly designated for parking. Vehicles shall be permitted in those duly designated parking areas only during those hours that the public park is open to the public. This restriction shall not apply to law enforcement or emergency vehicles and shall not apply to vehicles used by authorized employees or agents of the Village of Lansing for necessary service to or in the public parks.

      E.      No commercial or related activity of any kind shall be permitted in any public park without proper authorization and any required permit from the Village of Lansing. No person shall sell or offer for sale articles of any kind within the park and no person shall solicit in the park for any purpose whatsoever without the proper authorization and any required permit from the Village of Lansing.

      F.      No person shall sell, vend or otherwise dispense food or drink for pay in any area of any public park without first obtaining proper authorization and any required permit from the Village of Lansing.

      G.     No person shall possess, transport, carry, use or consume alcoholic beverages of any kind in any public park.

H.          No animals of any kind, other than those animals for which the public park is their natural habitat, shall be permitted in any public park.  Notwithstanding the foregoing requirements, dogs shall be permitted in any public recreational area restrained by a leash or otherwise maintained under its owner’s control.  Owners must clean up after their dogs; solid waste must be promptly picked up and removed by the owner or other person responsible for the dog.  Further, notwithstanding the foregoing requirements, horses shall be permitted only on paved shoulders of roads, which paved shoulders constitute a portion of the Village Greenway. [Amended 12-19-95 by L.L. No. 7-1995]

I.              No cooking of any kind shall be allowed in any public park. No fires shall be started or maintained at any location within a public park for cooking purposes or any other purposes.

J.             No person shall pick any flowers or  damage any plantings  of grass, shrubbery, trees or other natural growths or  damage any  building or  other improvements within any public park.

K.          Any and all trash must be disposed of in the receptacles provided within the public park. In the event that any person's use of the public park creates more trash than may be deposited within the receptacles provided, it shall be the responsibility of such person to place all trash in proper plastic garbage bags, which bags shall be properly closed and secured.

      L.      The amplification of music or other audio sound shall be prohibited at all times within all areas of the public park without proper authorization and any required permit from the Village of Lansing.

      M.     No person shall use any motorized toy, object or device of any kind or nature whatsoever in any public park.

      N.     No person shall participate in any activity or commit any act in a public park which endangers the health, safety or well-being of any other persons or property within or without the confines of the park or unreasonably interferes with or restricts the permitted use of the park by other persons.

      O.     Pathways, with the exception of paved shoulders and pathways crossing parking lots, may be used only for bicycle traffic and pedestrian traffic either on foot or with skates, skate boards, non-motorized scooters, snowshoes, cross-county skis, or wheelchairs (motorized or non-motorized).  The use of sleds and toboggans is permitted only in parks, except that sleds and toboggans shall be permitted on trails and sidewalks, provided that the sled or toboggan is being pulled and is not permitted to travel freely downhill. [Added 12-19-95 by L.L. No. 7-1995]

      P.      Bicycle and pedestrian traffic shall travel to the right of pathways.  Bicycles shall travel in single file and upon overtaking another bicycle or pedestrian, shall signal and proceed to pass with due care.  Bicycles shall come to a complete stop before crossing an intersecting street or pathway. [Added 12-19-95 by L.L. No. 7-1995]

      Q.     No lawn or yard waste shall be deposited, thrown away or discarded in any public recreational area. [Added 12-19-95 by L.L. No. 7-1995]

      R.     No person shall throw away or discard any lighted match, cigar, cigarette, charcoal or any burning object without extinguishing it and depositing it in a receptacle provided for that purpose. [Added 12-19-95 by L.L. No. 7-1995]

 

§ 98-4. Penalties for offenses.1 

 

  Unless statutory provisions prevail, a violation of any provision of this chapter shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250.) or imprisonment for not more than fifteen (15) days, or both. Each day that such violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.

 

§ 98-5. Provisions to be minimum requirements; conflict with other regulations.

 

 The provisions of this chapter are intended to be the minimum requirements necessary to accomplish the purpose of the law and must be interpreted and applied accordingly. When requirements of this chapter conflict with the requirements of other lawfully developed rules, regulations or laws, the most restrictive or that imposing the highest standard takes precedence.

 

§ 98-6.  Definitions.  [Added 12-19-1995 by L.L. No. 7-1995]2

 

            Park – A public area of land used for recreational purposes.  A park may be left in its natural state or may contain improvements for recreational purposes.

            Pathway – A generic term to define a thoroughfare that is suitable for pedestrians and bicyclists.  Pathways include sidewalks, paved shoulders, trails, and designated pathways crossing parking lots.

            Paved Shoulder – The part of a roadway delineated by a solid white line suitable for pedestrian and bicyclists.

            Public Recreational Area – Any park, walkway or pathway.

            Sidewalk – A walkway separated from the roadway by a ditch or a curb and surfaced with concrete, blacktop, or oil and stone.

           Trail – A pathway that is not located along a road or in a parking lot.

          Walkway  -- A generic term to define a pedestrian thoroughfare.



1 Editor’s Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.

2 Editor’s Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.