Alcohol prohibition stands out among the new rules
ALPINE — A new ordinance considered during the January 21 Alpine City Council meeting could create the first comprehensive set of regulations for city parks.
The ordinance is the first significant update to park regulations since 1978, said City Secretary Geo Calderon, and is the culmination of several years of work by the Alpine Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. The board was tasked with the project by the City Council in an effort to align regulations for the multiple parks and create systems for reserving space, permitting special events and activities, and establishing fines, Calderon said, “Because currently we really didn’t have any continuity between all the city parks.”
The new ordinance regulates an array of park issues including alcohol, smoking, noise, parking, animals, commercial use and more and provides for the establishment of a fine of up to $500 per occurrence for violations.
According to the ordinance, all city parks would be open to the public from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily on a first-come, first-served basis except areas that have been reserved or when events have been permitted according to policies established by the city. The city may set maximum occupancy limits or close parks when needed and exclusive use of areas within parks will require a reservation made through the city and a fee. The city manager or their designee may also develop rules to address issues specific to special events.
The ordinance prohibits drinking and possession of alcohol in any city park and their parking lots, except when permitted through the city manager and police chief, and specifically lists alcohol bans for the parking lots, baseball fields, jogging/walking track and soccer fields in Kokernot Park. Alcohol is defined as any liquid containing half of 1% of alcohol per volume, excluding non-alcoholic beers and wines and kombucha.
Also prohibited in any city park:
- Smoking, except in temporary, designated areas during special events
- Playing golf, hitting golf balls or participating in an activity for which the park was not designated or which could be dangerous to others.
- Using a park court or field for an activity other than the sport for which it was intended
- Littering
- Language and/or gestures that would be offensive to a person of “ordinary sensibility”
- Fireworks without explicit authorization from the city
- Possessing, firing or displaying in an alarming or threatening manner a firearm or weapon except where specifically authorized by state or federal law
- Using projectile devices that could cause harm to others including air guns, paintball guns, BB and pellet guns, firearms, and bow and arrows unless conducted under permit, or in a park facility where its use has been authorized by the city manager or his designee
- Abandoning vehicles or property
- Overnight camping or parking unless authorized by the city manager
- Lighting, building or maintaining a fire outside device provided for those uses
- Dispersing cremated remains
If you would like to take a pet or other animal to a park, you can as long as it is kept under confinement or direct control, its lead or leash is not longer than six feet, it is not left unattended and you pick up and dispose of its waste properly. Dogs may be let off their leash in designated areas as long as they remain under the direct control and supervision of a person.
The ordinance also establishes the regulations and permits needed for commercial activities and performing artists.
The first reading of the ordinance was unanimously approved after discussion over whether the prohibition of alcohol was necessary considering current laws on drinking and intoxication in public, and a motion to amend that portion failed.
Councilmember Reagan Stone proposed amending the ordinance. ”If we are noting that a lot of people think, and even the chief of police is noting that we already have enough laws on the books if someone is publicly intoxicated in a public park … are we over legislating here? Are we penalizing people?” asked Stone.
Councilmember Darin Nance, who heads the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, responded to Stone’s concerns by comparing the drinking of alcohol in parks to glancing at a cell phone while driving and not getting caught, adding, “This provides the legal mechanism for the police department to do what they need to do.”
Councilmember Lucy Escovedo was the only other member to vote with Stone on amending the ordinance.”I think it’s kind of taking people’s rights,” said Escovedo.
While the Park and Recreation Advisory Board worked diligently for several years, looking at all portions of the ordinance, the section covering the possession and consumption of alcohol in parks drew the most attention from the board and the public, said Calderon, and a workshop was held to include the public.
The ordinance will come before the City Council again for a second and final reading and vote.