(A) Short title. This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Curfew Ordinance” or “Regulation of the Presence and Conduct of Minors on Streets and Public Places”.
(B) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
MINOR. Any person under the age of 18.
PARENT. Any person having legal custody of a minor as:
(a) A natural or adoptive parent;
(b) A legal guardian;
(c) A person who stands in loco parentis; or
(d) A person to whom legal custody has been given by order of the court.
PUBLIC PLACE. Any street, alley, highway, sidewalk, park, playground or place to which the general public has access and a right to resort for business, entertainment, or other lawful purpose. A PUBLIC PLACE shall include, but not be limited to, any store, shop, restaurant, tavern, bowling alley, café, theater, drugstore, pool room, shopping center and any other place devoted to amusement or entertainment of the general public. It shall also include the front or immediate area of the above.
REMAIN. To stand behind, to tarry and to stay unnecessarily upon the streets, including the congregating of groups (or of interacting minors) totaling four or more persons in which any minor involved would not be using the streets for ordinary or serious purposes such as mere passage or going home.
STREET. A way or place, of whatsoever nature, open to the use of the public as a matter of right for purposes of vehicular travel or in the case of a sidewalk thereof for pedestrian travel. The term STREET includes the legal right-of-way, including, but not limited to, the cartway or traffic lanes, the curb, the sidewalks, whether paved or unpaved, and any grass plots or other grounds found within the legal right-of-way of a street.
TIME OF NIGHT. Is based upon the prevailing standard of time, whether Central Standard Time or Central Daylight Saving Time, generally observed at that hour by the public.
YEAR OF AGE. Continues from one birthday, such as the seventeenth, to (but not including the day of) the next, such as the eighteenth birthday, making it clear that 17 or less years of age is herein treated as equivalent to the phrase “under 18 years of age”.
(C) Age and hour restrictions; exceptions.
(1) It is unlawful for any person 17 or less years of age (under 18) to be or remain in or upon the streets within the town at night during the period ending at 6:00 a.m. and beginning:
(a) At 10:00 p.m. for minors 15 years of age or younger;
(b) At 12:00 a.m. for minors more than 15 years of age on Sunday through Thursday; and
(c) At 1:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and Sunday morning for minors more than 15 years of age.
(2) In the following exceptional cases, a minor on a town street during the nocturnal hours for which division (C)(1) above is intended to provide the maximum limits of regulation shall not, however, be considered in violation of this section:
(a) When accompanied by a parent of the minor;
(b) When accompanied by an adult authorized by a parent of the minor to take the parent’s place in accompanying the minor for a designated period of time and purpose within a specified area;
(c) When exercising first amendment rights protected by the United States constitution, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech and the right of assembly. Such minor shall evidence the bona fides of such exercise by possessing a written communication, signed by such minor and countersigned, by a parent of such minor with their home address and telephone number, specifying when, and where and in what manner the minor will be on the streets at night (during hours when this section is otherwise applicable to the minor) in the exercise of a first amendment right specified in such communication;
(d) In case of reasonable necessity, but only if the minor has in the minor’s possession a written communication signed by the minor, countersigned by a parent of such minor evidencing their home address and telephone number, and establishing such reasonable necessity relating to specified streets at a designated time for a described purpose including points of origin and destination;
(e) When the minor is on the sidewalk of the place where such minor resides, or on the sidewalk of either next door neighbor not communicating an objection to the police officer;
(f) When returning home, by a direct route from (and within 30 minutes of the termination of) a school activity, or activity of a religious or other voluntary association, provided the minor has a written communication in the minor’s possession, countersigned by a parent indicting the home address and telephone number, the purpose for the event, when, where and in what manner the minor will be on the streets at night;
(g) When authorized, by regulation issued by the town board of trustees, in other similar cases of reasonable necessity, similarly handled but adopted to necessary nighttime activities of more minors than can readily be dealt with on an individual special permit basis. Normally, such regulation by the town’s Board of Trustees permitting use of the streets should be issued sufficiently in advance to permit appropriate publicity through news media and through other agencies such as the schools, and shall define the activity, the scope of the use of the streets permitted, the period of time involved not to extend more than 30 minutes beyond the time for termination of such activity, and the reason for finding that such regulation is reasonably necessary and is consistent with the public interest and the purposes of this section;
(h) When the minor carries a certified card of employment, briefly identifying the minor, the addresses of his or her home and his or her place of employment and his or her hours of employment or carries a valid proof of employment which may include the latest payroll receipt not over 30 days old; or
(i) When the minor is, with parental consent, in a motor vehicle. This contemplates normal travel. This provision clearly exempts bona fide interstate movement through the town, particularly on normal routes.
(D) Responsibility of parent or guardian. It is unlawful for a parent having legal custody of a minor knowingly to permit or by insufficient control to allow such minor to be or remain upon any town street under circumstances not constituting an exception to, or otherwise beyond the scope of, this section. The term KNOWINGLY includes knowledge which a parent should reasonably be expected to have concerning the whereabouts of a minor in that parent’s legal custody. It is intended to continue to keep neglectful or careless parents up to a reasonable community standard of parental responsibility through an objective test. It shall a fortiori, be no defense, that a parent was completely indifferent to the activities or conduct or whereabouts of such minor.
(E) Responsibility of business owner. It shall be unlawful for any person operating or having charge of any public place to knowingly allow, permit or suffer the presence of minors in violation of the curfew established by this section.
(Prior Code, § 5-4-1) Penalty, see § 133.99