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(a) An owner, harborer, or person having the care, custody, or control of a dog commits an offense if he causes or permits the dog to go into or upon the grounds of any public park within the city, unless the dog is led by some person and retained in custody by a leash.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) that the dog was in an off-leash site established under Section 32-6.1 of this chapter. (Ord. Nos. 8019; 24482)
(a) In this section:
(1) OFF-LEASH SITE means an enclosed area designated by the park board in which dogs are allowed to run at large without being secured by a leash or other restraint.
(2) DANGEROUS DOG has the meaning given that term in Section 822.041 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as amended.
(b) The park board is authorized to establish off- leash sites for dogs within designated areas of the city’s parks and recreational areas. Signs designating an area as an off-leash site must be conspicuously posted at each entrance to the site.
(c) The park board may promulgate regulations, not inconsistent with this section, that govern off-leash sites for dogs. Such regulations must be conspicuously posted at each entrance to an off-leash site. The regulations must include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) No person may bring into an off-leash site:
(A) a dangerous dog;
(B) a female dog in heat;
(C) more than three dogs at one time; or
(D) a dog that is not wearing tags showing that it is currently registered and vaccinated in compliance with Chapter 7 of this code.
(2) Any person who brings a dog into an off- leash site shall:
(A) carry materials and implements for removing and disposing of dog excreta and remove all excreta deposited by the dog in the off-leash site, in compliance with Section 7-21.2 of this code;
(B) lead the dog on a leash and retain the dog in custody when entering and exiting an off-leash site;
(C) keep the dog under visual and voice control at all times while in the off-leash site;
(D) fill any hole that the dog digs in the off-leash site; and
(E) remove the dog from the off-leash site at the first sign of aggression by the dog.
(3) Any person who brings a child under 12 years of age into an off-leash site shall keep the child under strict supervision.
(d) A person commits an offense, punishable by a fine of up to $2,000, if he fails to comply with any regulation:
(1) set forth in Subsection (c) of this section; or
(2) promulgated by the park board pursuant to Subsection (c) and posted at the off-leash site.
(e) Use of an off-leash site by any dog constitutes:
(1) implied consent of the owner, harborer, or person having care, custody, or control of the dog to comply with all conditions and regulations stated in this section or promulgated by the park board and posted at the off-leash site; and
(2) a waiver of liability to the city by the owner, harborer, or person having care, custody, or control of the dog, and an agreement and undertaking to protect, indemnify, defend, and hold the city harmless, for any injury or damage caused by the dog during any time that the dog is in the off-leash site. (Ord. 24482)
Wherever the city owns or keeps any fish, animals or fowl on public exhibition in any of the public parks or grounds of the city, it shall be unlawful for any person in any manner to injure, annoy or interfere with any such animal, fish or fowl, or to injure or interfere with, in any manner, any of the enclosures in which any animal, fish or fowl may be kept. The term “annoy” or “interfere with” shall include any attempt on the part of the person, save and except the duly authorized keeper thereof, or person in charge thereof, to feed or offer any foodstuff or other substance to any such animal, fish or fowl. Whenever any fish, fowl or animals are kept on exhibition, it shall be the duty of the public to obey all rules provided by the park board or other authority for the exhibition of any such animal, fish or fowl. (Ord. 8019)
(a) A person commits an offense if, in any park or recreation area in the city, he knowingly:
(1) drives a motor vehicle; or
(2) stops, stands, or parks a motor vehicle; or
(3) parks a motor vehicle so as to obstruct entrance to or exit from a roadway, parking area, or trail established for public motor vehicle use; or
(4) fails to park the entire motor vehicle within the limit lines of a designated parking stall, where such lines have been provided.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) that the driving, stopping, standing, or parking:
(1) was along a roadway, trail, or parking area established for public motor vehicle use;
(2) was due to temporary mechanical failure of the vehicle;
(3) was ordered by a police or park officer of the city or a person charged with supervision of a park or recreation area within the city; or
(4) was performed by an employee of the city while in the course of his official duties.
(c) If a motor vehicle is parked or left in violation of this section and the owner or operator of the vehicle cannot be found, police or park officers of the city may remove or impound the vehicle, or the vehicle may be removed in accordance with Chapter 28 of this code.
(d) The park board is authorized to establish time limits for the parking of motor vehicles within designated parking areas of the city’s parks and recreational areas. (Ord. Nos. 8019; 16503)
Whenever, in the opinion of the park board it is desirable or necessary to establish operating hours during which buildings, structures, facilities, athletic areas or other improvements on park areas shall be operated, the park board is authorized to establish such hours of operation by resolution and when such hours so designated are posted on the entrances to such buildings, facilities, etc., the same shall be deemed as the official hours of operation. (Ord. 8019)
(a) Except as provided in Subsection (b), all public parks and park amenities are closed to the public each day from 11:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m.
(b) Park amenities for which the park board has established and posted the hours of operation under Section 32-9 of this chapter are closed to the public at any time other than the established and posted hours of operation.
(c) A person commits an offense if he is on the premises of a public park or park amenity during hours in which the park or park amenity is closed.
(d) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (c) that the person was:
(1) driving a vehicle on an interior park roadway that provides direct access to the person’s residence;
(2) attending a special event, activity, or program that was being conducted in a public park or park amenity during hours of closure with written permission of the park board, the director of park and recreation, or a designated representative; or
(3) entering or leaving, or engaged in legal boating on or fishing from the bank or water surface of, any of the following:
(A) Lake Ray Hubbard;
(B) Mountain Creek Lake;
(C) White Rock Lake;
(D) Lemmon Lake;
(E) Blue Lake;
(F) a body of water located within the Trinity River Greenbelt;
(G) that part of Joe Pool Lake within the city’s jurisdiction; or
(H) Bachman Lake.
(e) For the purpose of this section:
(1) PARK AMENITY means any building, structure, facility, athletic area, or other improvement that is located within a public park.
(2) PUBLIC PARK means land owned or managed by the city, whether located inside or outside the city limits, that is planned, developed, or used for active or passive recreational use by the public. “Public park” includes an interior park roadway, other than a dedicated street, and excludes any sidewalk adjacent to the outside perimeter of a park. (Ord. Nos. 20680; 20964; 22073; 22404; 22851; 27993)
(a) A person commits an offense if the person sells, distributes, or offers for sale any services or goods, including but not limited to food, drinks, confections, or merchandise, in a city park or another area under the control of the park and recreation board.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) of this section that the person:
(1) was selling, distributing, or offering for sale the services or goods by authority of a written contract or permit with the city, through the park and recreation department, to operate a concession in that area;
(2) was selling, distributing, or offering for sale the services or goods in connection with the transaction of official government business;
(3) was selling, distributing, or offering for sale only an item or items containing primarily noncommercial speech, including but not limited to newspapers, books, magazines, audio and video compact discs (CDs), or digital versatile discs (DVDs), and the selling, distributing, or offering for sale was not being conducted:
(A) from a machine;
(B) at a time when the area was closed to the public;
(C) in an area used for storage;
(D) in an area under the control or management of another person or private entity pursuant to a written agreement with the city;
(E) inside any building, including but not limited to a recreational center;
(F) in a parking lot that serves a city park or another area under the control of the park and recreation board; or
(G) in a way that obstructed a public street or sidewalk;
(4) was selling, distributing, or offering for sale only periodicals from a coin-operated machine by authority of a license to operate the machine in that area, unless such sale, distribution, or offering for sale was prohibited in the area by another city ordinance or a city contract;
(5) was selling or offering for sale the services of a vehicle for hire that was being operated by that person;
(6) did not receive remuneration from the person being given the services or goods; did not use any type of vehicle or stand, any part of which touched the ground, when distributing the services or goods; and did not interfere with traffic flow on a public street or sidewalk when distributing the services or goods; or
(7) was selling, distributing, offering for sale, or delivering the services or goods to a person qualifying for any defense described in Paragraphs (1) through (6) of this subsection.
(c) In addition to any enforcement action by a peace officer or the director of the park and recreation department, or an authorized representative, for a violation of this section, any person who is a victim of an act prohibited under this section, or who witnesses a violation of this section, may file a complaint with the city attorney. Evidence to support a conviction for a violation of this section may include, but is not limited to, testimony of witnesses, videotape evidence of the violation, and other admissible evidence.
(d) This section does not apply to the occasional sale of lemonade or other nonalcoholic beverages from a stand in a public park by an individual younger than 18 years of age. (Ord. Nos. 8019; 28241; 31375)
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