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Garfield Heights Overview
Codified Ordinances of Garfield Heights, OH
CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF GARFIELD HEIGHTS, OHIO
CERTIFICATION
ROSTER OF OFFICIALS
EDITOR'S NOTE
COMPARATIVE SECTION TABLE
TABLES OF SPECIAL ORDINANCES OF GARFIELD HEIGHTS
CHARTER
PART ONE - ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
PART THREE - TRAFFIC CODE
PART FIVE - GENERAL OFFENSES CODE
CHAPTER 501 General Provisions and Penalty
CHAPTER 503 Advertising and Billing
CHAPTER 505 Animals and Fowl
CHAPTER 506 Nuisance, Dangerous and Vicious Animals
CHAPTER 507 Abortion Services
CHAPTER 509 Disorderly Conduct and Peace Disturbance
CHAPTER 513 Drug Abuse Control
CHAPTER 517 Gambling
CHAPTER 518 Charitable Fund Raisers
CHAPTER 521 Health, Safety and Sanitation
CHAPTER 525 Law Enforcement and Public Office
CHAPTER 527 Littering
CHAPTER 529 Liquor Control
CHAPTER 531 Minors
CHAPTER 533 Obscenity and Sex Offenses
CHAPTER 535 Noise Control
CHAPTER 537 Offenses Against Persons
CHAPTER 541 Property Offenses
CHAPTER 542 Sex Offender Residency Prohibition
CHAPTER 543 Registration of Convicted Persons
CHAPTER 545 Theft and Fraud
CHAPTER 547 Transportation of Radioactive Materials
CHAPTER 549 Weapons and Explosives
CHAPTER 551 Lot Maintenance
CHAPTER 553 Railroads
CHAPTER 555 Criminal Activity Nuisances
PART SEVEN - BUSINESS REGULATION CODE
PART NINE - STREETS, UTILITIES AND PUBLIC SERVICES CODE
PART ELEVEN - PLANNING AND ZONING CODE
PART THIRTEEN - BUILDING CODE
PART FOURTEEN - HOUSING CODE
PART FIFTEEN - FIRE PREVENTION CODE
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537.18 EAVESDROPPING AND SURVEILLANCE.
   (a)   Except as provided in this section, or as permitted under the laws of the United States, no person shall willfully, surreptitiously and by means of any device listen to, transmit, amplify or record a private oral communication carried on in circumstances which reasonably indicate that the parties thereto desire it to be confined to them, and no person shall willfully disclose or willfully use or attempt to use any information, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe such information was obtained in violation of this section.
   (b)   This section shall not apply to an employer and his respective employees when any and all communication is confined to such employer and/or employees and no persons of the general public (nonemployees) are involved and the following conditions are met:
      (1)   Such monitoring, listening to, transmission, amplification or recording is reasonably necessary to preserve the efficiency of such employer's operation; and
      (2)   Any employee subject to monitoring, listening to, transmission, amplification or recording, receives actual notice that such monitoring, listening to, transmission, amplification or recording may occur during the hours of his employ; and
      (3)   Any such device or area subject to monitoring, listening to, transmission, amplification or recording shall have placed thereon or therein, in plain view, a brightly colored label with the inscription, "This device is monitored" or "This area is monitored," respectively.
      (4)   Devices and areas which are not subject to monitoring, listening to, transmission, amplification or recording are provided for employees on the employer's premises or property.
   (c)   Recording of any communication by or through a line, cable or wire under the control of a telegraph or telephone company where such communication involves a member of the general public shall be permitted only in conjunction with a recorder tone device or a beep tone which automatically produces a distinct and clearly audible signal that is repeated at intervals of fifteen seconds at all times during such recording.
 
   (d)   No person, corporation, partnership, agency or other entity shall install equipment designed for monitoring or recording communication by or through a line, cable or wire under control of a telephone or telegraph company as provided for by subsections (b) and (c) herein unless the party requesting and receiving such installation has a license as provided in Section 537.19.
 
   (e)   This section shall not apply where a valid search warrant has been obtained by the proper State or Federal authority.
 
   (f)   This section shall not apply to emergency reporting systems or reporting stations that are to be used solely for fire, police and other emergency report calls.
 
   (g)   Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. (Ord. 74-1974. Passed 9-9-74.)
537.19 LICENSE REQUIRED FOR EAVESDROPPING AND SURVEILLANCE.
   (a)   No person, corporation, partnership, agency, governmental body or other entity shall monitor or record any oral communication of any person unless duly licensed by the City.
 
   (b)   Application for a license to monitor oral communication shall be made to the Finance Director. The fee for such license shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per year.
 
   (c)   The Finance Director shall not issue a license under this section to any applicant convicted of a violation of Section 537.18 within the preceding twelve months.
 
   (d)   The Finance Director shall revoke, for a period of twelve months, the license of any license convicted of a violation of Section 537.18. Such twelve-month period shall begin upon the date of conviction for such violation.
(Ord. 74-1974. Passed 9-9-74.)
   (e)   Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.
537.20 RESERVED.
   (Editor’s note: This section was formerly 537.17 Criminal Child Enticement, based on Ohio R.C. 2905.05, Criminal Child Enticement. The Ohio Supreme Court held that Ohio R.C. 2905.05(A) was unconstitutionally overbroad in violation of the First Amendment. See State v. Romage, 138 Ohio St. 3d. 390 (2014).)
537.21 HAZING PROHIBITED.
   (a)   As used in this section:
      (1)   “Hazing” means doing any act or coercing another, including the victim, to do any act of initiation into any student or other organization or any act to continue or reinstate membership in or affiliation with any student or other organization that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to any person, including coercing another to consume alcohol or a drug of abuse, as defined in Ohio R.C. 3719.011.
      (2)   “Organization” includes a national or international organization with which a fraternity or sorority is affiliated.
   (b)   (1)   No person shall recklessly participate in the hazing of another.
      (2)   No administrator, employee, faculty member, teacher, consultant, alumnus, or volunteer of any organization, including any primary, secondary, or post-secondary school or any other educational institution, public or private, shall recklessly permit the hazing of any person associated with the organization.
   (c)   (1)   No person shall recklessly participate in the hazing of another when the hazing includes coerced consumption of alcohol or drugs of abuse resulting in serious physical harm to the other person.
      (2)   No administrator, employee, faculty member, teacher, consultant, alumnus, or volunteer of any organization, including any primary, secondary, or post-secondary school or other educational institution, public or private, shall recklessly permit the hazing of any person associated with the organization when the hazing includes coerced consumption of alcohol or drugs of abuse resulting in serious physical harm to that person.
   (d)   Whoever violates subsections (b) or (c) of this section is guilty of hazing. A violation of subsections (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section is a misdemeanor of the second degree. A violation of subsections (c)(1) or (c)(2) of this section is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law. (ORC 2903.31)
   (e)   Reckless failure to immediately report knowledge of hazing.
      (1)   No administrator, employee, faculty member, teacher, consultant, alumnus, or volunteer of any organization, including any primary, secondary, or post-secondary school or any other public or private educational institution, who is acting in an official and professional capacity shall recklessly fail to immediately report the knowledge of hazing to a law enforcement agency in the county in which the victim of hazing resides or in which the hazing is occurring or has occurred.
      (2)   A violation of subsection (e)(1) of this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, except that the violation is a misdemeanor of the first degree if the hazing causes serious physical harm.
         (ORC 2903.311(B), (C))
537.99 PENALTY.
   (EDITOR'S NOTE: See Section 501.99 for penalties applicable to any misdemeanor classification.)