(A) Animals in public parks.
(1) Prohibition. No person shall permit any animal owned by them or under their custody or control to be in a public park except as set forth below. The Police K-9 Unit dog is exempt from the provisions of this section. The above restriction shall not prohibit persons from walking their animals on the city biking/walking paths so long as the animals are on a leash and the owners comply with division (2) below.
(2) Damage to property. No person owning or having the custody or control of an animal shall permit the animal to damage any lawn, garden or other park property, or to urinate or defecate on park property. It shall be the duty of each person owning or having the custody or control of an animal to remove any feces left by the animal on any sidewalk, gutter, street, park land or other public property, or on any public area, and to dispose of the feces in a sanitary manner.
(3) Enforcement of regulations. The provisions of this section shall be enforced by the Police Department and by such other employees of the city as may be designated by the City Administrator. The City Administrator may appoint a person or persons other than a city employee to pick up an animal running at large and to deliver the animal to a place designated by the City Administrator as more fully set forth in Ord. 26 (see §§ 90.01 through 90.18).
(B) Firearms, fireworks and open fires.
(1) Prohibition. No person shall possess or discharge firearms, firecrackers, rockets or similar projectiles or set off any fireworks within the city parks; provided, that this section shall not be construed as prohibiting the discharge of firearms within the city by any city police officer, by any other duly authorized law officer, when necessary in the performance of his or her official duty, or by members of any military company acting by command of any superior officer. This section shall also not be construed as prohibiting discharge of fireworks by the city or its designated representative as part of any holiday or special event celebrations.
(2) Possession. Possession of fireworks, firecrackers, rockets or other projectiles while within the city parks shall be prima facie evidence of intent to discharge and shall be a violation of this section.
(3) Open fires. No person shall start or maintain an open fire on any public park land. This section shall not be construed to prohibit either the use of charcoal for cooking in designated receptacles or the use of other devices that contain gas used for cooking.
(C) Littering and disposal of refuse.
(1) No person shall litter or spill or permit littering or spillage of paper, plastic, glass, metal or any other materials on any public streets, public parks or other public property of the city.
(2) No person shall place refuse in a city-owned container placed on public parks or other public property if the refuse is produced on other than a public park or other public property.
(D) Operating or parking motor vehicles on biking/walking paths and other public park land.
(1) No person shall operate or park a motor vehicle, as hereinafter defined, upon any biking/walking path, grassed areas or anywhere else on public parks or other public property of the city, except on a street, highway, service drive, alley or parking lot or other public way or area authorized by the Council, on which public way or area there are signs indicating that operating or parking is permitted.
(2) It shall be permissible to operate a motor vehicle within the pavilion area solely for the purpose of loading and unloading food and equipment when the operator is a part of a group or organization that has rented the pavilion for a special occasion.
(3) MOTOR VEHICLE shall mean every vehicle which is self-propelled. VEHICLE shall mean those devices described in M.S. § 169.01 Subd. 2, as may be amended from time to time. MOTOR VEHICLES used by city employees or others retained by the city to perform repairs and maintenance of public land shall be exempted from this section.
(4) No motor vehicle may be parked on public park land between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
(5) No motor vehicle capable of carrying more than one ton shall be operated or parked anywhere within the confines of any public park.
(6) No person shall ride a bike or traverse by means of skateboards, roller blades or roller skates within the confines of any public park building or pavilion.
(7) Any motor vehicle operated, parked or left unattended in violation of this section may be towed to a public garage or other storage facility at the driver’s or owner’s expense. Any motor vehicle towed pursuant to this section shall be released to the owner upon payment of any reasonable charges for towing and storage of the motor vehicle, and after obtaining a release from the Police Department.
(E) Restriction on activities.
(1) No person shall be within the confines of any public park between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
(2) No person shall practice or play any game utilizing golf balls or golf equipment on any public park land or other public property other than a designated golf course.
(3) No glass shall be allowed in the sand beach area of LaCanne Park, and/or the playground area of any city park.
(4) No alcohol shall be possessed or consumed in the sand beach area of LaCanne Park, and/or the playground area of any city park.
(5) No person shall consume by smoking any tobacco or tobacco product in the sand beach area of LaCanne Park, and/or the playground area of any city park. For the purpose of this section, the following definition shall apply:
(a) SMOKE or SMOKING.
(i) Inhaling, exhaling, or burning any tobacco or tobacco product as defined in § 110.02 that is intended for inhalation.
(ii) Carrying any lighted, heated, or activated tobacco or tobacco product as defined in § 110.02 that is intended for inhalation.
(iii) The use of an electronic delivery device used to deliver any aerosolized or vaporized substance to the person inhaling from the device as further defined in M.S. § 609.685.
(F) Effective date. This section shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and its publication in an official newspaper of the city.
(Ord. 88.1, passed 7-12-2010; Ord. 2023-03, passed --) Penalty, see § 95.99