[HISTORY: Adopted by the County Council of Wicomico County 5-10-1993
by Bill No. 1993-2. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The Wicomico County Department of Recreation and Parks.
The Director of the Wicomico County Department of Recreation and
Parks.
Any land or water devoted to park or recreational uses and owned,
operated or established by Wicomico County, Maryland, including but not limited
to all parks, playgrounds, recreational areas, facilities, buildings, grounds
and water operated or administered by the Department of Recreation and Parks
for recreational purposes.
Any motor vehicle, moped, minibike, trail bike, all-terrain vehicle,
snowmobile and bicycle, as well as other cycles.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply in and upon all parks within
Wicomico County.
The following regulations apply to all parks:
A.
Hours of operation. No unauthorized person or vehicle
may enter or remain in any park or portion thereof from sunset to sunrise.
Any park or portion thereof may be closed by the Director to public entry
and travel during periods of construction or maintenance; when deemed necessary
due to road conditions, park operations or fire hazards; or for the protection
of park property or the environment or the health, safety and welfare of the
public. The closing shall be by order of the Director, and restricted areas
shall be posted against public entry.
B.
Use. Park property and recreation and park programs are
open to use by all members of the public, regardless of race, sex, national
origin, color or creed.
C.
Charges. No person may make use of or gain admittance
to facilities in any park or portion thereof for the use of which a charge
is made by the Department unless he or she shall have paid the fixed charges
or price.
D.
Interference with Department employees. No person shall
interfere with any employee or agent of the Department while the employee
or agent is acting in the course of his or her official duties.
E.
Advertising. A person may not erect or post any sign,
notice or literature in a park nor use any loudspeaker or public address system
without first obtaining a permit from the Department.
F.
Aeronautical activities. Powered model airplanes or rockets
shall not be flown over or launched from any park except in areas designated
for such purposes or by permit. Airplanes, helium hot-air balloons, hang gliders,
parachutes, ultralight planes or any other person-operated aircraft shall
not be flown or launched from park property except from areas designated for
such purposes or by permit.
G.
Alcohol sales. The sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited on park property unless a special permit is first obtained as set forth in § 179-11A and all applicable state laws are complied with.
H.
Animals. Owners of animals shall comply with the provisions
of the Animal Control Law. Riding of horses, ponies or other animals is prohibited
except in those areas designated for such purposes by the Department. The
grazing of any animal is prohibited except by permit.
I.
Automobiles. A person may not wash, repair or perform
other work on any automobile on park property except in the case of an emergency.
Waxing an automobile is permitted.
J.
Camping. No person shall camp on park property, except
by permit and in such areas as may be designated for such purpose by the Department.
K.
Commercial activities. Peddling, soliciting or conducting
of any business, trade or occupation, including the taking of photographs
and motion pictures for commercial use, is prohibited except by permit from
the Department.
L.
Firearms. No person, other than a law enforcement officer,
shall carry, possess or discharge a firearm on park property except in those
areas designated for such purpose.
M.
Fires. No person shall build or cause to be built any
fire except within established barbecue grills provided by the Department
at picnic areas. No person shall leave any fire, unless such fire is attended
by a responsible person, and all such fires shall be thoroughly extinguished
prior to leaving the site.
N.
Fishing. Fishing is permitted only in designated areas
and in compliance with state law and posted rules.
O.
Flora and fauna. Unless authorized by law, a person may
not catch, molest or kill any wildlife or disturb any nest, burrow or den
of any animal or fowl. A person may not injure, remove or destroy any flora
without permission of the Department. Planting of vegetation and/or digging
into the surface or park property is prohibited except by permit.
P.
Gambling. Gambling, gaming, wheels of fortune or other games of chance are prohibited unless a special permit is first obtained as set forth in § 179-11A and all applicable state laws are complied with.
Q.
Hunting. Hunting and trapping is prohibited on park property,
except by permit for scientific and animal control purposes.
R.
Golf. Golf practice is prohibited on park property.
S.
Littering. No person shall:
(1)
Discard, deposit, dump or allow to blow away refuse of
any kind in or upon park property, except by placing such refuse in a container
provided for such purpose.
(2)
Dispose of any refuse on park property, whether disposed
of in a receptacle or not, if such refuse is not a result of use within the
park.
T.
Obstructions. No persons shall congregate or assemble
in or about any comfort station or other public structure on park property
in such a manner as to hinder or obstruct the proper use thereof. Enclosure
of any area or erection of any structure on park property is prohibited unless
a permit is first obtained from the Department.
U.
Private instruction. A person may not utilize park property
or any portion thereof for conducting private instruction or lessons where
a fee is charged, unless a permit is first obtained from the Department.
V.
Trees. No person may cut or saw any live or dead trees
or part thereof with any type of equipment, power or otherwise, on park property
or remove any live or dead trees from park property, except by permit.
W.
Swimming. Swimming and water sports are prohibited except
at such times and places as may be designated for such purposes. Persons utilizing
authorized areas shall comply with rules and regulations posted by the Department.
X.
Traffic.
[Amended 10-24-2000 by Bill No. 2000-10]
(1)
The operation of all motorized vehicles on park property
shall be in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
(2)
Instructions from a Department employee or police officer,
by gesture or otherwise, to reduce the speed of a vehicle, to bring it to
a stop, to alter its direction or to remove it from a restricted area shall
immediately be obeyed by the operator or owner of the vehicle.
(3)
No person shall operate any motorized vehicle in excess
of 25 miles per hour, unless otherwise posted or directed.
(4)
No person shall operate any motorized vehicle on park
property other than on a road or street to which public access has not been
prohibited.
(5)
Buses, trucks and commercial vehicles with commercial
marking or tools of trade, with the exception of taxicabs and tool trucks
on service calls to disabled vehicles, shall not be operated on park property
unless a permit has first been obtained from the Department.
(6)
No person shall operate a vehicle in such a manner as
to block or partially block any bicycle, hiker, bridle path or access road.
Y.
Watercraft. No person shall operate any watercraft upon
any county or park waters, nor launch watercraft from park or county property,
except at such time and place as may be designated for such purposes by the
Department and in compliance with any regulations promulgated by the Department
and posted near watercraft launch sites.
No person shall deface, alter, injure, destroy, misuse or remove any
monuments, boundary lines, physical structures, lands, installation, notices,
signs, historical materials or artifacts or any other county property.
The Director is authorized to limit or restrict any park or section
thereof to certain activities, uses or age groups and to prohibit activities
and uses of any park or section thereof or to impose additional rules and
regulations when deemed necessary for the health, safety and welfare of the
public or for the protection of park property. Such limits, restrictions,
regulations or prohibitions shall be by order of the Director and posted in
the affected areas.
Any person or persons holding a permit for the use of an athletic field
are entitled to the exclusive use of such area on the dates and between the
hours specified in the permit; provided, however, that in the event that the
grounds are wet or otherwise unsuitable for play without damage to the field,
the permit shall be deemed revoked.
The use of metal detectors and/or digging into the surface of park property
is strictly prohibited at Pemberton Historical Park.
Those paths and trails designated by the Department as footpaths, nature
trails or bicycle trails may be used only by pedestrians and nonmotorized
vehicles. Horses, horse-drawn vehicles and motor vehicles shall be prohibited.
Those paths or trails designated by the Department as bridle paths or
horse trails may be used only by pedestrians, horses or horse-drawn vehicles.
All vehicles, whether motorized or nonmotorized, shall be prohibited.
No person shall remain upon park property after a lawful command to
remove by any law enforcement officer or by the Director of the Department
or his authorized representative.
A.
Permits or written permission required under the provisions
of this chapter for the conduct of any activity or for the use of any park
facility or portion thereof, except alcohol and gambling special permits,
may be issued to any individual, group or organization at the discretion of
the Department. Requests for special permits for alcohol or gambling shall
be forwarded to the Wicomico County Recreation Commission for review and comment.
The request, with the recommendation of the Recreation Commission, shall then
be forwarded to the County Executive for final action.
[Amended 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11]
B.
Application for a permit shall be made upon a form furnished
by the Department and shall be accompanied by any fee established by the Department
and approved by the County Council.
[Amended 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11]
C.
Permits may be issued for a single-time use, seasonally
or on a definite time basis for regional parks, athletic fields, recreational
centers or county-owned community buildings.
D.
Permits will be issued upon a determination by the Director
or his designee that the facilities or activity areas requested are available
and appropriate for the purpose specified in the permit and that the proposed
use or activity is consistent with the size, location and available amenities
of the relevant park property and with the public health, safety and welfare.
E.
False or misleading statements in the application or
prior violations of this chapter or the terms or provisions of any prior permit
shall be grounds for denial of a permit.
F.
The holder of a group permit issued by the Department
shall be financially responsible for the destruction of park property by any
person covered by the permit.
G.
All permits shall be displayed upon request of Department
personnel or law enforcement agencies with enforcement duties within the county.
A.
Bivalve and Nanticoke Harbors and each and every harbor
facility now or hereafter maintained by Wicomico County shall be under the
immediate direction of the Director of Recreation and Parks.
B.
The unauthorized use of boat slips by any person, firm
or corporation is prohibited. Any vessel occupying such slip shall be subject
to removal without notice at the owner's expense. In the event of removal,
all costs incurred in the removal, storage and preservation of the vessel
shall be the liability of the owner of the vessel.
C.
The County Council shall have the authority and power
to make rules and regulations for the use of said harbor facilities for the
protection of the public health, safety and welfare.
[Amended 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11]
[Amended 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11]
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or any rule, regulation,
directive, restriction or permit issued pursuant thereto shall be guilty of
a civil infraction and shall be subject to a fine of not less than $25 nor
more than $1,000. A schedule of fines for violations may be established by
the County Council. Each day the violation continues shall constitute a separate
violation.
[Added 10-24-2000 by Bill No. 2000-10; 10-17-2006
by Bill No. 2006-11]
A.
The Sheriff and any Deputy Sheriff of the Wicomico County
Sheriff's Department, any person appointed by the Governor of the State
of Maryland as a special police officer with respect to the property described
in said commission, and any person designated by the County Council as having
authority to enforce the provisions of this chapter shall have authority to
issue citations for civil infractions of this chapter.
