Generally. No motor vehicle or other vehicle of any description shall be driven, propelled, parked or left standing in any public park within the City, except upon, along and over the driveways, parkways and parking places constructed and established for that purpose by the Parks and Recreation Commission. No vehicle shall be driven at a speed in excess of the posted speed limit in a public park within the City.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Oneonta 7-15-2025 by Ord. No. 7-2025.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person shall stand or park any motor vehicle on the west side of the road which extends from Gas Avenue to Neahwa Place through Neahwa Park following the contour of the baseball park during any public function in the baseball park.
A.
Loitering; parking. No person shall loiter or park any motor vehicle in any public park in the City of Oneonta between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
B.
Exceptions. Nothing in the section shall prohibit regularly organized gatherings for which the Parks and Recreation Commission has granted special permission nor shall this section apply to persons who are engaged in recreational activities authorized or supervised by the Parks and Recreation Commission.
No person shall burn or cause to be burned any substance or material upon lands within the public parks of the City, except that it shall not be unlawful to start and maintain fires in pits or other receptacles constructed and provided by the Parks and Recreation Commission for such purposes.
A.
No person shall smoke or use any tobacco product, cannabis product or other nicotine or cannabis delivery system within any public park in the City of Oneonta, on any City property, or in any City property. This prohibition against the smoking or use of tobacco and cannabis products includes Wilber Park, Neahwa Park, Catella Park, Susquehanna River Park, Swart-Wilcox Historic Park, the Susquehanna Greenway, New Island, and includes their associated sporting fields, tennis courts, swimming pools and/or playgrounds, picnic facilities, hiking trails, wooded areas, lawn areas, or parking lots. This prohibition shall also apply to Muller Plaza, Maple Park, Miller Park, and Curtis Park.
B.
For purposes of this section, to smoke and/or utilize any tobacco or cannabis products shall mean to burn a lighted cigar, cigarette or pipe, and/or to use any other substance which contains tobacco and/or cannabis and also includes electronic cigarettes, vapor devices and chewing tobacco. It shall not include cannabis-infused foods, nicotine patches or nicotine gum.
C.
Appropriate signage shall be posted designating the parks and any other areas referred to herein as "smoke-free zones;" however, the presence or absence of signs shall not be a defense to a violation of this section.
D.
Violation of this section shall be punishable in accordance with the provisions of § 18-1 of the Code.
No person shall dump or deposit any garbage or any other kind of waste or debris anywhere within the public parks of the City, other than the receptacles provided for such purposes.
Unless otherwise authorized by the Public Works Director or their designee, no person shall cut, injure or destroy any flowering plants, shrubs, trees or plant life of any character within the public parks of the City.
No person shall willfully or maliciously injure, deface, destroy or remove any property, either real or personal, belonging to the City, located and situated within the public parks of said city.
No person shall carry, possess, discharge or fire any weapon, gun, or pistol within the boundaries of any public park of the City, except peace officers or police officers acting in their performance of their official duties, or individuals participating in regulated hunting as per Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) laws and regulations, or any DEC-issued permit authorized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and approved by the City, provided such activities are conducted in accordance with all applicable state and local laws and regulations.
No person shall hunt or fish in any public park of the City, except that fishing in the Mill Race is permitted. This section shall not apply to regularly organized gatherings for which the Parks and Recreation Commission has granted special written permission, or individuals participating in regulated hunting as per Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) laws and regulations, or any DEC-issued permit authorized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and approved by the City, provided such activities conducted in accordance with all applicable state and local laws and regulations.