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Township of Warwick, PA
Bucks County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (1) Index
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Warwick as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 12-2-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-8;[1] amended in its entirety 7-18-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-03]
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also superseded former Art. I, General Provisions, adopted 9-27-1984 by Ord. No. 84-1 as Part 6:1100 of the 1984 Warwick Township Code, as amended.
It is the intent, purpose and scope of this article to ensure the preservation of outdoor public parklands, outdoor recreation facilities and outdoor playground areas within the Township of Warwick for the perpetual enjoyment of the residents of the Township of Warwick, to regulate activities within these areas consistent with the enjoyment of natural settings and park facilities and to prevent any nuisances to the residents of the Township of Warwick in the use of such public parklands, recreation facilities and playground areas or in the enjoyment of private property adjacent to such areas.
Each person, firm or corporation using the public parks and grounds shall clean up all debris and leave the premises in good order and the facilities in a neat and sanitary condition. Each and every failure to conform to the provisions of this section shall be considered a separate violation of the provisions of this article.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation using such parks, recreation, open space or playground areas to either perform or permit to be performed any of the following acts.
(1) 
Willfully mark, deface, disfigure, injure, tamper with, displace or remove any building, bridges, tables, benches, railings, paving or paving material, waterlines or other public utilities or parts or appurtenances thereof, signs, notices, or placards, whether temporary or permanent, monuments, stakes, posts or other boundary markers or other structures or equipment, facilities or park property or appurtenances whatsoever, either real or personal.
(2) 
Remove, injure, or destroy any tree, flower, shrub, plant or growing thing or any rock or other mineral.
(3) 
Kill, trap, hunt, pursue or in any manner disturb or cause to be disturbed any wild bird or animal within the recreation, park and conservation sites owned by the Township, except as permitted by special permit of the Township as hereinafter provided.
(4) 
Throw, discharge or otherwise place or cause to be placed in the waters of any fountain, pond, lake or other body of water in or adjacent to any park or any tributary, stream, storm sewer or drain flowing into such waters, any substance, matter or thing, liquid or solid, which may result in the pollution of said waters; or dump, deposit or leave any bottles, broken glass, paper, boxes, cans, dirt, rubbish, waste, garbage, refuse or trash anywhere within the park and playground sites owned or operated by the Township, but rather make use of proper receptacles where these are provided; where such receptacles are not provided, all such materials shall be carried away from the park by the person responsible for their presence and properly disposed of elsewhere.
(5) 
Disturb the peace or use any profane, obscene, or blasphemous language.
(6) 
Endanger the safety of any person by any conduct or act.
(7) 
Commit any assault or battery or engage in fighting.
(8) 
No discharge of firearms.
(9) 
Bring to the park any type of weapon, excluding firearms, but including but not limited to air soft guns, BB/pellet guns, paintball guns, sling shots, knives/swords over three inches, potato guns, etc.
(10) 
Violate any rule for the use of the park, recreation land or playground areas made or approved by the Parks and Recreation Board, the Parks and Recreation Director or the Supervisors of Warwick Township.
(11) 
Fires may not be built or allowed anywhere in recreation, park or playground areas except in charcoal grills without prior approval of the Township.
(12) 
Use of a hard puck or lacrosse ball in the hockey rink.
(13) 
Ignite or discharge consumer or display fireworks without expressed, written permission from the Township.
B. 
It shall be unlawful to bring or cause to be brought into any park, recreation, or playground area any animal, except where posted. In those areas where posted, it shall be unlawful to permit any dog to be in any such area unless such dog is secured on a leash of not more than six feet in length. Owners of leashed or unleashed animals, whether legally or illegally on any park, recreation, or playground area, shall be responsible for the immediate removal and disposal of fecal matter deposited by that animal. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary stated herein, the training and/or exhibition of animals in designated areas shall be permitted only by special permit of the Township. Trained guide dogs for the blind are expressly exempt from all provisions of this article.
C. 
Gambling is prohibited on recreation, park, or playground areas.
D. 
No person, corporation or firm shall, in recreation, park, or playground areas:
(1) 
Offer for sale any article or thing, nor station or place any stand, cart or vehicle for the transportation, sale or display of any such article or thing, except under the authority of the Township by application and permit as hereinafter provided.
(2) 
Announce, advertise, or call the public's attention in any way to any article or service for sale or hire.
(3) 
Post, paste, fasten, paint, write, draw, carve, tack, or affix any placard, bill, notice, sign, advertisement, or any inscription whatever upon any structure, tree, stone, fence, thing or enclosure within any recreation, park, or playground area or on any public lands or highways or roads adjacent to any recreation, park, or conservation area, except that the Township may place informational signs within such areas.
E. 
It shall be unlawful to land a private or commercial airplane or helicopter on recreation, park, and playground lands.
A. 
Recreation, park, and playground areas shall be open daily to the public from sunrise to sunset except as otherwise posted by the Township; and it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation, other than Township personnel conducting Township business therein, to occupy or be present during any hours during which the park is not open to the public. Notwithstanding the aforesaid, special permits may be obtained from the Township for use after the aforesaid hours or after posted hours for specific activities in the manner and on the terms as hereinafter set forth. Any section or part of the recreation, park or playground areas may be declared closed to the public at any time and for any interval of time, either temporarily or at regular or stated intervals. During such periods of time, it shall be unlawful to enter upon or occupy such areas or portions thereof contrary to posted regulations or the conditions of a permit issued by the Township.
B. 
Sports courts that have lights will remain open while the court lights are on. This includes the basketball courts at Community Park and the hockey rink at Community Park. The basketball court light schedule is at the discretion of the Director of Parks and Recreation and the lights will not remain on past 10:30 p.m. at any time. The hockey rink lights are on during non-daylight-savings time from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. only. Nonilluminated sections of all parks remain closed between sunset and sunrise.
Whenever any group, association, or organization desires to use recreation or park facilities for a particular purpose, such as picnics, meetings, parties or theatrical or entertainment performances, a representative of said group, association or organization shall first be required to apply for and obtain a permit from the Township for the specific use desired in specifically designated areas as hereinafter set forth. The Board of Supervisors may adopt an application form to be used by the Department of Parks and Recreation, which may require an indemnity bond or other security to protect the Township from any liability of any kind or character and to protect Township property from damage. The Township shall grant the permit if it appears that the group, association or organization will not interfere with the general use of the park by the individual members of the public and if the group, association or organization meets all other conditions contained in the application.
It shall be unlawful for any person to have in his or her possession, custody or control any alcoholic beverage of any kind whatsoever.
A. 
Facilities and areas in Township recreation, park or playground sites shall be used only for the purposes designated or implicit in their character. Special activities, including flying model airplanes/helicopters, drones, picnics and the operation of motor scooters, motorcycles, minibikes, go-carts, snowmobiles, and similar vehicles, shall not be permitted.
B. 
Licensed motor vehicles shall be permitted only on designated roadways. The speed limit for such vehicles shall be 15 miles per hour on such roadways. Motor scooters, motorcycles, minibikes, go-carts, and snowmobiles shall not be permitted on roadways designated for licensed vehicular traffic unless licensed for travel on public roads of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All vehicles shall be parked in areas or places so provided and designated. Parking in places contrary to posted regulations and times is prohibited, and such vehicles may be removed by the Township at the owner's expense. All parking is prohibited after regular closing time. It shall be unlawful to clean, wash, repair or do any work whatsoever on private vehicles within recreation, park, and playground areas except for emergency repairs.
All permits deemed necessary by the Director of Parks and Recreation, Board of Supervisors and the Parks and Recreation Board to properly regulate Township park and recreational areas and facilities shall be granted by the Township upon the determination that the applicant is not in conflict with the terms and purposes of this article, as follows:
A. 
The Township shall issue permits and prescribe conditions upon forms and applications designated by himself, the Board of Supervisors or the Parks and Recreation Board.
B. 
Applications for permit must be made to the Park and Recreation office at least 10 days' prior to the use requested. Larger events and special circumstances will require additional time to process the permit. Please consult the Park and Recreation office at least three months in advance to determine how much additional time will be necessary.
C. 
All permits shall be granted for a period not to exceed the time or the duration of the anticipated use and activity.
D. 
The Director of Parks and Recreation shall have the authority to fix and establish a fee schedule for permits, accept the amounts of deposits and prescribe conditions under which deposits are collected or forfeited. All such revenue collected for permits shall be used for park, recreation, and conservation purposes within the general fund of Warwick Township.
E. 
Special event permit. Refer to Ord. No. 195-16, Chapter 49, Assemblies, Mass Public.
The Parks and Recreation Department and/or the Police Department of Warwick Township, under his supervision, shall designate or cause to be designated various areas of the park, playground or recreation lands and facilities of the Township for specific purposes as hereinabove mentioned. The same shall be accomplished by appropriate posting of signs in or about the areas designating the uses and areas involved conspicuously so as to provide adequate notice to the public.
The Director of Parks and Recreation and/or the Township Manager, or their designees, shall administer the provisions of this article, including the establishment and collection of fees, preparation of application forms, issuance and revocation of permits, promulgation of rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this article and all other decisions relative thereto. When acts or conduct of individuals or groups is determined to be in violation of this article or rules and regulations promulgated by the authority of this article or not to be in the best interests of the recreation, park and playground area, or when such acts are deemed to be disruptive to the surrounding neighborhood, or when such acts or conduct affect other people, private or public property, the Township police, Director of Parks and Recreation or his agent assigned to such area or program shall have the authority to cause such acts to be terminated, or to expel the perpetrators of such acts from the area, or to call the Township police to arrest and detain such individual or individuals, or to file a complaint for the violation of this article with a District Justice.
A. 
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be punishable, upon conviction thereof, by a fine of not less than $60 nor more than $600 and costs of prosecution or by imprisonment in the Bucks County Prison for not more than 90 days, or by both fine and imprisonment. In the event of the imposition of a fine only, default in payment of such fine and costs of prosecution shall subject the violator to imprisonment in the Bucks County Prison for not more than 90 days.
B. 
Where such violator has removed, destroyed, damaged, defaced or befouled the recreation, park or playground area or the contents thereof, the cost of maintenance, repair or replacement shall be charged to such person or group in addition to any fine. Further use of recreation and park facilities may be denied to violators of this article in addition to the imposition of fines or costs. The term "person violating" as set forth in this section shall mean, in the case of action or activity by any minor (herein defined as an unmarried person under the age of 18 years), in addition to such person, the parent, parents or guardian or any other person having lawful custody and control who knowingly permits the violation of this article. Such parent, guardian or person having lawful custody and control of such minor shall be considered separately and individually in violation of this article.
[Adopted 4-22-1991 by Ord. No. 91-4]
It shall be unlawful for any person to swim in, ice-skate on or engage in any activity in or on a pond or other body of water which is located within a public park, as defined herein, in Warwick Township, and the same is hereby prohibited.
For purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
PUBLIC PARK
Any real estate in which Warwick Township has an ownership interest, either in fee simple, lease or easement, which is used, intended for use or made available for use as public open space or recreational facilities, including such as may be limited to use by only residents of a particular area of the Township, whether or not the public park is supervised and managed by the Warwick Township Parks and Recreation Board.
Fishing in a pond or other body of water in a public park is a permitted activity, and it is not prohibited by this article.
Parent(s) shall be responsible at all times for the supervision and conduct of their minor children in a public park.
Any person who violates this article shall, upon conviction in summary proceedings before a District Justice having jurisdiction over Warwick Township, be sentenced to pay a fine or penalty of not more than $600, plus the costs of prosecution, and, in default of the payment of the fine or penalty imposed and costs, the defendant may be sentenced and committed to the Bucks County Prison for a period not exceeding 30 days.