Village of Coal City, IL Chapter 97 Parks and Recreation

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Coal City 11-17-2021 by Ord. No. 21-38.[1]Amendments noted where applicable.]

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 97, Parks and Recreation, adopted 10-14-1996 by Ord. No. 96-31.

§ 97-1 Park hours.

A. Hours. No person shall utilize any of the facilities of the Village parks, or park any motor vehicle in any of the Village parks, except during the following hours:

(1) From April 1 through October 31, between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. (CST).

(2) From November 1 through March 31, between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (CST).

B. Special closings; restricted uses. The Village Administrator, at the direction of the Mayor or the Corporate Authorities, may close Village park and recreational property or any parts thereof to the public at any time and for any interval of time, either temporarily or at regular intervals, and entirely or merely for certain uses, as deemed reasonably necessary and in the best interest of the Village. In addition, the Village Administrator, at the direction of the Mayor or the Corporate Authorities, may either permanently or temporarily erect signage restricting the use of playground or other facilities or equipment for certain ages or intended users at all times or during specified hours. Individuals found to be in violation of such closures or restrictions who have actual or constructive notice of such closures or use restrictions, shall be penalized in the manner prescribed within § 10-99 of the Village Code.

§ 97-2 Injury to or destruction of park property.

Unless authorized by Village contract or other Village authorization, no person shall in or on Village property:

A. Destroy, cut, break, deface, mutilate, injure, disturb, sever from the ground or remove any sod earth or growing thing, including, but not limited to, any plant, flower, flower bed, shrub, tree, growth, or any branch, stem, fruit, or leaf thereof;

B. Cut, break or in any way inure, deface, destroy, alter or damage any building, fence, monument, sculpture, bridge, facility, or other structure or property contained therein;

C. Operate or drive any motor car, automobile or vehicle of any kind in or on Village park or recreational property in places other than roadways or in such a manner as to cause the same to collide with, run against, strike or cause to strike, injure, deface, or damage any park property or appurtenance of any kind;

D. Attach any rope, sign, handbill or other things to any tree or shrub or to any protective device around any tree or shrub growing in the Village;

E. Allow any animal to injure or deface any tree, plant, shrub, lawn or grassplot in any manner whatsoever;

F. Fasten any bicycle, motorcycle, moped or other vehicle to or leave the same standing so as to injure any tree, shrub, lawn or grassplot;

G. Declare, destroy, cover over or otherwise make unreadable any warning or prohibitory sign or symbol in or on Village property;

H. Mark, carve, bend, cut, paint, deface, breakdown, destroy, damage, alter, change, sever, up-roof, excavate or otherwise remove, or attach or suspend any rope, wire, other material or contrivance to or from any Village property;

I. Climb upon, hang from, stand or sit on, any plant, fence, structure or other Village property of any kind except such benches or other property designed or customarily used for such purposes, or recreational equipment as may be installed by the Village for such purposes;

J. Bring any plant or portion of a plant onto Village property;

K. Purposefully misuse or endanger any building, fence, monument, sculpture, bridge, facility, or other structure or property contained therein; or

L. Use any abusive, threatening, insulting, indecent, profane, obscene, or any language which creates a substantial likelihood of violence, provocation or disruption on Village property at any time.

§ 97-3 Temporary dismissal.

A. Violations of any of the regulations set forth in Chapter 97 or any other law, ordinance or rule that threatens the safety of the Village's park and recreational patrons, staff and/or property are declared to constitute a public nuisance. Upon a plea of guilty or determination of liability for such a violation, in addition to any other penalty that may be imposed, a person who violates any of the regulations set forth in Chapter 97 or any other law, ordinance or rule that threatens the safety of the Village's park and recreational patrons, staff and/or property, may be subject to "temporary dismissal," meaning that the person may not enter into any Village park or recreational property for the length of time designated on the "order of temporary dismissal" which, depending on the seriousness of the violation, may be from one to 14 days. In order for an order of temporary dismissal to be imposed, the underlying citation or violation notice shall state that a fine or temporary dismissal from park and recreational property may issue upon a determination of liability. Any such person issued an order of temporary dismissal who returns to any Village park or recreational property during the dismissal period may be arrested for trespassing.

B. Exclusion. A person found to be in violation of the regulations set forth in Chapter 97 or any other law, ordinance, or rule while on any Village park or recreational property on multiple occasions during any sixty-day period may be subject to abatement and an order of "exclusion," meaning that the person shall be prohibited from entering into any Village park or recreational property for a time-period ranging from two weeks to one year at the discretion of the hearing officer based on the number and severity of the violations and consideration of any mitigating factors. A person who enters any Village park or recreational property during the period of exclusion may be arrested for trespassing.

C. Hearing. No order of temporary dismissal or exclusion shall be entered without an opportunity for hearing in the manner prescribed in Chapter 41.

§ 97-4 Penalties for offenses.

Any person violating any clause or provision of any section of this ordinance shall be penalized in the manner prescribed within § 10-99. Each day a violation continues shall be a separate offense.

§ 97-5 Enforcement of parks enforcement measures.

Reserved.

§ 97-6 Parental responsibility.

A. Generally. The Village hereby holds parents and legal guardians of an unemancipated minor who resides with such parent or legal guardian liable for actual damages for the willful and malicious acts of such minor which cause injury to a person on Village property or injury to Village property, as provided in the "Illinois Parental Responsibility Act" (740 ILCS 115/1, et seq.). Each parent and legal guardian shall be jointly and severally liable. The parent or legal guardian of an unemancipated minor shall be presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have failed to exercise proper parental responsibility, and such minor shall be deemed to have committed the acts described below with the knowledge and permission of the parent or guardian upon the occurrence of the following three events:

(1) An unemancipated minor is adjudicated to be in violation of this section or has incurred nonjudicial sanctions from another official agency resulting from an admission of guilt in violation of this section; and

(2) The parent or legal guardian has received a written notice thereof, either by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, or by personal service with a certificate of personal service returned from the Police Department of the Village of Coal City, following said adjudication or nonjudicial sanction; and

(3) If at any time within one year following the receipt of the notice described in § 97-6A(2) above, the minor is adjudicated to be in violation of this section, or has incurred nonjudicial sanctions from another official agency resulting from an admission of guilt of violation of this section.