Borough of Fox Chapel, PA Chapter 241 Parks and Recreation

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Fox Chapel 1-19-2009 by Ord. No. 666 (Ch. 16, Part 1, of the 1978 Code of Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 241-1 Rules and regulations.

The following rules and regulations are hereby established for the management and protection of all Borough parkland:

A. All parks and parkland of the Borough shall be open daily to the public between sunrise and one hour after sunset. Dogs shall be permitted only in certain parks (as specified below) and only between dawn and dusk. No person, other than authorized employees of the Borough, shall be in any park area from one hour after sunset to sunrise.

B. No person shall injure, deface, remove, cut or damage any of the trees, plants, shrubs, turf, buildings, structures or fixtures therein or any other property of the Borough located within a park area. No equipment shall be left in such a location as to inhibit the use of the park area by others.

C. No person shall conduct himself within a park so as to annoy other persons using the park for lawful purposes or any other residents of the Borough.

D. No person shall dispose of any litter on park grounds except by disposing of same in receptacles designated for this purpose. Litter in excess of what will fit in a closed receptacle shall be removed by the users of the park. In areas where dog walking is permitted, dog owners/walkers shall pick up all feces and properly dispose of same in trash receptacles.

E. No person shall injure, destroy, deface, alter or remove any notice, rule or regulation posted at any place within any park area.

F. No person shall set or maintain any fire within any park area.

G. No person shall bring any alcoholic beverage into any park area, either for his/her own use or for the use of any other persons.

H. Beverages in glass bottles are prohibited in park areas.

I. No motorized vehicles, other than Borough equipment, shall be permitted in any park other than on designated parking areas.

J. Gambling or games of chance, drunkenness, disorderly or indecent conduct and profane or offensive language are prohibited.

K. No person shall wash, clean, polish, grease, lubricate or otherwise make repairs to any motor vehicle in any park area, except that emergency repairs of a minor nature may be made.

L. No group of 20 or more persons shall use McCahill Park without first having obtained a permit from the Borough. Playing fields shall not be used for sports such as football, rugby or soccer when the ground is wet and the turf may be damaged.

M. On all public property and all streets in the Borough, dogs shall be limited to a maximum of two dogs per individual, which must at all times be on and under control of a leash, except as otherwise expressly provided herein. However, no dogs shall be permitted in any Borough park other than Riding Meadow Park, Eliza Fox Trail - North Section between Hardie Valley Park and Beechwood Farms, and Lockhart Trail. Horseback riding is permitted within all parkland except the Trillium Trail and McCahill Park. The following park-specific restrictions shall apply to dogs, which must, whether on or off leash, be under the control of their owner or handler and must neither disturb nor harm any person or animal:

[Amended 3-20-2023 by Ord. No. 723]

(1) Riding Meadow Park and Eliza Fox Trail - North Section between Hardie Valley Park and Beechwood Farms. Dogs may be off leash between dawn and dusk.

(2) Lockhart Trail. Dogs may be off leash between dawn and 11:00 a.m. and between 4:00 p.m. and dusk, except that, on the northerly portion of such Trail, from its intersection with the northerly line of Trillium Lane to a point 740 feet to the east of such intersection, and on the westerly portion of such Trail, from its intersection with the southerly line of Trillium Lane to a point 780 feet to the south of such intersection (both measured along the said Trail), dogs must be leashed at all times. In addition, on said northerly portion of such Trail, from the first such point of intersection to a point 430 feet to the east of such intersection, dogs must be kept on the fifty-foot private road right-of-way, the center line of which is essentially the dividing line between property of the Trillium Homeowners' Association and property now or formerly of Gordon Davison et ux., which private road is shown on the plan of the Kyne Subdivision, Plan Book Volume 175, pages 47-50, in the Recorder's Office of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

N. No firearms of any nature, including air guns, nor any archery equipment shall be carried or used within any park area except with the prior approval of the Fox Chapel Police Department in conjunction with the Borough's Wildlife Management Program.

O. Anyone using the parks or parkland shall observe all posted parking restrictions.

P. Any activity which generates parking in excess of that available at the site must make alternate parking/busing/carpooling arrangements. Due to parking limitations at McCahill Park, use of that park shall at all times be limited to a maximum of two activities at any one time. The Borough also reserves the right to preclude the simultaneous use of McCahill Park by specific organizations when it is felt that such dual use might create parking or other problems. Groups having a valid use permit shall have priority over any group not having a permit.

Q. Permits to reserve one or both of the fields at McCahill Park will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis beginning January 1 of each year. (Only one baseball field per league may be reserved with each permit. No permits will be issued to scheduled leagues for use of McCahill Park after 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays or anytime on Sundays.) Applications must be made on forms provided by the Borough. The issuance of any such permit is conditioned upon strict adherence to these rules and regulations, and any violation hereof shall be cause for revoking the permit. The Borough also reserves the right to refuse to issue a permit or to revoke a permit without cause.

R. Subject to ratification by Borough Council, the Park Commission of the Borough of Fox Chapel is hereby empowered to promulgate and post such procedures, rules and regulations as it may deem necessary for the use of all parkland.

§ 241-2 Violations and penalties. [1]

Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. Upon judgment against any person by summary conviction, or by proceedings by summons on default of the payment of the fine or penalty imposed and the costs, the defendant may be sentenced and committed to the Allegheny County correctional facility for a period not exceeding 30 days. Each day that such violation exists shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense. In addition to or in lieu of enforcement under this section, the Borough may enforce this chapter in equity in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).