The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Board.
The park and recreation board.
City manager.
The city manager and/or his authorized agent and/or representative.
City.
The City of Celina, Collin and Denton County, Texas.
Closed field.
A playing field or a game field owned or leased by the city
that has been closed for any use due to inclement weather or maintenance
requirements by order of the director.
Director.
The parks and recreation department director.
Facilities.
Properties and/or improvements owned, leased or otherwise
controlled by the parks and recreation department which includes,
but is not limited to, recreation centers, swimming pools, tennis
center clubhouse, golf course clubhouse, outdoor learning center,
senior citizens center, museums, community centers, tennis courts,
basketball courts, golf courses, recreation fields, picnic areas,
open air pavilions, and amphitheaters.
Game field.
A playing field that has been designated by the director
to be used only for the purpose of conducting league play or tournament
play for the city-sponsored or city co-sponsored league play athletic
events, or city-authorized practices.
Game.
When field layout and markings having specific dimensions
are required before the designated activity takes place.
League.
A group of athletic teams organized to promote mutual interests
and to compete chiefly among themselves.
Park.
A park, reservation, playground, recreation center, or any
other area in the city owned or used by the city, and devoted to active
or passive recreation, including all planted expressways, parkways,
triangles, and traffic circles maintained by the city.
Person(s).
Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association,
company or organization of any kind.
Playing field.
Any portion of a park that is either owned or leased by the
city that has been designated as an area which athletic league games
are played, including, but not limited to, fields for football, soccer,
softball, baseball or any other sport activity sponsored or co-sponsored
by the city.
Practice.
When field layout and markings are not required before the
designated activity takes place.
Public property.
Any property held for public use by any department or branch
of an independent school district, community college district or municipal
corporation.
Recreation field/facility.
A field or combination of fields designated by the parks
and recreation department to facilitate games and/or practice activities.
Scrimmage.
An informal unscheduled sports contest or practice match
engaged in for practice purposes which does not go on the regular
season record.
Special event.
Any event, activity or program that operates wholly or partially
within the city which may require the use of or assistance from the
parks and recreation department, police department, fire department,
or any other public service department.
Sports season.
Any portion of one year in which regulated games of a specific
sport are in session, generally spring season, summer season and fall
season.
Tournament.
A sporting event made up of a series of games, rounds, or
contests between multiple teams.
Vehicle.
Any conveyance employing wheels, track-laying devices, runners,
fans, or propellers, whether motor-powered, animal-drawn, or self-propelled.
The term shall include trailers of any size, kind or description.
Exception is made for baby carriages and vehicles in service for the
city.
(2004 Code, sec. 98.01; Ordinance 2010-33, sec. 3.01, adopted 8/9/10)
Any person, firm, corporation or association violating any of
the provisions of this division shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction in the municipal court of the city, shall be
subject to a fine not to exceed $500.00 for each offense, and each
and every day that the premises shall remain in a condition in violation
of the terms of this division shall constitute a continuing and separate
offense, subject to application of the full penalty contained herein.
(2004 Code, sec. 98.99)
The park and recreation board shall recommend to the city council
such rules and regulations as it deems best for the management of
the public parks, and where such rules have been adopted for a specific
park area and posted within the specific park so regulated, any person
found guilty of violating such rules shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(2004 Code, sec. 98.03)
Within the limits of any city park, it shall be unlawful for
any person to do any of the acts hereinafter specified, except as
may be otherwise provided:
(1) To
hitch, fasten, lead, drive, or let loose any animal, reptile, or fowl
of any kind, provided that this shall not apply to dogs when led by
a cord or chain not more than six feet long.
(2) To
ride any horse or other animal, except in designated areas.
(3) To
ride, drive, or go on any drive or street in any park at a speed greater
than the posted speed limits, [or] upon bicycle, motorcycle, automobile,
or other motorized vehicle upon any sidewalk, hike, or jogging trail
or walk, except in designated areas.
(4) To
carry or discharge any firearms, firecrackers, rockets, torpedoes,
or any other fireworks, airguns, BB guns, bows and arrows, slingshots,
or paint-ball guns, or hit golf balls, except in designated areas,
unless such prohibition is preempted by any state or federal law.
(5) To
damage, move, alter, cut, break, injure, deface, or disturb any tree,
shrub, plant, rock, building, cage, pen, monument, fence, bench, equipment,
or other structure, apparatus or property, or to pluck, pull up, cut,
take, or remove any shrub, bush, plant or flower, or to mark or write
upon, paint, or deface in any manner any building, monument, fence,
bench, equipment or other structure.
(6) To
cut or remove any wood, turf grass, soil, rock, sand, gravel, or fertilizer.
(7) To
swim, bathe, wade in or pollute the water of any fountain, pond, lake,
or stream.
(8) To
make or kindle a fire except in picnic stoves, braziers, fire pits,
or designated areas provided for that purpose.
(9) To
wash dishes or empty salt water or other waste liquids elsewhere than
in sinks provided for such purposes.
(10) To place, abandon, or leave garbage, cans, bottles, papers, or other
refuse in any park except in proper waste receptacles.
(11) To participate or engage in any activity in any park area when such
activity will create a danger to the public or may be considered a
public nuisance.
(13) The possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited
except during special events sponsored and/or organized by the city.
(14) To disturb in any manner any picnic, meeting, service, concert, exercise,
or exhibition.
(15) To post, place, or erect any advertising, handbill, circular, bill,
notice, paper, or other advertising device.
(16) To sell or offer for sale any good, drinks, confections, merchandise,
or services unless given permission by the city.
(17) To practice, carry on, conduct, or solicit for any trade, occupation,
business, or profession.
(18) Parks shall be closed from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. seven days per
week. It shall be unlawful for any person to enter, remain, stay,
or loiter in any park when closed except for events approved by the
director.
(19) For any person over the age of six years to use the restrooms and
washrooms designated for the opposite sex.
(20) To place or dump any trash, refuse, solid waste, grass clippings,
leaves, or other objectionable or unsightly matter in any park.
(21) To allow an animal to defecate in the park without immediate removal
and disposal of such feces in proper waste receptacles.
(22) Seining minnows or fish from the creeks, ponds, or lakes in any park.
(23) To abandon, place, remove, or injure any animal, including any living
creature, domestic or wild, including but not limited to dogs, cats,
cows, horse, birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, fowls, and livestock,
except fishing in designated areas. Fishing by adults is restricted
to catch and release.
(24) To use or operate any motorboat, boat, or watercraft on any creek,
pond, lake, or water within any park, except those operated by law
enforcement officials.
(25) To conduct any activity which places a person in or on any creek,
pond, lake, or water within the park, except in the case of law enforcement
officials.
(26) To use or operate any model airplane, boat, car, or motorized model
device, including radio-controlled devices, or helicopter, parasail,
hang glider, model rockets, or hot air balloon. Non-motorized model
sailboats are allowed.
(27) Use of mechanical loudspeakers or amplified music, sound, or voices,
except at city sponsored or approved events.
(28) To conduct or participate in any tournament, camp, or organized sporting
activity which has not been specifically authorized by the director
or which conflicts with a scheduled activity or event authorized by
the director.
(29) To use any tobacco product.
(2004 Code, sec. 98.04; Ordinance 2016-42, sec. 3.01, adopted 6/17/16; Ordinance 2014-24 adopted 5/13/14)
(a) Intent.
To provide a basis for achieving the following
objectives:
(1) Communicating the inventory of recreational facilities available
to reservation applicants for usage of such facilities;
(2) Communicating the anticipated and immediate facility needs from users
of facilities to the appropriate department within the city administration;
(3) Implementing a system of facilities allocation producing results
most beneficial to the total city;
(4) Establishing a program for continuous maintenance of recreation facilities
to the betterment of the total city.
(b) Policy administration.
The administration of this division
shall be the responsibility of the parks and recreation department.
The department shall prepare, implement, and enforce such specific
rules and regulations for the use of facilities for each sport or
type of facility as it deems necessary. The parks and recreation department
may report periodically to the park and recreation board on the effectiveness
and difficulties of administering this policy.
(c) Casual scheduling.
This subsection pertains to the reservation
of recreation facilities by residents, clubs or groups on an organized
basis who are not participants in locally sponsored sports league,
and shall be purely recreational and not for profit. Any group or
resident may use a recreation facility maintained through the parks
and recreation department when available, and without a reservation.
Should any resident, club or group desire a recreation facility for
a specific day and/or time, then such requests will be considered
on a space available basis and the following conditions of reservation
apply:
(1) Applications must be made a minimum of seven (7) days prior to the
scheduled activity, unless otherwise specified.
(2) Applications are approved on a first come first serve basis.
(3) All applicable fees must be paid to finalize an application. See subsection
(m) for cancellation policy.
(4) No refunds will be given for inclement weather. (See subsection
(i).)
(5) Applications will not be accepted more than six months prior to any
event date.
(6) Applications must be complete, clearly indicating all requested services,
including but not limited to lights, concessions, field preparation,
and signage. If the service is not requested it will not be provided
or allowed.
(d) Formal scheduling.
This subsection pertains to the use
of recreation facilities by residents, clubs or groups on an organized
basis who are participants in locally sponsored sports league. Any
group or resident may request use of a recreation facility through
the parks and recreation department when available. Such requests
will be considered on a space available basis. The following conditions
apply:
(1) Applications must be made a minimum of fourteen (14) days prior to
the scheduled activity, unless otherwise specified.
(2) Applications are approved on a first come first serve basis.
(3) All applicable fees must be paid to finalize an application. See subsection
(m) for cancellation policy.
(4) Applications will not be accepted more than six months prior to any
event date.
(5) No refunds will be given for inclement weather. (See subsection
(i).)
(6) Applications must be complete, clearly indicating all requested services,
including but not limited to lights, concessions, field preparation,
and signage. If a specific service is not requested it will not be
provided or allowed.
(7) The parks and recreation department shall consider all requests and
will allocate facilities in the best interest of the city. Guidelines
which will be considered may include, but are not limited to:
(A) Programs conducted the previous year.
(B) Priority will be given to those persons who reside within the city
limits.
(C) Persons requesting regular season play or meets with out-of-town
teams will be given consideration after fields or facility time has
been allocated for all other teams or organizations made up of primarily
residents.
(8) The parks and recreation department may place more than one (1) person
on a given facility for the same sport.
(9) Any existing person wishing to initiate a new program or event must
meet with the parks and recreation department at least ninety (90)
days prior to the proposed activity date to discuss the availability
of facilities. A new program or event is defined as any activity that
was not offered by the requesting person the previous year, or as
determined by the parks and recreation department.
(10) The director of parks and recreation or the director’s designee
may also consider any other alternatives in implementing the facility
allocation for the various users, or make such variations or exceptions
as the director deems in the best interest of the city, giving due
consideration to the number of participants, facility requirements,
nature of the activity, innovation of the program and other relevant
factors.
(f)
Practice sessions.
(1) All practices are subject to the following conditions:
(A) Reservation requests must be made as outlined in subsection
(d).
(B) Baseball and softball game fields, unless they have been prepared
that day or designated for scheduled use only, may be used for practice.
(C) Game fields for turf sports such as soccer and football, unless they
have been designated for scheduled use only, may be used for practice
on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoon.
(D) Persons may not schedule more than four (4) teams per field per practice
session.
(E) Each person will schedule their teams during their allotted time
frames at each field and not otherwise.
(2) Persons desiring lighted practice areas shall comply with the following
conditions:
(A) The applicable light usage fee must be paid.
(B) There shall be no use of recreation field lights for practice sessions
on Sundays.
(C) The scheduled turn-on and turn-off of lights shall be the responsibility
of the parks and recreation department.
(g) Requirements for leagues.
(1) Must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving and operating
exclusively for amateur sports competition.
(2) If requested, file a yearly financial report with the parks and recreation
department by January 31 each year, such report to include a breakdown
of expenses and income.
(3) Have a board of directors with a president or chairman, vice-president,
or co-chairman, secretary, and treasurer.
(4) Have on file with the parks and recreation department a copy of the
organization’s articles of incorporation, bylaws which must
be in harmony with parks and recreation department policies, and maintain
a current listing of the organization’s board of directors and
mutually agreed to points of contact.
(5) Have a policy that permits individuals to file for exemption from
registration fees.
(6) Have a nondiscrimination policy which is consistent with the city’s
nondiscrimination policy.
(7) Have policies that support the safety of its officials, referees
and umpires in the performance of their assigned duties.
(h) Large events.
Youth and adult sport tournaments, meets
or special events as determined by the parks and recreation department
which involve out-of-town participants will be considered on a space
available basis subject to the following conditions:
(1) Any reservation request for large events must be made in writing by the sponsoring organization no less than thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled event as outlined in subsection
(d).
(2) The parks and recreation department may restrict the number, size,
dates, and locations in order to protect field or facility conditions
or to prevent overuse of fields or facilities.
(3) Upon approval, fees will be charged to the sponsoring organization
for the city’s standardized services involving lighting, personnel,
materials, equipment and contractual resources utilized in support
of the large event. The parks and recreation department shall estimate
such expenses prior to approval based on the size of the event.
(4) The large event fees must be paid three (3) working days prior to
the event date(s).
(5) If facility space allows, more than one (1) event may be scheduled
on any given date by the parks and recreation department.
(6) No special maintenance will be done to the fields during a tournament
or meet (dragging, marking, etc.) unless agreed to by the parks and
recreation department. Event sponsors may employ approved independent
contractors to drag and mark the fields or prepare the fields with
hand tools following guidelines established by the parks and recreation
department.
(i) Inclement weather.
(1) Whenever possible, scheduled activities will first be delayed or
postponed. The decision to resume the activity will rest with the
parks and recreation department.
(2) The parks and recreation department may cancel an activity at any
time in the interest of insuring the quality of the facilities and
safety of the participants.
(3) The decision to cancel the activity shall be made by authorized members
from the parks and recreation department.
(4) When the decision to cancel the activity due to inclement weather
has been made, the contact person identified on the reservation application
will be notified and it will be their responsibility to then notify
the activity participants.
(5) Inclement weather dates will be rescheduled on the next available
date during the same sports season.
(j) Facility lights.
Subject to the conditions and provisions
set out in this division, the use of lights at various facilities
used in activities covered by this division shall be subject to the
following:
(1) All use of lights Mondays through Saturdays, whether for practice,
tournaments or league games, shall cease and lights shall be turned
off at 11:00 p.m. on any and all fields.
(2) Use of lights on Sundays shall be limited to games until 7:30 p.m.
and tournaments until 9:00 p.m. unless otherwise restricted to protect
the quality of turf conditions.
(3) Only with the approval of the parks and recreation director or designee
under certain conditions and/or for certain special uses will light
usage time be allowed or extended.
(4) All use of lights is contingent upon leagues and tournaments utilizing
daylight to schedule practices and games whenever practical.
(k) Facility maintenance.
Subject to the conditions and
provisions set out in this division, maintenance of various facilities
shall be subject to the following:
(1) Maintenance of all facilities will be performed only by the parks
and recreation department unless user groups enter into a written
maintenance agreement with the parks and recreation department.
(2) No modifications, alterations, additions, or deletions, temporary
or otherwise, may be made to any facility unless written approval
is obtained from the parks and recreation department in accordance
with the policy for construction/maintenance approval process for
user groups.
(3) Certain recreation sites or fields as determined by the director
of parks and recreation department may receive enhanced maintenance
in cooperation with specific user groups. These fields shall be used
only on a scheduled basis and shall be identifiable by special signage.
These fields or sites may be gated or fenced with controlled access
to protect the benefits of enhanced maintenance from unauthorized
practices and vandalism.
(4) The parks and recreation director is authorized to declare a closed
field. Such fields shall have a sign posted stating “Closed
Field.”
(5) The parks and recreation director is authorized to designate game
fields. Such fields shall have a sign posted stating “Game Field–Restricted
to City-Sponsored League Play or City Co-Sponsored Athletic Events
Only.”
(6) Written approval from the parks department to any person granting
permission to make modifications, alterations, additions or deletions,
temporary or otherwise to any facility, does not imply nor grant exclusive
or preferential use of the modified facility by the approved person.
(l) Concessions.
The parks and recreation department shall
control all concession rights for all parks and facilities.
(1) At no time shall any commercial or business activities be operated,
including but not limited to, charging an admission fee, requesting
admission donation, selling promotional materials, selling food and
beverage products or charging for parking; except with the written
approval of the parks and recreation director or his designee.
(2) All vendors must be pre-approved and will be required to meet all
city ordinances pertaining to the product(s) or service(s) being offered,
including the vendors utilizing the concessions buildings.
(3) A site plan with vendor location(s) must be submitted to the city
for approval a minimum of seven (7) days before the event date.
(4) Vehicle access for dropping off supplies or items associated with
the operation of the event will be permitted outside the parking areas,
but must return to the parking areas no later than one hour prior
to the scheduled start of the event. Vehicles are to remain on the
concrete pathways at all times.
(5) The event may display advertising and banners during the event, all
advertisement and banners shall be approved in writing by the parks
and recreation director prior to installation.
(m) Reservation cancellations.
All cancellation requests
must be in writing and will be assessed as outlined below:
(1) More than 60 days prior to reservation: 100% refund.
(2) 30 to 60 days prior to reservation: 75% refund.
(3) 7 to 30 days prior to reservation: 50% refund.
(4) Less than 7 days prior to reservation: No refund.
(Ordinance 2010-33, sec. 3.02, adopted 8/9/10)
The person, group, organization or entity reserving the use
of a park facility shall be responsible for all damages to city property
and for the cost of any park maintenance services or emergency or
public safety services, including police and fire, provided to, at
or dispatched to the park facility as a result of such person’s,
group’s or the organization’s misuse or improper or unlawful
use of the park facility.
(2004 Code, sec. 98.06)
All vehicles used for the purpose of transporting freight and
merchandise, or brick, stone or gravel, and all those commonly known
as floats, moving wagons, or express or delivery wagons, are prohibited
from entering upon or being driven through any of the public parks,
except by special permission of the director subject to appropriate
conditions and safeguards.
(2004 Code, sec. 98.07)
No vehicle shall be driven over or across the curbs, sidewalks,
grass, or lawn within any park area unless signs permit. Parking is
to be done in areas set aside for this purpose only. In areas having
no parking set aside, all parking will take place outside of the boundary
or curbline, where existing. Where parking stalls have been designated,
all vehicles shall be parked on such lots within and between the lines
designating a single vehicle parking space and not otherwise. Where
parking lots or areas within public parks of the city have been designated
for head-in parking to front on a visible parking line without delineated
single vehicles spaces, the front of the vehicle shall be placed on
the parking line and as near as practicable to the side of the last
parked vehicle in line. No vehicles shall be parked or left behind
any other vehicle in the parking line or back of such parking line
in any manner so as to obstruct, block or hinder ingress or egress
from the line. Officers of the police department of the city shall
issue to violators of this section tickets or notices to answer to
charges in the manner prescribed by the applicable ordinances and
the case shall proceed in accordance with such applicable section.
Where a vehicle is parked or left in violation of this section in
such a manner as obstruct or block traffic, and the owner of operator
of the vehicles cannot be found, police officers of the city may move
the vehicle so that traffic will not be impeded. No variation to the
requirements of this section shall be allowed except by special permit
issued by the director. Law enforcement shall be exempt from this
section.
(2004 Code, sec. 98.08)
City-sponsored events or use of park and recreation facilities
may be exempted from the requirements contained in this division upon
written approval by the director.
(2004 Code, sec. 98.09)