[Adopted 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-7]
A.
The City
Council (the "Council") of the City of Walhalla (the "municipality")
is committed to protecting the rights of citizens under the First
Amendment of the United States Constitution, while implementing policies
and procedures that protect the health, safety, welfare and personal
privacy of the municipality' s employees and the general public who
do business with or use the services of the municipality. This policy
(this "policy") is intended to delineate those portions of the municipality
property (as defined herein) that are accessible to and observable
by the general public from those portions that are accessible on a
limited basis, establish rules of conduct that are applicable to all
municipality property and specify procedures for municipality employees
who encounter those who wish to access municipality property for observational
purposes.
B.
The City
Council has determined that it is necessary to regulate access to
City facilities, grounds and property in order to ensure the safety
and security of the public who visit these areas or the City employees
who serve them. The conduct of persons who visit City facilities and/or
who have contact with City employees must also be regulated to preserve
public order, peace and safety. The regulation of access and conduct
must be balanced with the right of the public to have reasonable access
to public facilities and to receive friendly, professional service
from City employees. These regulations apply to all City facilities
as defined below, for and over which City Council exercises control
and regulation, and to the extent, only, not preempted by state or
federal law.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Part 2, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Any building, structure or real property owned, leased, rented,
operated or occupied by the City or one of its departments, offices
or agencies.
Any designated area on municipality property that is not generally
open to or occupied by the public; is open to or occupied by the public
on only a limited, as-needed, or by-invitation basis; or is in an
area generally open to or occupied by the public in close proximity
to where private third parties conduct business with municipality
employees. Limited-access areas may be designated by doors, physical
barriers, building design features, signage, reception desks or stations,
stanchions, ropes, fencing, bollards or other visible indications.
The lack of visible indications shall not prevent the municipality
from considering or treating an area as a limited-access area. The
municipality shall retain the right to verbally instruct third parties
that an area is a limited-access area.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, limited-access
areas include but are not limited to the following:
Employee offices.
Employee workspaces including copy rooms, mailrooms and break
areas.
Employee parking lots, storage areas, access points or other
outside areas marked for use by municipality employees or vehicles
only.
Areas in close proximity to places, stations, desks, counters
or teller windows at which private third parties conduct business
with municipality employees.
Hallways, staircases, restrooms, elevators and other areas by
purpose or function restricted to limited or transitory occupancy
or providing access solely to other limited-access areas.
Maintenance, storage and warehousing facilities.
Public works and public safety buildings, except for any designated
waiting or reception areas therein.
Water, sewer and other public utility facilities.
Any municipality law enforcement officer.
Any person providing security services in any municipality property
pursuant to contract with the municipality or with any person, firm
or corporation managing a municipality property on the municipality's
behalf.
With respect to any building, facility, area or space assigned
to a municipality department, division or agency, the director or
manager of such department, division or agency, or any person that
such official specifically designates in writing.
The Municipality Administrator, any Assistant Municipality Administrator,
additional officer or any person that such officials specifically
designate in writing.
Any real property owned by the municipality or in which the
municipality has a property interest or property management responsibility.
Any area on municipality property that is generally open
to general public access and occupancy that is not otherwise designated
as a limited-access area.
The specific guidelines set forth in this policy
To maintain an environment that promotes orderly administrative
and business operations, and to take reasonable and prudent actions
to protect the health, welfare, safety and personal privacy of all
persons at municipality property, the rules of conduct in this section
apply and are to be enforced at all municipality property except where
specific rules of conduct or prohibitions have been adopted for designated
municipality property.
A.
Rules
of conduct applicable to all municipality property. The following
rules of conduct shall apply at all municipality property, including
both public areas and limited-access areas:
(1)
No
person shall enter, attempt to enter or remain in any areas of municipality
property for any purpose other than to conduct legitimate business
with municipality offices or tenants located at municipality property,
to enjoy publicly accessible amenities in public areas, to lawfully
assemble for social or public interaction in public areas specifically
designated for such assembly or to exercise other constitutionally
protected rights. The appropriate municipality officials may adopt
specific policies with respect to municipality property under their
custody and control to manage conditions for use of such municipality
property, including without limitation to establish hours and terms
of use, reservation protocols, use and user priority and fees for
use.
(2)
No
person shall engage in any activity on municipality property that
would constitute a violation of federal, state or local law or regulation.
(3)
No
person shall engage in activity that disrupts or interferes with the
normal operation or administration of municipality business at municipality
property, lawful use by municipality employees and authorized users
at municipality property or municipality-permitted activities.
(4)
No
person shall stalk, harass, threaten, intimidate or otherwise compromise
the wellbeing and safety of municipality employees or private third
parties lawfully using municipality property. Photography, audio recording
or video recording does not, in and of itself, violate this rule of
conduct. Likewise, conduct that would otherwise violate this rule
of conduct shall not be permitted merely because the conduct involves
photography, audio recording or video recording.
(5)
No
person shall interfere with or obstruct the free passage of municipality
employees or authorized third parties in or on municipality property,
including without limitation by standing in, blocking access to or
occupying areas for purposes of photography, audio recording or video
recording.
(6)
No
person shall photograph, audio record or video record in such a manner
that would allow capture of, access to or disclosure of private, personal,
confidential, sensitive or privileged information of private third
parties. The municipality may enforce this rule of conduct by imposing
minimum standing or separation distances from areas, stations, desks,
counters or teller windows at which private third parties conduct
business with municipality employees.
B.
Limited-access
areas. The following rules of conduct shall apply at all limited-access
areas:
(1)
Limited-access
areas shall be accessible only to the following:
(a)
Employees, elected officials and appointed officials of the municipality;
and
(b)
Private parties but only on a limited, as-needed, or by-invitation
basis, to include those private parties accessing a limited-access
area for the express purpose of conducting business with municipality
employees.
(2)
Photography,
audio recording and video recording is prohibited in limited-access
areas, except as follows:
(a)
Any municipality official may authorize audio or video recording
or photography in limited-access areas, for good cause shown, with
the consent of all parties to be recorded or photographed, provided
that any municipality official may impose appropriate and reasonable
conditions on the recording or photography to prevent the unauthorized
disclosure of confidential information; and
(b)
Audio and video recording and photography may be permitted in limited-access
areas when specifically authorized by applicable law or agreements.
(3)
No
person shall photograph, audio record or video record any private
third party lawfully entering into, using or occupying a limited-access
area without the express consent of such third party.
C.
Prohibited
acts.
(1)
It
shall be unlawful for any person to:
(a)
Utter loud, obscene, profane, threatening, disruptive or abusive
language or to engage in any disorderly or disruptive conduct that
impedes, disrupts or disturbs the orderly proceedings of operations
of any department or function of the City government.
(b)
Bring, carry or otherwise introduce any firearm, knife with blade
longer than two inches or other dangerous weapon, concealed or not
concealed, into any facility or meeting. This prohibition does not
apply to law enforcement personnel or any other person whose official,
governmental duties require them to carry such firearm, knife or other
weapon.
(c)
Engage in partisan political activity, including speech, not authorized
and called for the purpose of partisan political activity and explicitly
authorized for such purpose in the facility in which such activity
is to be conducted, or refuse to cease such activity when the activity
in question is partisan political activity and it has been directed
that such activity stop.
(d)
Interfere with, impede, hinder or obstruct any City governmental
official or employee in the performance of his duties, whether or
not on City government property.
(e)
Enter any area of a City government facility, grounds or property
when such entry is prohibited by signs, or obstructed or enclosed
by gates, fencing or other physical barriers. Such areas include rooms
if clearly marked with signs to prohibit unauthorized entry.
(f)
Enter by vehicle any area of a City governmental facility, grounds
or property when such area is prohibited by signs or markings or is
obstructed by physical barriers; or park a vehicle in such restricted
areas; or park in a manner to block, partially block or impede the
passage of traffic in driveways; or park within 15 feet of a fire
hydrant or in a fire zone; or park in any area not designated as a
parking space; or park in a handicapped parking space without proper
placarding or license plate; or park in a reserved parking space without
authorization.
(g)
Use any City governmental facility, grounds or other property for
any purpose not authorized by law or expressly permitted by officials
responsible for the premises.
(h)
Enter without authorization or permission or refuse to leave any
City governmental facility, grounds or other property after hours
of operation.
(i)
Obstruct or impede passage within a building, grounds or other property
of any City governmental facility.
(j)
Enter, without legal cause or good excuse, a City governmental facility,
grounds or property after having been warned not to do so; or, having
entered such property, fail and refuse without legal cause or good
excuse to leave immediately upon being ordered or requested to do
so by an official, employee, agent or representative responsible for
premises.
(k)
Damage, deface, injure or attempt to damage, deface or injure a City
governmental property, whether real property or otherwise.
(l)
Enter or attempt to enter any restricted or nonpublic ingress point
or any restricted-access area, or bypass or attempt to bypass the
designated public entrance or security checkpoint of a facility without
authorization or permission.
(m)
Perform any act which circumvents, disables or interferes with or
attempts to circumvent, disable or interfere with a facility's security
system, alarm system, camera system, door lock or other intrusion
prevention or detection device. This includes, without limitation,
opening, blocking open or otherwise disabling an alarmed or locked
door or other opening that would allow the entry of an unauthorized
person into a facility or restricted-access area of the facility.
(n)
Exit or attempt to exit a facility through an unauthorized egress
point or alarmed door.
(2)
The
Tri-County Board of Directors for Youth Sports Policy on Inappropriate
Behavior dated September 9, 2022, shall also apply to sanctioned sporting
events.
If a person violates these rules of conduct while in or upon municipality
property, any municipality official may eject and direct such person
to leave municipality property for a period of up to 24 hours. It
shall not be necessary for such municipality official to allege any
crime or other violation of applicable law other than these rules
of conduct in order to support such notice of exclusion; provided
that violation of such notice of exclusion may be deemed a trespass
under applicable law. The notice of exclusion shall be in writing,
given to the person excluded and signed by the municipality official.
It shall specify the dates and places of exclusion and shall contain
a warning of consequences for failure to comply with the notice of
exclusion.
A.
Any person
may photograph, film or record audio of any public area. Any such
activity should be reported to a municipality official, preferably
a law enforcement officer if possible.
B.
Municipality
employees should refrain from engaging with photographers and videographers
wherever possible. Municipality employees should monitor photographers
or videographers on municipality property, but should refrain from
engaging them unless they violate any rule of conduct. In the event
that engagement is necessary, every effort should be made to respond
calmly without escalating the encounter.
C.
A municipality
employee who does not wish to be photographed or recorded may retire
to a limited-access area.
D.
Municipality
employees are not required to respond to questions or demands from
any photographer or videographer, and should refrain from doing so
if possible.
E.
Municipality
employees may invite a private third party conducting business with
the municipality and who does not wish to be photographed or filmed
to retire to a more private limited-access area in order to complete
any business or transaction.
F.
Municipality
law enforcement officers may approach photographers and videographers
upon a complaint from a member of the public or municipality employees
that the activity is suspicious or based upon their own observation
that the activity is suspicious or inconsistent with this policy.
This policy neither limits nor expands the authority of municipality
law enforcement officers to initiate and pursue investigations, to
perform pat downs or frisks based upon reasonable suspicion, or to
conduct searches based upon probable cause in accordance with legal
authority. Photography, audio recording or video recording does not,
in and of itself, rise to the level of reasonable suspicion or probable
cause.
Any person violating the provisions of this Part 2 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished in accordance with applicable state statutes. In addition, vehicles that are improperly parked on any City property, facility or other premises may be towed at the owner's expense.
