By enacting a curfew regulation that applies to minors and their
parents, the City Council intends to preserve and promote the safety
and welfare of the community and minors during late night hours. In
adopting the ordinance codified in this chapter, the City Council
considered and relied upon testimony that proves the effectiveness
of a juvenile curfew in promoting these purposes. This regulation
is intended to reasonably balance the public interest and the protected
rights of minors and their parents. This balance is achieved by applying
the principle that parental responsibility for a minor's conduct is
paramount to the City's regulatory authority. Enforcement of this
curfew only becomes necessary in the absence of parental authority.
(Ord. 97-914 § 2)
For purposes of this chapter the following words or phrases
are defined:
"Curfew hours"
means the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. of the following
day.
"Emergency"
means an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting
state that calls for immediate action. The term includes, without
limitation, fire, natural disaster, automobile accident, or any situation
requiring immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss
of life.
"Guardian"
means: (1) a person who, under court order, is the guardian
of the person of a minor; or (2) a public or private agency with which
the court has placed a minor.
"Minor"
means any person under the age of 18.
"Parent"
means a person who is a natural parent, adoptive parent,
or step-parent of a minor.
"Public place"
means any place to which any member of the public has access,
including, without limitation, public rights-of-way, public grounds,
dedicated open or trail space, or any privately owned unsupervised
land that is open and generally available to the public including,
without limitation, vacant lots, school parking lots and common areas,
hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, housing complexes,
shopping centers, and malls.
"Responsible adult"
means the parent, guardian, or adult person at least 21 years
old having the responsibility for the care, custody, and control of
a minor.
(Ord. 97-914 § 2; Ord. 2010-1099 § 1; Ord. 2010-1100 § 1)
No minor shall be present in any public place during curfew
hours.
(Ord. 97-914 § 2)
No responsible adult shall knowingly permit, or by insufficient
control to allow, a minor to be present in any public place during
curfew hours.
(Ord. 97-914 § 2)
The prohibitions described in Sections
9.08.030 and
9.08.040 above shall not apply to any minor who demonstrates as an affirmative defense that he or she is:
A. Accompanied
by his or her responsible adult;
B. Engaged
in or directly en route to or from an employment activity;
C. Engaged
in any emergency;
D. Attending
or directly en route to or from a school sponsored, religious, or
recreational activity supervised by at least one responsible adult
and sponsored and conducted by the City, a civic organization, public
agency, charitable organization, religious entity, or another similar
entity that takes responsibility for the minor;
E. On an
errand at the direction of the minor's responsible adult without any
detour or stop;
F. In any
motor vehicle involved in interstate travel;
G. Exercising
First Amendment rights;
I. Traveling, without delay or detour, between the minor's residence and any activity listed in subsections
A through
H, or traveling between those activities.
(Ord. 97-914 § 2; Ord. 2010-1099 § 2; Ord. 2010-1100 § 2)