[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of Mathews County as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-8-1980; amended 7-13-1982]
[Amended 10-22-2002]
This article shall be known as "An Ordinance
Controlling the Use of Certain Public Beach Properties and Fixing
Penalties for its Provisions."
[Amended 10-22-2002]
The purpose of this article is to regulate certain
activities on the Festival Beach property located at the terminus
of State Route No. 643; the public beach property located at the terminus
of State Route No. 632; and the public beach property located at the
terminus of State Route No. 645; all of which are located within Mathews
County.
[Amended 10-22-2002]
A.
Vehicular traffic on beach properties. It shall be
unlawful for any person or persons to operate or drive a vehicle of
any kind on the specified beach properties beyond the road or designated
parking areas.
B.
Hours of use of specified beach properties. It shall
be unlawful for any person or persons to use, go upon, or remain upon
the beach properties between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
daily.
C.
Setting of fires on specified beach properties. It
shall be unlawful for any person or persons to set a fire or fires
upon the beach properties.
[Amended 9-25-2001]
Any person violating the provisions of this
article shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
[Adopted 11-14-2023
A.
Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as the
"Mathews County Park Ordinance."
B.
Severability. Should the courts declare any section or provision
of this article to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall
not affect the validity of the article as a whole, or any part thereof,
other than the part so declared to be unconstitutional or invalid.
C.
Applicability. This article applies to park and recreational properties
owned, maintained and/or operated by Mathews County.
D.
Effective date. This article shall be in full force and effect on
and after a majority vote of the Mathews County Board of Supervisors.
The following terms, when used in this article, shall have the
following meanings, except where the context clearly indicates a different
meaning, or there is an expressed provision to the contrary:
Mathews County.
Any and all buildings, lands, and public access waters, including
roadways, recreation equipment, structures owned, leased, or operated
under the jurisdiction of the County as a park or recreation area
and open to the general public for park or recreation purposes.
Any person who comes into a park.
A.
Damage to the park property prohibited. No person shall in any manner
pick, pull, tear, dig, cut, break, burn, injure, deface, disturb,
destroy, remove, take or gather in any manner, in whole or in part,
any part of the park, building, sign, equipment or other property,
including, but not limited to, any tree, flower, fern, shrub, vine,
turf, plant, rock, artifact, fossil or mineral found growing or being
a part of the land of the park without written permission from the
County Administrator.
B.
Animals protected. No person shall capture, pursue, molest, injure,
or kill any mammal, bird, amphibian, or reptile, herein referred to
as "animal," in the park.
C.
Disturbance of nests prohibited. No person shall disturb the nest
of any animal in the park.
D.
Use of park refuse containers. No person shall deposit, dump, place
or abandon any garbage, refuse, or trash, not generated in the park,
in any park refuse container. Any such materials generated in a County
park shall be carried away or deposited in an on-site refuse container
if one is provided. Any littering is strictly prohibited on any County
property and subject to fines and/or arrest.
E.
Liability for park use. All County parks are for public use at the
visitor's own risk. The County of Mathews shall be held harmless
of any injuries or damage sustained while visiting County parks.
F.
Dangerous devices in parks. No person shall discharge any firearm
or other gun, including an air- or gas-powered gun, slingshot, bow
and arrow, crossbow, dart device or any other device designed for
high-speed missile projection, on any Mathews County park property.
G.
Motor vehicles.
(1)
Except by the express authorization of the Board of Supervisors,
the County Administrator or the County Administrator's designee,
no person shall operate within any park a motorized vehicle of a type
not licensable by the state for regular use upon public highways,
with the exception of powered wheelchairs.
(2)
No person shall operate any type of motor vehicle or motor-assisted
bicycle, commonly referred to as a "moped," in areas of the park other
than established roadways or parking lots.
(3)
No person shall park a motor vehicle or motor-assisted bicycle in
areas of the park other than those designated and posted by the County
as parking areas.
(4)
No owner or driver shall cause or permit a vehicle to stand in any
space designated for use by the handicapped unless the vehicle displays
a license plate or decal issued by the Virginia Commissioner of Motor
Vehicles pursuant to § 46.1-104.1 or § 46.1-149.1
of the Code of Virginia,[1] or a similar identification issued by another state or
the District of Columbia.
H.
Commercial enterprises prohibited. No person shall sell or offer
for sale, hire, or lease or let out any object or merchandise, property,
privilege, service, or any other thing, or engage in any business
or erect any building, booth, tent, stall, or any other structure
whatsoever, without prior written permission from an authorized County
official.
I.
Advertisements and announcements prohibited. No person shall erect
or post within the park any sign, notice or advertisement of any nature,
nor shall any person operate any musical instrument, radio, talking
machine, phonograph, tape recorder or drum, or make any noise, for
the purpose of attracting attention to any exhibition of any kind
within the park without prior written permission from an authorized
County official.
J.
Restriction of animals. No visitor shall have within the park any
animal unless it is either caged, securely penned or on a leash of
not more than 10 feet in length, and no person shall ride a horse
in the park.
K.
Hours of operation. No person shall enter or remain in Mathews County
Parks from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. without written consent of the
County Administrator, or during authorized events. Exceptions are
all park-and-rides and fishing ramps (Edwards Landing, Town Point,
and Grimstead Public Ramp, East River Boat Yard).
[Amended 7-10-2024]
L.
Fires, restrictions, and control of.
(1)
No person shall kindle, build, maintain, or use a fire other than
(a) in grills, and (b) in places provided and/or designated by the
County for such purposes, except by prior written permission from
the County Administrator.
(2)
Any fire within the confines of the park shall be continuously under
the care and supervision of a competent person 16 years of age or
older from the time such fire is kindled until the time it is extinguished.
(3)
No person shall throw or discard a lighted match, cigarette, cigar,
or other burning object in the park, without first extinguishing it
and discarding it in proper container.
M.
Sports and games. Athletic fields, tennis courts, swimming pools,
basketball courts, and horseback trails shall be determined by future
BOS approvals. USA Pickleball rules apply at the pickleball courts
at Port Fun.
[Amended 7-10-2024]
N.
Applicability of article to certain persons. Notwithstanding any
other provision in this article to the contrary, it shall not be a
violation of this article if a person engaging in any otherwise prohibited
activity is either an employee of the County acting within the scope
of his employment, or if the person engaging in the otherwise prohibited
activity is an agent or an independent contractor to the County acting
within and pursuant to the scope of his duties.
O.
Penalty. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this article
shall be deemed to be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction
thereof shall be fined and/or prosecuted to the maximum extent allowed
by law.
