[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Colonial Heights 10-12-1993 as Ord. No. 93-30. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Dance halls — See Ch. 119.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Curfew Ordinance of the City of Colonial Heights."
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein:
ADULT
Any person at least 18 years of age.
LAWFUL ACTIVITY
Any activity which is not otherwise illegal, in which a minor acts with the knowledge and permission of a parent.
MINOR
Any person 17 years of age or under who has not been determined to be emancipated pursuant to the Code of Virginia § 16.1-331 et seq.
PARENT
Any person having legal custody of a minor as a natural or adoptive parent; as a legal guardian; as a person who stands in loco parentis; or as a person to whom legal custody has been granted by court order.
PUBLIC PLACE
A. 
A way or place open to the use of the public for the purpose of vehicular or pedestrian travel, including but not limited to rights-of-way; traffic lanes, curbs and sidewalks, whether paved or unpaved; and any grass plots or grounds found within the right-of-way; irrespective of what it is called or formally named, whether alley, avenue, court, road or otherwise.
B. 
Shopping areas, parking lots, buildings, parks, places of amusement and similar structures or areas that are open to the use of the public.
[Amended 1-12-2016 by Ord. No. 15-32]
It shall be unlawful, except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, for any minor to be or remain in or upon any public place within the City of Colonial Heights from 11:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m., local prevailing time.
No violation of the provisions of this chapter shall occur in the event that:
A. 
The action which otherwise would have constituted a violation results directly from an emergency presenting an imminent danger to life, safety or property.
B. 
The minor is engaged in, or traveling directly to or from, a lawful activity as defined herein.
C. 
The minor is traveling directly home from an organized school, civic or religious activity, or his or her place of employment.
D. 
The minor is accompanied by a parent of said minor.
E. 
The minor is accompanied by an adult authorized by a parent of said minor to take said parent's place in accompanying said minor for a designated period of time and purpose within a specified area.
F. 
The minor is not more than 50 feet from the minor's place of residence.
G. 
The minor is, with parental consent, in a motor vehicle and engaged in interstate travel beginning, ending or passing through the city.
It shall be unlawful for a parent of a minor knowingly to permit or by inefficient control to allow said minor to be or remain on any street in violation of this chapter. The term "knowingly" includes knowledge which a parent reasonably is expected to have concerning the whereabouts of a minor of whom the parent has legal custody. It shall be, a fortiori, no defense that a parent was indifferent to the activities or conduct or whereabouts of said minor.
[Amended 9-14-2004 by Ord. No. 04-23]
A. 
If a law enforcement officer reasonably believes that a person is in a public place in violation of this chapter, the officer shall notify the person that he or she is in violation and shall require his or her name, address and telephone number, if any, and the manner in which his or her parent or parents can be contacted. The law enforcement officer shall use his or her best judgment in determining the age of the person and may consider any available evidence, including but not limited to a birth certificate or driver's license. If the law enforcement officer determines that a person is in violation of this chapter, the officer shall take the person into custody, and a parent shall be notified if possible.
B. 
The law enforcement officer instead may deliver the minor to a parent of said minor at his or her home if it is reasonably convenient to do so during the exercise of the officer’s normal duties.
C. 
When a parent has forthwith taken charge of the minor and the appropriate information has been recorded, the minor shall be released to the custody of said parent. If a parent cannot be located or fails to take charge of the minor within a reasonable period of time, the minor may be released to some other adult who will assume, on behalf of a parent, the responsibility of supervising the minor pending the arrival of a parent.
[Amended 5-14-2002 by Ord. No. 02-4]
Pursuant to § 15.2-926 of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended, a violation of the provisions of this chapter by a minor shall be disposed of as provided in §§ 16.1-278.4 and 16.1-278.5 of the Code of Virginia.