Agenda Item Wording:
title
Municipal Code Amendment - First Reading of Ordinance 2024-09 amending Chapters 12.32 and 12.52 of the Visalia Municipal Code relating to conduct in City Parks, Recreation Areas and other Public Property.
body
Deadline for Action: 8/5/2024
Submitting Department: Administration
Contact Name and Phone Number: Ken Richardson, City Attorney, 559-372-2400
Department Recommendation:
It is recommended that the City Council approve the First Reading of Ordinance 2024-09 amending Chapters 12.32 and 12.52 of the Visalia Municipal Code relating to conduct in City Parks, Recreation Areas and other Public Property.
Background Discussion:
The ordinance presented for Council consideration will bring full circle a comprehensive update to the Visalia Municipal Code provisions regulating activities in the City's parks and recreation areas that started back in 2017. At that time, Chapter 12.32 regulating the activities in the City's parks and recreation areas did not reflect current practices, most notably it did not include provisions related to the reservation of certain park spaces and facilities. Nor did Chapter 12.32 address the prohibition of an increasing number of different activities that were incompatible with the traditional park and recreation activities for which these spaces were created. While this latter category was largely related encampments of unhoused persons in City parks and along trails that were occurring at that time, it also included things such as the use of inflatable bounce houses in the parks. In response, staff formed a working committee that included select members of the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Waterways and Trails Committee to develop proposals, and in some cases specific language, for various code revisions to address those challenges and otherwise bring Chapter 12.32 up to date.
The committee's revisions and proposals culminated after severa...
Click here for full text