Response provided by Director of Parks & Recreation, Jamie Lee Case:
Regarding:
"Sec. 58.034. Glass and Single-Use beverage containers prohibited.
(c) Any person who shall violate any provision of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not more than $500.00.
(1) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution if the individual was involved in the clean up or collection of trash and debris from the
rivers."
Exactly what does it mean to be a "defense to prosecution?" That a fine can be assessed and the person doing cleanup has to go to court to prove it was during a river clean up? Please explain.
I realize there could be times that a person is caught with an open container that would apply to these rules and claim "I was just cleaning up." and maybe they were not cleaning up and they can be handled this way.
But for an organized river cleanup, it seems that we can handle that on-site, as in know that it's a cleanup, and not assess a fine.
An alternative is to simply indicate that the provisions do not apply to any person involved in the clean up or collection of trash and debris from the rivers rather than use the affirmative defense wording. This will let park rangers know that these folks are exempt, and it will also provide a defense if a matter makes its way to municipal court.
This can be handled with a motion to amend: “I MOVE TO AMEND SECTION 58.034 TO REMOVE THE VERBIAGE REGARDING AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE AND INSTEAD PROVIDE that this section does not apply to any person involved in the clean up or collection of trash and debris from the rivers.”
Regarding "Sec. 58.039. Miscellaneous rules.
(b) It is unlawful for a person to:
(6) Place any table, grill, tarp, tent, or shelter in or on the banks of the river or anywhere restricted by signs."
What is the definition of "banks of the river" and would different people consider banks to extend to different areas?
We can add a definition to clarify that it is “the ground at the edge of a river.”
If there is a concern regarding this being unclear to all then retaining our current language, “Place any table, grill, tarp, tent, or shelter between the closest trail, pathway, or sidewalk and the river or anywhere restricted by signs.” will still accomplish the goal of this provision. With the new signage it should be clearer to patrons where these restricted areas are.
Same section
"(7) Dispose of any container into the waters or banks of the public waterway within a city park or in any area of a city park unless it is disposed into a properly authorized and placed trash receptacle."
What about placing items into trash bags brought by those who use the parks with the intent of taking that bag home because the trash receptacle isn't convenient?
This is referring to people dropping their litter in the river or on the banks. Park Ambassadors and Conservation Crew members pass out trash bags to patrons currently regardless of if they are at a picnic site or not and ask that they leave them in the caged areas provided for bagged trash. If they leave it then Easter Seals, Parks Crews or Park Ambassadors pick it up and place it in the caged areas. The tube rental provides mesh trash bags on each tube, and we also have the litter boats within the river to provide various options for people to properly dispose of their litter. For those bringing their own bags, they would not be in violation of this provision unless they failed to take their bags with them or place them in approved locations upon leaving.
Sec. 58.073. Coolers that are allowed on rivers
(a) It shall be unlawful for anyone to use, carry, possess, or dispose of a cooler or other type of receptacle that has a capacity greater than 30 quarts on or in the portions of the public waterway that lie within city park property."
I think that the limit of one cooler per person may get lost on this one and the 30 qt capacity being the focus of most readers.
I suggest changing "anyone" to "any one person" to make it clear.
In addition, I suggest changing the title to something like "Limitations on coolers that are allowed on rivers." again to make it clear to the reader that there are LIMITATIONS noted below.
This provision was taken directly from the City of New Braunfels’ Ordinance since it was mentioned previously to see some continuity. An amendment would be fine if you would prefer to modify.