[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Town of Middletown 7-7-1997. Amendments noted where applicable.]
All Town parks shall be open for public use
on a year-round basis unless limited by appropriate Town regulation
or ordinance.
No persons are permitted in any park during
the hours of darkness, except in those areas designated for extended-use activities or unless written permission is obtained from
the Town for after-dark programs.
The Town may temporarily close or curtail activities
upon any parklands or any portions thereof when it has been deemed
necessary to be in the best interest of public safety, conduct, health
or order.
Swimming is prohibited in all parks except in
facilities expressly designated for that purpose. Personal bathing
is prohibited. Swimming is permitted only during park hours with lifeguard
service provided by the Town. Authorized lifeguards shall have the
authority to enforce and expel any or all persons violating any safety
rules posted at the swimming facilities. Animals within any swimming
area are prohibited, except that such prohibition shall not apply
to support animals as described under 6 Del. C. § 4501(3)
or Seeing Eye dogs, as provided for under 31 Del. C. § 2117.
No person shall ride in or drive any motor vehicle
which is self-propelled upon any parkland, except upon the roads or
on areas which are designated and provided for such purposes. It is
prohibited for any person to commit any act by use or operation of
any motor vehicle on any parkland which, if committed upon a public
highway or street in the state, would be prohibited and unlawful.
Speed limits within all parks shall be 15 miles per hour unless otherwise
posted. No one shall test or repair any vehicle or mechanical device
in any park. There shall be no parking at any time except in areas
designated for such purposes.
No person shall, without written permission
of the Town, erect, paint, paste or otherwise affix or distribute
any signs, advertisements or circulars on park property. The sale
of anything or the solicitation of funds or donations within any park
is forbidden, except upon permission of the Town.
The consumption or possession of intoxicating
liquors or beverages and/or dangerous or narcotic drugs, or gambling
of any kind is prohibited in any park.
No person shall cut, break, move, take or otherwise
injure, destroy or deface any trees, shrubs, plants, turf, rock or
any building, fence, bridge, sign or other structure or foul any stream
or dump any earth, rubbish or other substances or material in or upon
any park without written permission of the Town.
No person shall, in any park, set a trap or
snare or shoot, injure, annoy, disturb or poison any wild animal or
bird or injure or destroy any nest.
A.
No person in a park shall engage in a fight with another
or use any language which would constitute obscenity under state law
or language calculated to provoke an immediate, violent response from
another.
Horses, cattle, livestock and domestic animals
of any kind are prohibited in any park, except a dog or cat on a leash
under control of a person is permitted. Horseback riding is prohibited,
except on facilities expressly designated for that purpose. This prohibition
shall not apply to support animals as described under 6 Del C. § 4501(3)
or Seeing Eye dogs, as provided for under 31 Del. C. § 2117.
No person shall carry a knife upon his or her
person having a blade three inches or longer in length or have possession
of or discharge a BB gun, air rifle, pistol, firearm, bow and arrow
or any other type of lethal weapon in any park.
No entertainment, demonstration or exhibition
shall be given in any park except under the supervision of Town personnel
or with the written permission of the Town.
Permits for playing league or casual athletic
games on park fields or courts may be secured on a first-come, first-served
basis from the Town. All permits that are granted must be produced
upon demand, in order to avoid conflicts in the use of the facilities.
Reservation permits for group picnic shelter
facilities in parks may be obtained for a nominal fee from the Town.
All of the sections of this chapter requiring
written permission require that such permits must be carried and produced
upon demand.
The employees of the Town, as well as duly authorized
police officers, are authorized to enforce this chapter.
[Amended 12-3-2007]
Any person violating any of the sections of
this chapter shall be subject to a fine of $75.
Justices of the Peace shall severally throughout
the county have jurisdiction of violations of the rules and regulations
of the Town with the condition that any person arrested for such violation
shall be taken before the closest available magistrate in the county
where such violation is alleged to have occurred.
All statutes, including penalties of the state
and all Town and New Castle County ordinances have full force and
effect upon all Town parklands.
