[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City
of Easton as Art. 701 of the 1965 Codified Ordinances. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Amended 8-26-1954 by Ord. No. 1442]
A.
Whoever willfully makes or causes to be made any loud,
boisterous or unseemly noise or disturbance to the annoyance of the
peaceable residents nearby or near to any public highway, road, street,
alley, park, square or common whereby the public peace is broken or
disturbed or the travelling public annoyed shall be guilty of disorderly
conduct.
B.
Whoever shall disturb the good order and quiet of
the City by clamor or noise, by intoxication or drunkenness, by fighting
and using profane, obscene or indecent language, on the sidewalks,
streets or in any public place or building of the City, to the annoyance
of any of its citizens or endangering or violating the public peace
in any other manner by such indecent or disorderly conduct, whether
such conduct directly disturbs the tranquility of the City or consists
in abusing, insulting, beating, striking, threatening to fight, provoking
to quarrel or any other unlawful act against the person or property
of any individual, detrimental to the public peace, or lewd lascivious
behavior tending to subvert good order, shall be guilty of disorderly
conduct.
The following acts or offenses are hereby declared
to be nuisances:
A.
Disturbances. Any person whose act or conduct is such
as might tend to cause riot, panic, violence or general disturbance.
B.
Discharge of firearms or explosives. Any person who
shall wantonly discharge without reasonable cause, except in authorized
celebrations, any gun, pistol or firearm, fireworks or other explosive.
C.
Obstructions. Any person who shall obstruct the sidewalk,
pavements or highways.
D.
Annoyances. Any person who shall participate in unlawful
gatherings or who shall vex, hinder, annoy or delay other persons,
whereby the public peace or comfort is broken or the public annoyed.
E.
Loitering.
[Amended 10-14-1971 by Ord. No. 2112]
(1)
Loitering accompanied by activity or under circumstances
affording probable cause for alarm or concern for the safety and well-being
of persons or for the security of property is hereby prohibited.
(2)
No person shall loiter, as hereinafter defined, in,
on or about any place, public or private, when such loitering is accompanied
by activity or is under circumstances that afford probable cause for
alarm or concern for the safety and well-being of persons or for the
security of property in the surrounding area.
(3)
For the purposes of this section, the term "loiter"
includes the following activities: the standing or walking about aimlessly
without apparent purpose; lingering; hanging around; lagging behind;
the idle spending of time; delaying; sauntering and moving slowly
about, where such conduct is not due to physical defects or conditions.
(4)
For the purposes of this section, the term "any place,
public or private" includes, but shall not be limited to, the following:
all places commonly known as being distinctively public, such as public
streets, public rest rooms, sidewalks, parks, municipal airports,
alleys and buildings; all places privately owned but open to the public
generally, such as shopping centers, transportation terminals, retail
stores, movie theaters, office buildings and restaurants; and all
places distinctively private, such as homes or private residences
and apartment houses.
(5)
For the purposes of this section, "surrounding area"
means that area easily and immediately accessible to the person under
observation. Without limitation, the following activities and circumstances
may be considered in determining probable cause for alarm or concern:
(c)
The systematic checking by a person of doors,
windows or other means of access to buildings, houses or vehicles;
(e)
Continuous presence by a person in close proximity
to any building, house, vehicle or any other property or to any other
person, at any time, when the activity of such person manifests possible
unlawful activity, such continuous presence being for an unreasonable
period of time under the circumstances then existing;
(g)
If on private property, the continued refusal
of a person to leave such private property when requested to do so
by the owner, manager, proprietor or lessee of such property;
(h)
The continual blocking or interfering with the
flow of pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk or vehicle traffic in the
streets; or
(i)
The continued obstruction or restriction of
the view of any pedestrian or vehicle operator so as to constitute
a hazard to the pedestrian or vehicle operator or others.
F.
Naked bathing. Any person who shall bathe naked in
the public view, before dusk, in any river, creek or stream within
200 yards of any dwelling house or public road.
G.
Indecent exposure. Any person who shall indecently
expose his or her person, or shall relieve himself in or against any
building, wall or fence, at or near any dwelling house, or in or upon
any sidewalk, street or gutter.
H.
Begging. Any person who shall travel about the City
begging from door to door or upon the streets or by entering any premises,
private dwellings, public buildings, schools, asking or subsisting
upon charity, and for the purpose of acquiring money or a living,
and who shall have no fixed place of residence or lawful occupation
in the City.
I.
Profane or vile language. Any person who shall use
indecent, vile or profane language upon the public streets or in public
places.
J.
Interference at fires. Any person or persons who shall,
by congregating or assembling at, near or about a place where a fire
is in progress, or where the fire or police apparatus has been summoned
by an alarm or necessity, and thereby hindering, delaying or obstructing
any such apparatus, its men and equipment, or rendering dangerous
by such assembling the management or handling of such apparatus.
K.
Refusing to obey police orders. Any person who shall
neglect or refuse to promptly regard and obey the orders of any police
officer in respect to the discharge of his duties and in the enforcement
of the City ordinances.
[Amended 4-20-1920 by Ord. No. 418]
L.
Drinking in public places.
[Amended 7-12-1978 by Ord. No. 2462]
(1)
DRINKING
PUBLIC PLACE
Terms used in this section are defined as follows:
Consuming or holding an open or partly consumed container
of alcoholic beverage of any nature or having in one's possession
an open or partly consumed container of alcoholic beverage of any
nature.
Any place to which the public has access and includes any street, highway, road, alley or sidewalk. It also includes the front or the neighborhood of any store, shop, restaurant, tavern or other public grounds areas, parks, as well as parking lots or other vacant private property not owned by or under the control of the person charged with violating this Subsection L.
(2)
Certain types of drinking prohibited. No person shall
drink in a public place without a duly authorized permit from the
Mayor.
(3)
This subsection shall not apply to drinking of alcoholic
beverages by an owner of private property and/or his guests, upon
such private property, nor to drinking of alcoholic beverages by guests
or patrons on the premises of an establishment holding a valid liquor
license issued by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
M.
Riding and/or use of skateboards, roller blades, roller
skates, bicycles and scooters at special events.
[Amended 2-27-2002 by Ord. No. 4098]
(1)
The riding and/or use of skateboards, roller blades,
roller skates, scooters, bicycles, or other such similar types of
recreational devices or apparatus by any person shall be prohibited
from all special events within the legal limits of the City of Easton.
This prohibition includes all City-owned and/or -controlled real property
and public property. The special events include, but are not limited
to, the following events: Heritage Day, Afro-American Day, all parades,
Canal Festival and such other similar events and activities as set
forth by City Council under Ordinance No. 3985 enacted by Council
on June 27, 2001.
(2)
The Council of the City of Easton shall, by resolution,
declare such special events. The resolution shall contain the names
of the special events from which the riding and/or the use of skateboards,
roller blades, roller skates, scooters, bicycles, or such similar
types of recreational devices or apparatus are prohibited. The special
event area shall be posted with the notice of prohibition of the use
of skateboards, roller blades, scooters, bicycles, or other such similar
types of recreational devices or apparatus.
N.
Only youth
under the age of 14 may use the playground and its facilities unless
there is an organized event such as Weed and Seed's Summer Nights
or unless supervised by a parent or legal guardian.
[Added 4-22-2009 by Ord. No. 5200]
[Amended 2-27-2002 by Ord. No. 4098]
A.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this
chapter shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $300 and, in
default of payment of fine and costs, be imprisoned not more than
90 days.
[Amended 8-10-2022 by Ord. No. 5786]
B.
Any person violating any of the provisions of § 410-2M shall have his/her skateboard, roller blades, roller skates, scooter, bicycle or other such similar types of recreation devices or apparatus confiscated and impounded for not more than 15 days. Any person violating the provisions of this chapter for the second time shall have the skateboard, roller blades, roller skates, scooter, bicycle or other such similar type of recreational devices or apparatus confiscated and impounded for not more than 30 days.
[Added 2-8-2012 by Ord. No. 5340]
Enforcement of this chapter shall be conducted by the Easton
Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police and/or Lafayette College
Police.
