It is the intention of the city council in enacting this chapter that all persons using the city's public parks or public park facilities comply with the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982)
For the purposes of this chapter, the phrase "authorized activity" means an activity which has been approved by the community services director or authorized subordinate for a certain place and time within any park.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982; Ord. 1571 § 2, 2021)
For the purposes of this chapter, the word "park" includes all recreational and other public land owned, operated, managed or controlled by the city of Fountain Valley and includes all buildings, parking lots and improvements thereon.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982)
No person shall deposit, discharge or otherwise dispose of any paper, ashes, dirt, bottles, broken glass, cans, trash, litter, animal carcass, rubbish, debris or any substance, matter or thing, in or on the grounds of a park except in the proper receptacles where these are provided. If receptacles are not provided, all such material shall be removed from the park upon the completion of park use.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982)
No person shall bring into any park any paper, ashes, dirt, bottles, broken glass, cans, trash, litter, animal carcass, rubbish, debris or any substance, matter or thing for the purposes of disposal if the material was accumulated outside of the park for dumping in the park. Nothing contained herein is meant to restrict park users from disposing of their normal trash in the proper receptacles when that trash was generated through park use.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982)
(a) 
No person shall engage in the playing of any activity which endangers the health, safety or welfare of the participant or any other person. No person shall engage in any of the following activities unless a permit is obtained beforehand from the community services director:
(1) 
Transporting, possessing or discharging any firearm, air gun, BB gun, slingshot, bow and arrow, crossbow, spear, fireworks, firecracker, rocket or explosives of any kind;
(2) 
Lighting or maintaining any fire unless such fire is lighted and maintained in a stove, barbecue grill, or similar device;
(3) 
Erecting or maintaining any barrier, string, wire, rope, or chain or other device of obstruction across any path, trail or area where the public may be expected to make contact with such obstruction;
(4) 
Golfing, boxing, wrestling or the martial arts;
(5) 
The flying of model airplanes, drones, helicopters, rockets or any other self-propelled craft or the launching of any hot air or gas balloon.
(b) 
No person shall engage in the following activities except in areas clearly designated for such use:
(1) 
Baseball, football, field hockey, rugby, cricket or soccer.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982; Ord. 1571 § 3, 2021)
No person shall ride or otherwise propel a skateboard or use rollerskates or rollerblades in the area known as the "civic center." For the purposes of this section, the civic center shall be defined to mean that area bounded on the north by Slater Avenue, to the east by Los Alamos Street, and to the west and south by the city's property boundary line. The city shall post the property appropriately to warn persons that such activity is prohibited.
(Ord. 1280 § 1, 1998)
No person shall consume any spirits, wine, beer, ale or other liquid containing more than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume, which is fit for beverage purposes, in any park. The community center and the social hall in the recreation center, and area adjacent or in reasonable proximity thereto, shall be exempted from this prohibition if a permit has been issued by the community services director. Said permit shall contain an approved site plan which will designate the areas in which alcoholic beverages will be permitted and which will contain adequate security measures to prevent the use of alcoholic beverages outside of those areas.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982; Ord. 937 § 1, 1982; Ord. 962 § 1, 1983; Ord. 1216 § 1, 1994; Ord. 1571 § 4, 2021)
The use of tobacco products, including, but not limited to, smoking, chewing and sniffing such products, is prohibited and unlawful in all city parks and recreation facilities when appropriate signs have been posted warning of the prohibition.
(Ord. 1398 § 1, 2007)
Camping in public parks is prohibited except when done in specially designated areas and then only with the written permission of the community services director.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982; Ord. 1571 § 5, 2021)
No person shall store or leave personal property in any city park after its posted closing time or closing event unless said person receives written permission from the city manager, community services director, or city council. City park closing times or closing events shall be set forth via separate council resolution. Any personal property stored or left in any city park after its posted closing time or closing event without written permission from the city manager, community services director, or city council may be removed by city. The city shall store said removed personal property for a period of 60 calendar days unless the property is abandoned or cause exists to destroy or dispose of the property immediately. The city may destroy or otherwise dispose of any personal property left in storage for over 60 calendar days.
(Ord. 1560 § 4, 2020; Ord. 1571 § 6, 2021; Ord. 1613, 9/3/2024)
(a) 
No person shall operate, drive, or ride any automobile, truck, motorcycle, motor scooter, motorized bicycle, go-cart, electric bicycle, moped, motor-driven cycle, pocket bike, or any other motorized or electric conveyance, or any other vehicle at any time in any park except in designated areas. The provisions of this section shall not apply to city vehicles nor to authorized commercial delivery vehicles. No person shall ride or use a bicycle, skateboard or roller skates upon any tennis, handball, basketball, shuffleboard or multipurpose court.
(b) 
No person shall park or leave standing and unattended any vehicle in any of the following locations:
(1) 
Any area other than those designated for parking;
(2) 
Over the lines of a parking stall so that the vehicle is in more than one stall or not completely within one parking stall;
(3) 
Overhanging a designated parking stall into any park space or pedestrian walkways or paths; and
(4) 
Undesignated or permit parking only locations without written permission by the community services director
(c) 
No person may leave a vehicle parked in any park between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following day unless that person is attending an authorized activity. Vehicles left unattended between those hours or in undesignated areas may be towed away and stored by the city and the removal and storage costs shall be charged to and paid by the owner prior to release. The public works director, the city engineer, or their designee is directed to post the appropriate signs in accordance with the California Vehicle Code.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982; Ord. 1571 § 7, 2021; Ord. 1614, 10/1/2024)
No person shall enter any public restroom unless it is the one designated for his or her sex. The foregoing provision shall not apply to children of tender years who are accompanied by a parent or guardian.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982)
No person shall be in any city park after its posted closing time or closing event. City park closing times or closing events shall be set forth via separate council resolution. The foregoing prohibition shall not apply if written approval is obtained beforehand from the community services department.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982; Ord. 1433 § 1, 2009; Ord. 1550 § 1, 2019)
The community services director may issue permits allowing a group or an individual to utilize an area of a park to the exclusion of others for special occasions if he or she determines that it is in the best interests of the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the city and of the other park users. If such a permit has been issued, the exclusive use area shall be clearly designated, and no unauthorized person shall thereafter enter that area during the period covered by the permit.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982; Ord. 1571 § 8, 2021)
No person shall place, cause to be placed or maintain any sign, card, banner, poster, advertising or notice of any kind in any park or upon any fixture located within any park, except that the city and its authorized concessionaires and lessees shall be exempt from this prohibition.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982)
No person shall play or utilize within any park any sound-amplifying system unless written permission from the community services director is obtained beforehand. The foregoing shall not apply to regular portable or vehicle radio use within a park.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982; Ord. 1571 § 9, 2021)
Notwithstanding anything else in this chapter, the community services director shall have the authority to designate areas for First Amendment activities, including, but not limited to, petition signing which may involve the use of tables, small demonstrations not meeting the definition of a special event, and other distribution of materials that would interfere with the use of the park and other public land and facilities covered by this chapter. Any such designation shall be consistent with constitutional requirements that the area be appropriate to convey the message and any restrictions limiting the area shall be based on the need to regulate the persons competing to use such areas. The content of the message shall not be a criterion and the restrictions shall be narrowly tailored to achieve the purposes intended and such rationale shall be documented along with the facts that supported the documentation and any alternative areas for the communication that might be available.
(Ord. 1457 § 3, 2010; Ord. 1571 § 10, 2021)
For any permit or permission for which the approval of the community services director must be obtained, the community services director shall determine whether or not the permit should issue taking into consideration:
(a) 
The health, safety and welfare of other park users and the public in general; and
(b) 
The needs of other park users for access to the facilities.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982; Ord. 1571 § 11, 2021)
Any person, firm, partnership or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the County Jail for a term not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(Ord. 930 § 1, 1982)