(1) No person shall use a skateboard in any of the
following areas:
(a) the area bounded by Arch street, Fifteenth street,
Broad street, and John F. Kennedy boulevard (the Municipal Services Building
plaza and sidewalks);
(b) on public property unless use of a skateboard
on such property is authorized by regulation, ordinance or statute, or is
otherwise authorized by the governmental agency, department of commission
responsible for such property. "Public Property" does not include public roads,
highways, bicycle and/or skateboard paths, or sidewalks abutting private
property. "Public Property" also shall not include Recreation Department
facilities, which facilities shall be subject to the rules and regulations of
the Recreation Department; and
(c) on portions of private property,
including but not limited to outdoor plazas, that are dedicated to use by the
general public, where the owner of such private property has posted a notice
indicating that skateboarding is prohibited on that property.
(2) The
parent of any child under the age of eighteen (18) years who violates subsection
10-610(1) shall also be in violation of this
Section.
(3) Penalties.
(a) The penalty for a violation of this
Section shall be a civil penalty of three hundred dollars ($300), provided that
the total amount of civil penalties assessed against a child and his or her
parents shall not exceed a total of three hundred dollars ($300) based upon each
violation by the child.
(b) An additional penalty for a violation of
§ 10-610(1) shall be forfeiture of any skateboard used in violation of this
Section, unless it is proven to the Court by a preponderance of the evidence
that the defendant does not own the skateboard and the owner did not or could
not have reasonably known that the skateboard would be used in violation of this
Section. Further the total amount of any penalty assessed for each violation,
taking into account the value of both the fine and forfeiture, shall not exceed
three hundred dollars ($300).
(4) Enforcement.
(a) Whenever a
police officer has probable cause to believe a skateboard was used or is being
used in violation of § 10-610(1),
[96] the
officer may seize the skateboard.
(b) Any person authorized to enforce
ordinances may issue a ticket to any person in violation of this section,
pursuant to the procedures set forth in § 10-1606. Contested charges shall
be resolved, fines shall be imposed, and payments shall be collected and
processed by the Director of Finance and the Bureau of administrative
Adjudication, all pursuant to the procedures set forth in §§ 10-1604
through 10-1609. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any person to whom a ticket is
issued may, within eight (8) days of receipt, pay twenty-five dollars ($25) in
lieu of contesting the violation and in lieu of any other fines or penalties.
The ticket shall contain an appropriate notice to the recipient of his or her
right not to contest the violation and appropriate instructions and procedures
for payment, as prescribed by the Director of Finance. Upon timely payment under
this subsection, the Police Department shall make any skateboard seized under
this Section available for return to the offender, pursuant to the procedures
established by the Police Department.