§ 15-40. Ban on registered sex offenders from city parks, greenway trails, and recreation facilities.

(a)

Prohibition. No person registered with the State of North Carolina and/or any other state or federal agency as a registered sex offender, including, but not limited to the sex offender registry established pursuant to G.S. Ch. 14, Art. 27A, shall enter into or upon any public park, green-way trail, or recreation facility owned, operated or maintained by the city.

(b)

Penalties. Violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00) and/or incarceration for up to thirty (30) days. Each entry into a public park, recreational facility, or greenway trail regardless of the time period between such entries, shall constitute a separate offense under this article.

(c)

Definitions. For purposes of this amendment, the following definitions shall apply:

Greenway trail. Any linear open space within a natural setting designated by the city parks and recreation department as a space for the purpose of recreational walking, hiking and bicycling.

Official meeting. A meeting that is required to be open to the public by the Open Meetings Law, G.S. Ch. 143, Art. 33C.

Public park. Any publicly owned, leased, operated or maintained property that is designated as a park by the city including any adjacent public parking area as well as the driveway, entrance way or pedestrian walkway used by the public to access the public park or recreation facility.

Recreation facility. Any publicly owned, leased, operated or maintained property that is designated as a recreation facility by the city including any adjacent public parking area as well as the driveway, entrance way or pedestrian walkway used by the public to access the recreation facility.

Registered sex offender. An individual who is registered by any state or federal agency as a sex offender and/or whose name is published or required to be published on any state or federal sex offender registry, including, but not limited to the North Carolina Sex Offender and Public Protection Registry established pursuant to G.S. Ch. 14, Art. 27A.

(d)

Signage required. The city manager or his/her designee shall be charged with posting this regulation at the entrances to each public park, recreation facility and greenway trail within thirty (30) days of the passage of this article.

(e)

Limited exceptions.

(1)

Official meetings. A registered sex offender who has the right to be present at an official meeting shall have the limited privilege of entering on and into a park or recreation facility for such time as is necessary to attend said meeting or function, but any form of loitering or lingering shall be a violation of this section.

The privilege shall only extend to those parts of the park and/or recreation facility that are commonplace for meetings of that kind and any registered sex offender found outside of those parts shall be punished as outlined in section 15-40.

(2)

Polling place. When such recreation facility is used as a polling place for an election, the registered sex offender may enter for the facility for the limited purpose of voting if he/she qualifies to do so at that polling place. The offender must then expeditiously leave park properties when such polling business is concluded.

(f)

Violation of section. Any offender in violation of this section that would also be in violation of G.S. § 14-208.18 (a, 1) or (a, 2) would be charged under the North Carolina Statutes, and not in addition to.

(Ord. No. 22-09, 6-15-09)