News

By Rich Pollack

    Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies and local law enforcement officers now have the ability to ban individuals who violate state laws or local ordinances in a county park from visiting that park again. And some repeat offenders could be banished for as long as 10 years.
    Under a new ordinance passed by the Palm Beach County Commission last month, sheriff’s deputies and local police officers can now issue trespass notices to anyone violating county ordinances, rules or regulations or state laws in a county park and prevent those individuals from returning to that county park or natural area.
    First-time offenders are banned from returning to a specified park or natural area for one year. Those receiving a second violation will be banned for five years, and those who receive a third violation will be banned for 10 years.
    The ordinance also specifies that anyone in a park or natural area after being banned from that specific facility can be arrested on trespassing charges.
    The ordinance covers such county facilities as South Inlet Park in Boca Raton; Gulfstream Park, near Gulf Stream; and Ocean Inlet Park and Ocean Ridge Hammock Park in Ocean Ridge.
    Ocean Ridge Police Chief Hal Hutchins sees the new ordinance as helping to ensure that those who come to a park and follow the rules are able to enjoy their visit.
    “People who can’t follow the rules probably shouldn’t be there,” he said.
    According to the ordinance, trespass notices can be issued for a wide range of activities that damage county property or wildlife, including harming or harassing animals in natural areas, and removing live plants or plant parts.  
    The ordinance also bans using or possessing fireworks and building a fire in an unauthorized area. Drunkenness, obscene behavior and loitering in a county park or natural area can also earn a visitor a trespass notice, as can any violation of state law, including lewdness and indecent exposure.   
    The new ordinance spells out the appeals process, which was made necessary by recent court cases and legal opinions.  
    Details of how the law is to be enforced by local law enforcement agencies and how deputies and officers will know who has been banned from a specific park are still being worked out, according to Hutchins.
    “We’re waiting for specific instructions about the mechanisms for enforcement,” Hutchins said.
    Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Director Eric Call says the solution is in the works.  “A database is being developed listing all persons issued a trespass notice that law enforcement will have access to,” Call said.    
    The ordinance, passed on April 19, adds some teeth to the enforcement of county rules and regulations as well as minor criminal violations, Call said.
    In the past, civil citations were issued to individuals for ordinance violations, but the individuals were not usually stopped from returning to the park unless they were charged with a serious offense. In those cases, Call said, they were usually arrested.