Do not drop your pythons and alligators off at Palmetto parks

As promised in January, Palmetto officials are pushing forward with a new ordinance to restrict unwanted activities from occurring in city parks. If your exotic pet — such as an iguana or python — has grown too big for your home, officials are ensuring a law is in place to prohibit dropping them off at one of the city’s parks.

Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler said he is unaware of whether it has been an issue in Palmetto, but in researching the proposed ordinance with other Florida municipalities, he was advised to include the language, as it has been an issue for other cities.

That’s just one item in a long list of prohibitive actions that the city hopes to curtail by enacting new regulations and establishing set hours. Most parks will open 30 minutes before sunrise and close 30 minutes after sunset. The exceptions, for now, are Sutton and Lamb parks, which will open before sunrise and close at 10 p.m. Riverside Park, east and west, appears to be the sticking point as the ordinance moves forward, but Riverside Park East will likely fall in line with the other parks as far as operating hours.

The city’s walking trails will likely remain open 24 hours. Riverside Park West, as written, will remain open 24 hours, but according to city officials, appears to be the primary problem child of the parks system. Discussions include adding language to close the park after sunset, but allow the use of fishing, boating, walking and jogging activities, and that includes the Palmetto fishing pier.

Tyler said language can be crafted to outline those appropriate uses before the final public hearing on Feb. 26, while ensuring what Commissioner Tambra Varnadore called “nefarious” activities are curtailed.

As outlined in the city’s proposed ordinance, which passed the first reading Monday night, “disruptive behavior in city parks, at city facilities and in other public places in the city ... is a condition which has existed for some time and which continues to be a problem.”

Before now, the city had no ordinances in place that give law enforcement better tools to, “facilitate what people are doing down there to exist in harmony,” Tyler said.

The chief outlined issues including vandalism, littering and “People just hanging around and saying rude and inappropriate things to other park users.”

The issues citywide range from homeless spending the night to people plugging in a variety of electrical devices into city outlets, including microwaves. Some highlights on what you cannot do once the ordinance passes include:

▪  No playing golf or hitting golf balls, no archery, or operating radio-controlled cars or flying drones.

▪  No driving of golf carts or motorized vehicles, or vandalism of park properties and facilities.

▪  Park goers are prohibited from using utility services at parks, to include water and electricity.

▪  “Persons are prohibited from defecating or urinating in a park, accept in facilities specifically designated for that purpose.”

▪  Do not release exotic pets such as iguanas and snakes into the city’s parks system and do not introduce invasive plant species.

In a memo prior to Monday’s meeting, city attorney Mark Barnebey writes, “Over the past several years, inappropriate behavior in these areas has suggested the city better regulate certain activities in the public areas.”

Barnebey said the ordinance is a work in progress as the city attempts to walk a thin line in limiting nuisance behaviors without violating Constitutional rights of free speech and public assembly. All rules do not apply to activities associated with special function permits where the city allows certain activities within the permit.

“We might want to see how this one is working and we can make adjustments after this is in place,” Barnebey said.

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 8:07 PM with the headline "Do not drop your pythons and alligators off at Palmetto parks."