Beach/Parks Rules

BEACH AND PARKS RULES AND REGULATIONS

Jurisdiction: The Town of Chatham Park and Recreation Commission has jurisdiction over the established public beaches and parks in the Town of Chatham, including the so-called “South Beach” established in 1987 by the break in Nauset “North Beach” in Chatham.

The following areas and facilities are overseen and under the jurisdiction of the Park and Recreation Department / Commission.

PARKS
Chase Park, Kate Gould Park, Nickerson Park, Sears Park, Veterans Park, Volunteer Park,

BEACHES
Cockle Cove Beach, Harding Beach east and west of the Stage Harbor entrance cut, Forest Beach, Jackknife Harbor Beach, Oyster Pond Beach, Pleasant Street Beach, Ridgevale Beach, Schoolhouse Pond Beach, South Beach (Nauset Beach)

OTHER
Harding Beach Picnic Area , Rotary / with State DPW, Veterans Field, Little League Field, Community Building, South Chatham Playground, Depot Rd. Tennis Courts, Skateboard Park w/Airport, Veterans Memorial Auditorium

Non-criminal penalties established herein will result from citation issued by Chatham Police Officers and or Constables.

1. General

1.1 Open fires of any kind are forbidden on any beach or in any park area. However charcoal or gas grills are allowed. Charcoal grills are available for public use in certain areas (Chase Park, Oyster Pond Beach).

Penalty - $25.00

1.2 Functions, gatherings or other unscheduled group activities in beach or park areas are prohibited except with written permission in advance from the Director of Parks and Recreation and or the Park and Recreation Commission. Groups are defined as 10 people or more. Such activities shall be limited to recognized organizations, residents, taxpayers or other groups obtaining proper Park and Recreation Department authorization. The person named on the permit agrees to assume responsibility for the group, and shall also be responsible for clean-up of the area and for the conduct of all members of the using group. Persons requesting remission for group use must be a t least 18 years of age. A police officer will be on duty if deemed necessary by the Chatham Police Department and or Park and Recreation Department and the user shall pay all costs associated to providing police coverage. A fee, and or security deposit may be required to cover clean-up or any other expenses, as determined by the Director of Parks and Recreation and or the Park and Recreation Commission.

Penalty - $25.00

1.3 Littering of beach or Park areas with rubbish or refuse is prohibited and subject to penalty. The deposit of household trash, rubbish, refuse, or garbage in park or beach litter containers is prohibited.

Penalty - $100.00

1.4 Washing automobiles or other vehicles in park or beach areas is prohibited. The use of soaps, detergent, or similar items in ponds, beaches or park areas is not allowed.

Penalty - $50.00

1.5 The erection of tents and /or parking of trailers or mobile homes in park or beach areas is prohibited. No camping or sleeping after dusk is permitted in park or beach areas.

Penalty - $50.00

1.6 Animals in park or beach areas must be restrained. Defecation must be picked up and removed

Penalty - $25.00


1.7 Dogs, cats, horses and other livestock, domestic animals, or and pets are not allowed from April 1st to September 15th of each year in beach areas, with the exception of seeing-eye animals, and police K-9 animals. Domestic animals are prohibited on the playing fields of the: Little League Field, Veterans Field, and Volunteer Park.

Penalty - $25.00

1.8 No alcoholic beverages are allowed in park or beach areas at any time except with the written permission of the Board of Selectmen, and the Park and Recreation Commission.

Penalty - $100.00

1.9 Town of Chatham beaches and beach parking areas are officially closed from 10:00pm until one hour before sunrise. Parks are closed from 10:00pm until 6:00am, except at Veterans Field will close 30 minutes after the conclusion of authorized evening events.

Penalty - $25.00

1.10 No commercial vendors will be allowed in parks or at beaches without Park and Recreation Commission approval. Food vendors shall have Park and Recreation Commission authorization in writing and shall have a common victualer's and peddler's license and necessary Board of Health, Board of Selectmen permits, and will either have a resident parking sticker or pay current fees. No parking spaces are reserved or assigned except to concessionaires and beach personnel in the employ of the Park and Recreation Department.

Penalty- $50.00

1.11 Automobiles parked at any function shall be controlled by the organization in charge of the event.

1.12 Public nudity, including public nude bathing, by any person in parks or beaches under the jurisdiction of the Chatham Park and Recreation Commission is prohibited. Public nudity is a person's intentional failure to cover with a fully opaque covering that person's own genitals, pubic areas, or female breasts below an area below a point immediately above the top of the areola when in a public place. Public place is any area of land under jurisdiction of the Chatham Park and Recreation Commission, except the enclosed portions of bathhouses, restrooms, or other public structures designed for similar purposes, or private structures permitted within the parks or beach areas. This regulation shall not apply to a person under 5 years of age.

Penalty- $100.00

1.13 Malicious damage and stealing of Town of Chatham property will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.


2. PARKS

2.1 No organized events are allowed in any Town park prior to 7:00 AM.

2.2 The parking of vehicles in park or beach areas for more than 16 consecutive hours is prohibited except by permission of the Park and Recreation Commission.

Penalty- $50.00

2.3 Sears Park has been established as a memorial. There shall be no loitering, lying, sitting or picnicking in this area.

Penalty- $25.00

2.4 No solicitation of any type is permitted at Kate Gould Park.

Penalty- $50.00

2.5 No motor vehicles or trailers shall be operated in Chase Park except for Park and Recreation Department, police or emergency vehicles.

Penalty- 50.00

2.6 All commercial sale activities are prohibited in and/or on the: Little League Field, Veteran's Field, and Volunteer Park, except with the written permission of the Park and Recreation Commission.

Penalty- $50.00

2.7 After any authorized use whatsoever of parks and beaches, the grounds shall be left clean and orderly.

Penalty- $50.00


3. BEACHES


3.1 The operation of boats, wind surfers, water skis or similar may not be conducted within 150 feet of designated swim areas, marked by buoys, at Cockle Cove Beach, Harding Beach, Oyster Pond Beach, Ridgevale Beach, and Schoolhouse Pond Beach, except for emergency or Police, Harbor Master or Park and Recreation Department boats.

Penalty- $100.00

3.2 Playing ball or the use of Frisbees on beaches or in the water is prohibited except in the areas designated by the Park and Recreation Commission.

Penalty- $25.00

3.3 The removal of sand, bushes or other growth is prohibited except by permission of the Park and Recreation Commission and Conservation Commission.

Penalty- $50.00

3.4 The digging, altering, grading or removal of any material so as to alter or change any watercourse, tidal flow, tidal basin, tidal flat, wetland, marsh, pond or lake within the parks and beaches under the authority of the Park and Recreation Commissioners without the necessary Town, County, State and Federal permits is absolutely forbidden and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

3.5 Beach buggies, recreational vehicles, off-road vehicles and any other vehicles are forbidden to traverse beaches, dune areas or parks, except for Park and Recreation Department or emergency vehicles.

Penalty- $100.00

3.6 Destruction of dunes is prohibited. Use established paths and walkways as marked.

Penalty- $100.00

3.7 No children under 10 years of age may attend any beach unless accompanied by an adult. Any minor child on a beach or park of the Town is the responsibility of the minor child's parents and or guardian or other person/person's who may be in charge of minor children, as in the case of picnics, group gatherings, school or church outings or field trips, or any other group functions.

Penalty- $25.00

3.8 After the official closing time (10:00 p m ) persons at the beach must actually be engaged in fishing.


3.9 No person shall use rafts, rubber tubes, any flotation device, mask, snorkel or scuba gear as swimming accessories in a designated swim area, except for rescue

Penalty-$25.00


3.10 No person shall operate any motor vehicle in any park or beach area at a rate of speed greater than 15 miles per hour. All state motor vehicle laws are applicable in park and beach areas.

Penalty-$25.00


3.11 Parking is only allowed in designated parking spaces. All marked roadways, lanes and emergency vehicle lanes shall be kept open and free of parked vehicles at all times. Any blocking vehicle may be towed at the owner's expense, together with a penalty of $50.00 as described above.

3.12 No vehicle other than wheelchairs shall traverse or stand on any vegetated area or use any handicap ramp.

Penalty- $25.00

3.13 Protective measures around nesting Plover areas and other shore birds are to be preserved and not entered.

Penalty- $50.00

3.14 No glass containers allowed at beaches.

Penalty- $25.00

Certain of the above rules and regulations may be suspended from time to time by majority vote of the Chatham Park and Recreation Commission.

The above rules and regulations do not, nor are they intended to, supersede, take the place of, replace, make void or repeal any Town of Chatham By-Law, any County By-Law, any State Law, Federal Law or any fines or legal punishments that are applicable in any instance.

CHATHAM PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION

__________________________
W. Gary Anderson - Chair

__________________________
Joyce Reynolds - Vice Chair

__________________________
John B. Summers

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J. Christopher Cannon


As adopted and voted at the Park and Recreation Commission meeting of: April 27, 2000.