Sandy parks board reviews proposed park-rules update; asks staff for clarifications on littering, art and wildlife

At its January meeting held via Zoom, the City of Sandy Parks and Trails Advisory Board reviewed a draft update to the city’s park rules and directed staff to incorporate board edits, seek attorney review and return a revised draft at the next board meeting before the city council considers adoption.

The draft would replace and expand rules currently in Sandy Municipal Code Chapter 12.12, last updated in 2016 to address tobacco and vaping. The board and staff said the overhaul aims to reflect how people now use parks, improve enforceability and add rules on items such as class 1 e-bikes, amplified sound and use of fireworks and firearms.

Rochelle Anderholm Parche, Sandy’s park and recreation director, told the board the draft had already been reviewed by the Sandy Police Department and the city attorney and that staff would record board comments for a revised version. “I can definitely incorporate these changes, have them attorney reviewed, and then talk about it next meeting to see if I’ve captured what this group would like to see,” Anderholm Parche said.

Board members flagged several detailed issues they want clarified before the draft goes to council. On littering, members said the proposed language that bars bringing garbage “originated outside the park” reads awkwardly and could be misinterpreted to forbid ordinary picnic waste; members asked staff to reorder and clarify the paragraphs so that normal “carry in/carry out” picnic waste is clearly permitted while large-scale dumping is not. Tiana Rendell, parks and facilities manager, and other board members requested that the rule explicitly distinguish household yard waste disposal from ordinary visitor trash.

The board discussed public art and small community practices such as painted “hide-and-find” rocks. Several members said those installations are a popular community tradition and asked staff to add flexible language allowing temporary, low-impact personal art or to authorize such activities through the director. John (last name not provided), the recreation and senior services manager, suggested defining “public art” or otherwise providing a simple approval pathway so staff can allow painted-rock programs without permitting every instance.

Members pressed for clearer exceptions for wildlife and fisheries. The draft forbids hunting, trapping and harming animals but board members asked staff to add language that allows city-authorized wildlife management (for example, to address beaver issues) and to clarify where fishing is allowed, with a suggestion to reference Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife rules for activity on waterways that are regulated by state law.

Other substantive changes and discussion points noted during the meeting:

- Firearms and explosives: the draft points to Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 166.173 for possession of loaded firearms in parks; members asked staff to add archery explicitly to hazardous-equipment prohibitions in some sections.

- Motorized and rolling devices: the draft allows class 1 e-bikes on Cedar Park jump lines and pump tracks and prohibits other motorized vehicles and combustible-throttle devices in park areas where they are not authorized. The board asked staff to confirm and clearly map where these rules apply.

- Alcohol and cannabis: the draft would prohibit possession or consumption of alcohol in parks unless an event has an OLCC permit and a city special-event permit; the draft also states alcohol is strictly prohibited at Sandy River Park. Board members asked staff to confirm how cannabis should be treated in the same section; staff said they would add that question for attorney review.

- Amplified sound: the draft caps permitted amplified sound in parks to a level that cannot be heard more than 50 feet from its source except for permitted events. Staff described that level as roughly comparable to typical living-room volume and said the rule is intended to balance individual enjoyment with other users’ experience.

- Geocaching, drones and commercial activity: the draft would require geocaching containers to be labeled and approved by the parks director, prohibit drones and model aircraft without written approval, and ban unpermitted commercial solicitation; board members raised no objections to those provisions but asked staff to confirm enforcement details.

- Enforcement and penalties: the draft makes violations a class A infraction, authorizes the director and peace officers to issue citations, seize property as authorized by law and remove persons who refuse to leave when directed. Several members welcomed the clearer enforcement authority.

- Pump track drainage: as a separate staff update, Rochelle Anderholm Parche said the department is coordinating with American Ramp Company to resolve drainage problems at the pump track and jump line; the company is responsible for the ramp product and staff expect a fix in the coming months.

The board did not take a formal vote to adopt rules at the meeting. Don Robertson, a long-serving board member, praised the presentation and the pace of revision, and the board agreed to have staff return a revised, attorney-reviewed draft at the next Parks and Trails Advisory Board meeting for a final recommendation to city council. “You did a wonderful job covering everything,” Robertson said of the staff presentation.

The board asked staff to produce a short “Reader’s Digest” summary of changes for the next meeting and to explicitly address the littering wording, painted-rock/public-art allowances, fishery/wildlife exceptions, cannabis/ALCC treatment, and any pesticide exceptions for community gardens. After the board’s next review, staff plan to forward the recommended draft to the city council for ordinance adoption; council scheduling was mentioned as likely in February but staff said that date may shift as other city rule updates proceed.

The board wrapped the meeting with no further action; staff will return an edited draft and a summary of net changes at the board’s next meeting.