Monroe Council reviews broad revisions to park code, directs staff to tighten camping, exclusions and boat-launch language

Monroe City Council members spent the bulk of their July 15 study session on proposed revisions to Monroe Municipal Code Title 9 governing city parks, hearing a presentation from Jacob Roberts and Interim Parks Manager Mike Thomas before asking staff to refine several provisions and return with legal and operational clarifications.

Roberts and Thomas said the rewrite is intended to modernize language adopted mostly in the 1990s and early 2000s, add definitions (department, director, camping), align the code with First Amendment protections, and create a clearer enforcement path. “We wanted to establish the purpose and construction section here, establish general regulations in effect for all city parks,” Jacob Roberts said during the presentation. The draft sets park hours by U.S. Weather Service dawn/dusk times and narrows after‑hours access to law enforcement, fire, authorized city employees and contractors.

The draft would also: expand definitions for off‑leash areas; limit parking to designated lots to protect turf and sports fields; add pickleball and skateboarding to a list of sports that are restricted to their designated facilities; restrict boat launching to designated ramps (with carve‑outs for licensed concessionaires and permitted special events); permit gas‑powered vessels for maintenance; prohibit certain speed endurance vehicle competitions (including drift‑style racing); revise fire and barbecue rules to list prohibited devices outside designated fire‑pit/shelter areas; add cannabis to the list of prohibited open‑container substances; and create a civil‑infraction penalty for open containers or public consumption in parks.

Council members raised a range of operational and equity questions. Several asked staff to explicitly exempt common family activities — tabletop grills, portable camp stoves or shade canopies — from a broad definition of "camping" intended to target long‑term habitation. "The intent was not to ... not allow for diapers or things of that nature to be thrown in the trash," Mike Thomas said when council members asked whether ordinary diaper disposal would be prohibited. Council member Hanford pressed staff to bring back clearer language to allow ordinary family use of small portable cooking devices while blocking larger open fires in undeveloped areas.

Several council members asked staff to clarify whether paddleboards and kayaks would be treated as vessels under the revised boat‑launch rule. "If it's considered a vessel, we're not," Thomas said; staff agreed to confirm and return with clarified wording. Members also asked whether skating on paved paths around Lake Tai — not trick skating in the skate park — would remain allowed, and staff agreed to verify acceptable uses and return with precise examples.

Exclusion periods drew sustained attention. The draft increases the first exclusion for trespass from seven days to 90 days and the second exclusion from 90 days to 365 days, and it links Alborlin, Lewis Street and Sky River as one contiguous park for exclusion purposes. Staff said appeals of exclusions would be heard by the Hearing Examiner, and if upheld the appeals would then proceed to Snohomish County Superior Court. Multiple council members urged a stronger single exclusion: after discussion staff agreed to revise the draft ordinance to a single exclusion of one year for violations the council determines warrant that sanction and to apply that across parks; staff will bring the revised language back to council.

Council members also asked staff to evaluate operational responses to erosion and shoreline impacts from frequent shoreline fishing, including signage, vegetation stabilization, or other lower‑impact measures before considering prohibitions. On parking and blocked ramps, council members supported tighter enforcement of parking in designated areas to keep ramps open for users.

Roberts told council the code revision schedule anticipates a first reading of the ordinance on July 22 and a targeted adoption date of Sept. 9; staff said that timeline could shift as they incorporate the council's requested changes and legal review. Staff also said they would research and report back on public outreach conducted when prior updates were considered by the parks board and would bring sample language for shelter reservations, barbecue/tabletop exemptions, and paddlecraft definitions.

What happens next: staff will return with clarified language addressing camping, portable stoves and grills, paddleboard and kayak launches, fire and garbage definitions (including diaper disposal), the updated exclusion structure (one‑year proposal), a legal review of exclusion options, and options for gate locking/operational changes at Alborlin to reduce illegal dumping and encampments. The council did not take a final vote on the ordinance at the July 15 study session.

Ending: The council asked staff to also assemble comparative examples from other Snohomish County cities and to include a summary of the legal risks and alternatives when the revised ordinance returns for the public hearing and first reading.