Parks commission recommends jetty jump ban, trail speed limit and dog beach to Bullhead City Council

The Bullhead City Parks and Recreation Commission on Aug. 20 voted 4-0 to recommend three separate actions to the Bullhead City Council: adopting an ordinance to prohibit jumping or diving from the Rotary Park jetty, adopting a speed limit for motorized vehicles on city trails, and establishing a dog beach at Rotary Park.

The commission approved the recommendation to make jumping and diving from the Rotary Park fishing jetty an enforceable municipal ordinance after hearing safety concerns from staff. Superintendent Heath explained that fluctuating Colorado River water levels can leave only about 1 foot of water where the river is sometimes much shallower than when the jetty was built, raising the risk of serious injury. City Attorney Emery told commissioners that existing park offenses are classified as class 2 misdemeanors and that a new ordinance would likely allow officers to issue misdemeanor citations for violations.

On trail safety, the commission voted to recommend the adoption of a speed limit for motorized devices on park trails. Commissioners discussed that many modern personal devices have motors and can exceed safe speeds for mixed-use trails; one commissioner suggested a 10 mph guideline during discussion, but the commission did not adopt a specific numeric limit and instead forwarded the matter to council for determination.

The commission also recommended the creation of a dog beach at the south (Palm Tree Beach) end of Rotary Park, voting to advance the plan “with everything presented by Superintendent Heath.” The proposed dog beach would use existing natural embankments and brush as boundaries, add a gated entrance at the top of the approach, and include posted rules. Superintendent Heath summarized proposed rules discussed at the meeting: users must carry a leash and maintain voice control or proximity to their dogs; no more than three dogs per user; no dogs under six months old; small training treats are allowed; and certain containers (non-glass) for water/food are permitted. The packet shown to commissioners describes the beach area as about a thousand feet in length and notes proposed designated hours (example: 4:30 a.m. to 8 a.m., with possible winter-hour adjustments). Staff said signage, fencing and gates would be installed after council approval.

All three motions passed by voice vote recorded as “4 in favor.” The minutes for the commission’s July 16 meeting were also approved earlier in the session by the same 4-0 margin.

Discussion vs. formal action: commissioners discussed enforcement practicalities for the jetty ban (lack of existing barriers and limits to what park rangers can do without an ordinance), technical challenges of enforcing a trail speed limit on devices that may lack speedometers, and design and access considerations for the dog beach, including that the area would remain publicly accessible for activities such as fishing outside dog-beach hours. City Attorney Emery provided legal clarification about citation authority and likely misdemeanor classification for park-code violations. No numeric penalties, specific ordinance language, or exact trail speed were adopted at the commission level; each item was forwarded to the City Council for final action.