October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 37

Park Restriction Policy
Pursuant to the Policy, upon observation of a violation
of any park rule, a person could be issued a restricted
access notice by a city employee or the park and recreation
department, including notice provided by the
Ashville Police Department at the time of arrest or citation
for any misdemeanor or felony offense committed
in a city park. The Policy provided the following
length of park restriction access for violations:
1. Violation of any park rule or Parks and Recreation
Department program rule - 6 months. 2. Violation of any
City ordinance or the commission of any offense punishable
as a misdemeanor under federal or state law - 1 year. 3. The
commission of any offense punishable as a felony under federal
or state law, repeated violation of Park rules, and/or
repeated commission of misdemeanor offenses - 3 years.
The Policy, however, did " not require an underlying
citation, ticket, charge, indictment, or conviction to
ban an individual from city parks. " Moreover, the Policy
did not " require any documentation of the alleged
violation for a ban to be issued. " The Policy provided
the following regarding " notice " :
Any notice provided to a person that their access to
City parks has been restricted will state (1) the reason why
their access is restricted, (2) the length of the restriction,
(3) that the person will be subject to arrest for trespassing
if they enter a City park and/or recreation facility, and
(4) information about how to appeal the restriction.
The Ashville parks and police departments would maintain
and update a listing of individuals subject to access
restrictions in the city parks. Also, this restricted access list
was to be made available to citizens upon request. Individuals
subject to a park ban, however, were not entitled to
notice or a pre-deprivation hearing under the Policy.
Park Ban Appeals Process
Under the Policy, individuals could appeal the park
ban decision in writing within 14 calendar days of the
date of the restricted access notice. All appeals had to
be addressed and delivered to the Asheville Parks and
Recreation Department to the attention of the parks
and recreation director.
Scheduling of an appeal hearing had to be completed
within 14 days of receipt of the written appeal. Notification
of the date of the appeal hearing had to be mailed to
the address provided by the person in their written appeal.
Appeals would be heard by the parks and recreation
director or their designee. Upon receipt of a timely and
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valid appeal, the parks and recreation director would hear
whatever relevant evidence the person appealing the restriction
may wish to present. Based on that evidence, the
director could dismiss the restriction or uphold the restriction
as imposed at the time of notice. In the alternative,
the director could also uphold the restriction but modify
the duration for which the restriction is effective.
The parks and recreation director was required to issue
and serve a written decision on such appeal within 14
days of the date of the hearing. Decisions of the parks and
recreation director were final upon issuance. Throughout
the appeals process, the access restriction from city parks
and/or recreational facilities would remain in effect.
If a banned individual entered a city park or committed
another violation under the Policy, the ban would
automatically extend by one year. In addition to any
extension based on the violation, a banned individual
could also be criminally charged with trespass.
No Hearing Prior to Park Bans
Pursuant to the Policy, none of the Plaintiffs had had
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October 2024 – Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2024 – Parks & Recreation
