Opinion No. (2006)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General MARC J. NOLAN Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE DAVE JONES, MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, has requested an opinion on the following question: May a city ordinance limit the use of play equipment that is designed for small children and located within an area of a city park known as a "tot lot" to the use of young children? CONCLUSION A city ordinance may limit the use of play equipment that is designed for small children and located within an area of a city park known as a "tot lot" to the use of young children. ANALYSIS Public Resources Code section 5193 authorizes a board of park commissioners to "pass and adopt ordinances which are necessary for the regulation, use, and government of the parks and grounds under its supervision, not inconsistent with the laws of the State." (See People v. Trantham (1984) 161 Cal.App.3d Supp. 1, 13 ["a local entity has exclusive jurisdiction over the management and control of its parks and may enact and enforce such regulations and rules that are necessary or appropriate to promote park purposes and to ensure the public's health, safety and welfare in the usage of its parks"].) Our Supreme Court has observed that…