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A RESOLUTION AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. R-25-0742 TO RETITLE THE PARK ORDINANCES AS “RULES AND REGULATIONS” AND AUTHORIZING CERTAIN UPDATES THERETO, PURSUANT TO N.J.S.A. 40:32-7.12.
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WHEREAS, the County of Passaic (hereafter "County") is a body politic and corporate pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:18-1 and vested with all rights contained therein; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:20-1 the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Passaic (hereafter "Board") is vested with managing the property, finances, and affairs of the County; and
WHEREAS, on August 12, 2025, the Board passed Resolution No. R-25-0742, entitled “Resolution Amending Resolution No. R-23-1174 Authorizing Updates to the Passaic County Park Ordinance, Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:32-7.12,” which revised and adopted the document titled “Park Ordinances” governing the Passaic County Park System (hereafter “Park Ordinances”); and
WHEREAS, the County discontinued its Parks Commission years ago, however, the terminology and statutory reference in the Park Ordinances were never updated to reflect that change; and
WHEREAS, the Passaic County Department of Parks & Recreation (hereafter “Department”) is requesting that the Board authorize an amendment to the Park Ordinances to retitle the document “Rules and Regulations” in order to align the terminology and statutory authority governing park regulations with the applicable statute, N.J.S.A. 40:32-7.12, which revision will ensure that the document accurately reflects the applicable statutory authority; and
WHEREAS, in addition, the Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation is proposing that the Rules and Regulations include the following updates:
(a) Article I, Section 2: the definitions section is updated to accurately reflect any recent updates to the various classifications of vehicles impacted by updates to legislation relating to electric vehicles;
(b) Article II, Section 18: updated to allow for “permit” hunting, as follows: no person not authorized shall feed, harm, or interfere in any manner whatsoever with the wildlife in or on park premises or any part thereof; fishing is allowed in designated areas under the guidelines of the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife; hunting is prohibited on all County park lands and facilities, unless authorized by written permit; and where authorized by written permit, hunters are required to comply with all wildlife management rules, policies, and procedures established by Passaic County, in addition to all guidelines, rules, policies, procedures, regulations, and statutes of the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife and/or the State of New Jersey;
(c) Article II, Section 40: updated to reflect the language incorporated in Resolution R-26-0489, dated May 26, 2026, prohibiting the use of motorized bicycles, motorized scooters, low-speed electric bicycles, and low-speed electric scooters on County park property, such that, except for County employees, the use of all motorized bicycles, including low-speed electric bicycles, motorized scooters, including low-speed electric scooters, and motorized skateboards is prohibited on all park lands, and nothing in this section shall exclude or limit the use of motorized wheelchairs within park lands by those with limited or no ambulation abilities;
(d) Article II, Section 50: new item providing that all park visitors are responsible for being aware of, and are required to comply with, the Rules and Regulations of Passaic County Parks upon use of any area or facility;
(e) Article IV, Section 21: new item providing that any organized school or camp group event of ten (10) or more individuals utilizing athletic fields or picnic facilities without a permit will be required to provide valid identification of their group upon the request of park staff; the designated representative of the group must display a valid government-issued photo identification upon the request of park staff and allow park staff to record this information for permitting purposes; the group will be issued an on-site, one-day permit; failure of the group to provide this information will result in a request for the group to vacate the athletic field and/or picnic facility; failure to follow a request by park staff to vacate the athletic field and/or picnic facility is prohibited and will result in a request to law enforcement to remove the group from the area; any group previously issued an on-site, one-day permit under this provision will be automatically removed from the field/facilities if they fail to obtain a permit on any subsequent attempt; and Passaic County reserves the right to deny the group future permits due to repeated violations; and
WHEREAS, this matter was discussed at the November 4, 2026 meeting of the Public Works Committee and is being recommended to the Board for approval; and
NOW, THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:32-7.12, that the Passaic County Board of County Commissioners hereby amends Resolution No. R-25-0742 and authorizes an amendment to the document titled “Park Ordinances,” revised and adopted on August 12, 2025, to be retitled “Rules and Regulations,” in order to align the terminology and statutory authority governing park regulations with N.J.S.A. 40:32-7.12, and to include the updates to Article I, Section 2; Article II, Sections 18, 40, and 50; and Article IV, Section 21, as set forth above, as recommended by the Department of Parks & Recreation; and
LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Clerk to the Board, County Counsel, and the Director of the Board are authorized to take any other steps necessary to carry out the purpose of this Resolution.
ZMQ November 16, 2026