After moving to Sioux Falls from Chicago 12 years ago, I’m still getting used to all of the new laws and ordinances for the city and South Dakota. After browsing through some of the ordinances, I was a little shocked by some of them. I think I might be guilty of violating a few of these. Here are some of the ones that stuck out as local ordinances you may not know about.
You Can’t Play Golf in the Park
Forget about practicing your chip shot in the grass at the park down the street. You can’t, according to this ordinance.
§ 95.006 PLAYING GOLF – No person shall golf within any park within the city, except in areas designated by the parks and recreation department as a golf course or driving range.
No Feeding the Ducks or Geese
We’ve all seen some crazy bird-person sitting in a park feeding the ducks and geese. Apparently, they are breaking the law.
§ 95.014 FEEDING AND KEEPING WATERFOWL – No person shall feed any waterfowl in or immediately adjacent to the city bike trails and any city park, excluding Arrowhead Park and the Great Plains Zoo.
No Drones Over 2 Pounds
The park is the perfect place to fly a drone or model helicopter. If you wish to do it legally though, you’d better make sure it’s under 2 pounds in weight.
Note: This has recently been repealed.
§ 95.012 FIREARMS, GUNS, FIREWORKS, AND CERTAIN REMOTE CONTROL AIRCRAFT PROHIBITED – Except as authorized by the director, no person shall fire or discharge any gun or any other type of firearm or discharge or set off any type of rocket, firecracker, or other fireworks or anything containing any substance of an explosive character, or operate remote control aircraft greater than two pounds, or fly a remote control aircraft of any size within 100 feet of an assembly, parade, or special event within any public park.
No Cleaning your Sidewalk, Driveway, Building, or Vehicle with a Water Hose
Put your hose away! You can’t use it to clean almost anything that’s outside under this ordinance. You’ll have to limit yourself to using a three gallon container of water to do the job. Who isn’t guilty of violating this one?
§ 52.002 CERTAIN USES OF WATER DETERMINED NONESSENTIAL – The following uses of water are hereby determined to be nonessential and are hereby prohibited:
(a) Washing outdoor surfaces. The washing of sidewalks, driveways, filling station aprons, porches and other outdoor surfaces except by container not exceeding three-gallon capacity or pursuant to an exception granted under § 52.009;
(b) Washing mobile equipment. The washing of automobiles, trucks, trailers, trailer houses, railroad cars or any other type of mobile equipment except where required by health and sanitary requirements and except from water contained in a container not exceeding three-gallon capacity or from a hose equipped with an automatic shutoff device at the end from which water is taken. This division (b) shall not apply to commercial vehicle washing facilities operating at fixed locations;
(c) Cleaning buildings. The washing by hose of the inside and outside of dwellings and buildings except pursuant to an exception granted under § 52.009;
Keep Right in the Crosswalk
I hope you’re never dizzy or drunk while using a crosswalk. You’ll have to prevent yourself from wandering to the left side.
§ 80.007 PEDESTRIANS TO USE RIGHT HALF OF CROSSWALK – Pedestrians shall move, whenever practicable, upon the right half of the crosswalks.
(1964 Rev. Ords., § 13.0805; 1992 Code, § 40-302)
No Shiny Headlights
You have to dim your headlights if other people are using the street apparently. I suppose the intent behind this ordinance is to prevent people from using their brights. The ordinance is written incredibly unclear though and seems as though it can be applied to anybody using headlights.
§ 73.002 HEADLIGHTS DIMMED – No person shall use headlights upon any vehicle on any street unless the lights are dimmed in such a way as to prevent the light being dazzling or glaring to persons using the streets.
No Food for Stray Animals
As a kid, my family took care of several neighborhood cats by feeding them and keeping them warm. You can’t do that in Sioux Falls though.
§ 90.006 STRAY, ABANDONED OR UNKEPT ANIMALS. (a) No person shall harbor or keep any stray animals. Animals known to be strays shall be immediately reported to the animal control officer. (b) No person shall put out any food for the purpose of feeding or attracting any stray, abandoned, or unkept animal. The placing of food to capture stray, abandoned, or unkept animals by animal control officers or for the purpose of turning the animal over to animal control is not prohibited.
Help the Police
The police are struggling to get a 50 pound suspect to the ground. One of them asks you for help. You’d better jump in! Otherwise you could be fined up to $500.
§ 131.020 AIDING POLICE – It shall be the duty of all persons in the city when called upon by any police officer to promptly aid and assist the police in the execution of their duties.
What do you think of these ordinances? Did you know about all of them? Leave a comment below.
If I saw a police officer struggling with a perp, I would helphum or her, even if they didn’t ask. Sometimes the though of asking for help hasn’t crossed their mind, they are just fighting to keep from being injured.
When did it become illegal to wash your car by hose. That is stupid.