Ord 2019-040/reestablishing the juvenile curfew for minors previously established by Ordinance No. 2009-28 and subsequently extended by Ordinance 2012-16

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ORDINANCE NO. 2019-40 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS, TEXAS AMENDING CHAPTER 54, MISCELLANEOUS OFFENSES, OF THE SAN MARCOS CITY CODE BY ADOPTING ARTICLE 3, CURFEW, CREATING CURFEW HOURS FOR MINORS; SETTING OUT VIOLATIONS AND DEFENSES; ESTABLISHING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. RECITALS: 1. In August 1994, the City of San Marcos adopted an ordinance establishing a curfew for minors. Subsequent to that date state law was passed requiring that cities hold a public hearing every three years and formally readopt a juvenile curfew ordinance; otherwise, the curfew would expire. The City Council last readopted the juvenile curfew by Ordinance 2015-13, which expired April 22, 2019, three years after the date of readopting. 2. The Chief of Police for the City of San Marcos provided statistical evidence concerning the effectiveness of the juvenile curfew ordinance. A public hearing was conducted on November 6, 2019, to provide public input on the necessity of again adopting a curfew for minors. 3. The City Council has determined that the existence of the juvenile curfew has aided in decreasing juvenile violence, juvenile gang activity, and other criminal activity related to the lack of maturity and experience exhibited by persons under the age of seventeen years. 4. The City of San Marcos has an obligation to provide for the protection of minors from each other and from other persons, for the enforcement of parental control of and responsibility for their children, for the protection of the general public and for the reduction of incidence of juvenal criminal activities. 5. The City Council of the City of San Marcos believes that a curfew for those under seventeen years of age will be in the interest of the public health, safety, and general welfare, and will help to attain the above set forth objectives and to diminish the undesirable impact of such conduct on the citizens of the City of San Marcos. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS, TEXAS: SECTION 1. The following language, identical to the pre-existing Article 3, Curfew, of Chapter 54, Miscellaneous Offenses, of the City Code of San Marcos is adopted: