NORFOLK
The city has a message for residents: Go fly a kite.
Asked by city staffers Tuesday to regulate the flying of kites and small model airplanes on city property, the council declined, with some calling the request ridiculous.
"I'm not going to oppose kids trying a fly a kite on the beach," Councilman W. Randy Wright said.
Actually, flying a kite on city property has been against the law since 1953, Assistant City Manager Stanley A. Stein said. No one knows why the original ban was adopted, he said.
"I wasn't born then," Councilwoman Daun S. Hester said. "Can't we just rescind that ordinance?"
Wright, who was born in '53, noted: "My ward wasn't part of the city at that time. The law isn't being enforced and shouldn't be."
City staffers said they know lots of people are flying kites on beaches, parks and school grounds, and no one is being arrested. They're trying to loosen the ban and allow it in certain areas.
Several groups have requested permission to fly kites, said Deborah Morton, an assistant recreation director. The proposed ordinance would have allowed kite flying at Barraud Park, Tarrallton Recreation Center, Larchmont and Willard Model elementary schools, the Campostella Landfill and three short stretches of Ocean View beach, she said.
The mention of Ocean View, though, miffed Councilman Don Williams, who represents Willoughby. He said he's told city staffers that it should be allowed along most of the beach. "And you didn't do that," he said.
Mayor Paul Fraim suggested the city draw up an ordinance restricting kite flying only in areas where it isn't safe.
"You see the difficult position you put the council in," Fraim said to Morton. "If we say you can fly a kite here, that means you can't fly a kite anywhere else."
Stein said he will huddle with City Attorney Bernard A. Pishko to come up with a compromise.
Morton said that in the summer, Virginia Beach officials ban kite flying on some Oceanfront stretches. Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk officials said their city codes are silent on the issue.
Said Portsmouth Senior Deputy City Attorney George Willson: "If we weren't allowed to go fly our kites, as many times as we've been told to, what would we do?"
Pilot writers Jen McCaffery, Mike Saewitz and Dave Forster and news researcher Jakon Hays contributed to this story.
Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
kite permits
City loves permits.
Lets put a permit and inspect fee on kite flying.
If you fail inspection. City will chain you and your kite to a tree
Who needs a war. Americans are at war at home.
Are hole goverment systems a joke.
Obama quote. What jackasses
safe areas
they say they are working on where it would safe to fly kites.... but yet they list ocean veiw.... who says oceanview is safe?
A new ordinance in Norfolk
Ordinance 09-3E765: Effective Date - 09/21/09
Having discussed and voted accordingly, it is hereby ordained that breathing in or around certain areas of the city shall be illegal. The citizens of Norfolk shall be notified which portions of the city are off-limits to breathing. Breathing has been found to to harmful to certain bushes and plants and will no longer be tolerated. Violation of the breathing ban is a class one misdemeanor and shall result in a fine and imprisonment.
Norfolk City Council
City Council Kite Flying
Hopefully, Mr. Williams and other council members will have plenty of time to fly kites after the next election.
Wholly Kite Flying Batman!
This has got to be some of the MOST ridiculous news ~ Norfolk~ Land of the Free?? Not soo much. Thankfully I live in Va Beach, and I have been kite flying at Mt Trashmore which is centrally located next to a Interstate. Hmmmm......IF you can see it, it probably is there! Be smart, keep your eyes open when driving, stop texting (it is illegal, ya know)hang up the damn phone, and drive the 3000lb death trap with CAUTION! And most of all, KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR MOTORCYCLES!!!
I suppose
the proper thing for me to do is turn myself in. Yes, I flew kites with my friends at Lakewood Elementary School in the early sixties.
me, too
I flew mine at Lansdale Elementary in the '60. Before the jets came, and the runway extension. (if anybody knows where that was ;) )
Love it!
You Rock!
Anyone care to guess
What other government banned kite flying??
Hint, they would also ban jello wrestling.
And close down bars.
Any guesses?
The Taliban.
:-)
Probably an old knee jerk
I'd guess an old knee jerk law. There was some kite related incident that got in the news so the politicians fell over each other to save us from this vile threat. If someone's really bored, I bet there's something about it in the newspaper archives.
Actually.........
The story was that someone was flying a kite on Granby St. near Little Creek Rd. Someone complained that it somehow bothered them. The police came out and the person, who was handicapped, was roughed up by the police. They sued the city and it cost them $65,000. So the city made kite flying illegal after that.
Roughed Up?
The Hula Hoop Lady was TAZERED THREE TIMES. Watch the video.
That's a little more than "roughed up".
So she was breaking the law by flying a kite 'eh? I guess that will show people to be more law abiding while in Norfolk.
The exception is for city council members, who break the law themselves and encourage others to do so too.
did I miss something?
"...flying a kite on city property has been against the law since 1953, Assistant City Manager Stanley A. Stein said. No one knows why the original ban was adopted, ..."
Surely there must be a reason why...
in a nutshell
you cannot.....
fly a kite, while jello wrestling, at Have A Nice Day Cafe....
that about covers it all....
OR
Can't forget that you better not be a law abiding citizen that chooses to open carry while flying your kite at Town Point park on your way to the HANDC or BAR
the whole thing makes sense now!!!
CC is going to drive everyone out of Waterside, knock it down, and charge a fee for people to fly kites where Waterside once stood! Oh, city leaders, I don't know how I didn't see this sooner. Thank you for your progressive thinking. Maybe on the 1st expansion, we can get a light rail stop at the kite flying area. maybe we can get a corporate sponsor. "Norfolk Kite Park brought to you by HAND and Bar Norfolk"
Thanks, Steven.
I'm aware of that rule, but when you're flying a kite in one direction several hundred feet in the air(at the beach, for example) and it comes down unexpectedly in another direction (Atlantic Avenue, for example), there's a chance it's going to come down across power lines.
Waterside
Norfolk should be worrying about Waterside instead of kite flying. They are driving businesses out of Waterside in order to either tear it down, or do something "stupid" with it. Back in the 80's, Waterside used to be the place to go. On a recent visit there within the last 2 weeks, I saw a patron mistakenly leave a cup on a table downstairs. He got up and left. The "cleaning lady", who earns her money from tax payers, "verbally and loudly" yelled at the guy to pick up his cup, in front of everyone. He was almost out the door, and stopped and said "sorry, can you throw it away for me?". She got very beligerant and yelled at him to "Never Come Back To Waterside Again !!!". Seriously, someone that is "paid" to clean up, yelling at patrons because she doesn't want to do her job!!! The way I see it, NORFOLK has other issues to address instead of kite flying.....
Are You Really Serious !!! ???
Come on Norfolk, are you really serious!!?? Anyone should be able to just go fly a kite, anywhere they want to ! and if they get hurt, or damage property, let them deal with it. Steve M. has the right idea, why don't you charge for a "Kite Flying" license ... $20 for the license, $20 for the processing fee, $20 for the decal, $20 for a map of where you can fly a kite, and $20 for a kite and instruction manual. WAY TO GO NORFOLK !! GLAD I LIVE IN CHESAPEAKE !!!
Tax it
Legalize it... tax it... pay for SPSA --- AND --- Light Rail!
$50 yearly permit... $100 if you want to fly a kite while drinking beer...
all politicians get free kite-flying permits!!!