And that’s not the only kid-friendly activity that is a legal violation in metro Atlanta cities and counties. Look deep enough into local ordinances — many of them decades old and some, perhaps, long-since forgotten — and you may ask yourself …
What’s with the hatred of childhood joy?
The sweet freedom that comes with the end of the school year beckons. But, for kids to follow the letter of the law, they better not dare to play catch on sidewalks or in cul de sacs inside the city limits of Acworth, Berkeley Lake or Fayetteville. From Acworth’s ordinance, Article 1, Section 82-5: “It shall be unlawful for any person to play ball by throwing, catching, pitching or batting a ball on any public street or alley or sidewalk of the city.”
Fayetteville also forbids flying kites in certain areas.
If you have a bicycle, don’t try “any acrobatic or fancy riding” on the streets of Atlanta, Decatur or Avondale Estates, or elsewhere in DeKalb County. Popping wheelies might land you in trouble. The ordinances specifically forbid tempting fate by taking both hands off the handlebar or both feet off the pedals.
So just don’t.
In Snellville, don’t ride — in fact, don’t even park — a bicycle, skateboard or skates on sidewalks “or other public ways or streets adjacent to a commercial establishment.”
Here’s the good news: As you might suspect, just because something is in a city code doesn’t mean it’s often enforced. Sometimes officials don’t even realize those laws, put in place for reasons no longer clear, are still on the books.
Avondale Estates Mayor Jonathan Elmore expressed surprise and maybe a hint of bemusement when contacted by a reporter about the ice cream truck ban in the city of 3,300.
He searched the city code and found the offending sentence among the hundreds of pages of legalese.
“Oh dear,” he said. “We have been breaking our own law for some time now.”
The city has likely held events that included ice cream vendors, Elmore said, even those with pushcarts, which are also not allowed under the ordinance.
“I may have to bring it up at our next meeting and save the children of Avondale from a brutal summer,” he said. He dug some more and uncovered the prohibition about fancy riding on bicycles.
“We love children here in Avondale,” the mayor assured. “…. I’m a little embarrassed. We sound like horrible people.”
He recalled his own childhood memories of running for the ice cream truck. “It was the greatest thing ever. … I used to like that orange pushup thing.”
Michael Dieppa’s favorite was the red, white and blue pop that looking like a little rocket ship, with a ball of bubble gum embedded inside it. Just six months ago, he became chief of police in Chamblee.
He said he had “not a clue” about Chamblee’s ice cream ordinance. And he has no plans to enforce it. “I would hate to ruin summer for some children.”
He checked with some of his staffers. They told him they weren’t aware of any recent citations but that some years ago a city officer was known to ticket violators.
Other communities have rescinded such ordinances. Marietta dropped its 30-year-old ban on ice cream trucks after a vendor complained in 2001. And, in 2012, DeKalb commissioners dumped their prohibition, too.
Still, several local governments restrict ice cream trucks from being close to schools when classes are in session. Others require drivers to turn off sound systems when stopped or bar them from selling in one spot for more than 15 or 30 minutes.
Phil Johnson said he had never heard of those laws, though for the last five years he’s owned a Kona Ice franchise in Alpharetta, and sometimes sets up at events in various counties. But he said operators of some of his shaved ice trucks have been shooed off by authorities, sometimes for being in parks that have competing concessions.
His operators don’t usually drive down neighborhood streets any more to sell. Kids are often inside sound-insulated homes instead of playing outside. “It is just harder for them to hear us.”
Quirks in local ordinances aren’t confined to just barring activities of play or fun.
You’re violating ordinances if you don’t kill poison ivy on your property in Atlanta, allow dirty water from washing cars to run across sidewalks in Decatur, conduct treasure hunts designed for commercial gain in Brookhaven and Johns Creek, have a bonfire at your home in Woodstock, spit in places of worship or certain other spots in Cherokee County, or practice fortunetelling in East Point. Speaking of East Point, you’re not allowed to intentionally scare someone there. Apparently even on Halloween.
But at least East Point doesn’t prohibit ice cream trucks.
