L.A. councilman wants playgrounds limited to children and their guardians



A member of the Los Angeles city council wants to ban adults who aren't with children from hanging out in city parks.

Council Member Mitch O'Farrell said he proposed the ban after residents complained about people dealing drugs in parks.

O’Farrell said there would be signs up around the perimeter of playgrounds and adults who are not accompanying children could be ticketed.

KTLA received the following statement from O'Farrell's office on Wednesday morning:

"As city leaders, we owe this to families to create safe spaces for their children at city play areas. Our park facilities should be a safe haven, and we must do our part to provide proper shelter for our kids."


But some adults who enjoy spending time at the park say the proposed ban isn't fair.

"I don't have kids. Yet. I wish, maybe in the future I might have them, but it's me and my dog. So you're going to kick me out of the park for walking my dog close to a playground? That, to me, is just not fair," Mitchell Paris told KTLA.

Some questioned who would enforce the policy and others said members of the community simply need to be more vigilant about the people around them.

Pascucci pointed out that the state law already makes it a criminal offense to loiter at a playground or school "with an unlawful purpose" and police have the option to patrol city parks and crack down on illegal activity.