The Parks and Recreation Board of the City of Abilene voted to approve updated park camping policies and to forward the policy to the Abilene City Council for final consideration. The board approved the motion after a presentation from Chris Gibson, assistant director of Parks and Recreation, and a motion to approve carried with members voting in favor.

The revisions refine noise restrictions and clarify quiet hours in parks, establishing a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. quiet period and describing types of disturbances that may be restricted. The policy gives the parks director or a designated designee authority to allow exceptions to quiet hours for specific events, such as organized runs or park events where amplified sound is needed.

Gibson said the board drew language for noise restrictions from the Texas Municipal Code and from practices used in state parks. He described the intent as limiting disturbances “that would cause somebody else to have a poor experience within the park itself,” while preserving flexibility for permitted events.

The policy also describes differences among designated camping areas. Johnson Park will be treated as a large, first-come, first-served camping area without individually marked sites; CB (Seabee) will have a small number of designated sites with spacing between them. Gibson said staff will install signage identifying designated camping areas and will determine whether to provide fire rings or freestanding grills on a site-by-site basis, noting Seabee already has at least one existing ring.

Board members asked clarifying questions about maximum consecutive nights, site spacing, and fire-ring plans. Gibson confirmed a three-night limit before campers must check out and that specific mapping for fire rings had not been completed; the parks department will determine locations consistent with the policy and safety requirements.

With no public comments, the board approved the motion to forward the camping policy to city council. The board’s action was to transmit the policy for council review and possible adoption; final adoption will occur at city council if the council approves the ordinance or policy.

The board moved on to other agenda items after the vote.