Planning to take your dog for a nice long walk in any of the local parks? You should first be aware that there is an ordinance prohibiting this.

That is one of the many ordinances listed in a pamphlet, "A Ready Reference on Selected Ordinances for Citizens of State College, Pa." That ordinance also figures into a long list of borough regulations that many people don't know exist.

Another ordinance states that letting weeds grow more than six inches or letting them produce pollen is subject to a $20 fine after a warning is issued.

One student who wasn't aware of the weeds ordinance was Jennifer Arnowitz (sophomore-broadcast-cable).

"I think that's ridiculous," she said.

But Richard Mansfield (junior-accounting) knew of the ordinance.

"I lived in a frat house and we were fined for that a couple of times," Mansfield said. "I think it should be upheld because it will help the community look a little nicer, keeping your yard kept up."

A better known ordinance, listed under Liquor Control, states that it is illegal for a person to possess an open container of an alcohol in any outdoor public place or vehicle.

This ordinance came about due to the Phi Psi 500 and the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, said State College Borough Council President R. Thomas Berner.

"There was a bar downtown that allowed people to buy beer and walk around the streets with it," Berner said. "There were problems with drunks and this ordinance was passed with strong support from student government."

Police officer David Caster, specialist of community relations and crime prevention, said this ordinance does help eliminate a lot of problems during Phi Psi 500, a fraternity philanthropy that once featured pit stops for beer.

Instead of having about $1 million in damages after the event, there is now almost no damage, Caster said, adding that Phi Psi 500 sponsors cooperated a lot.

Another ordinance prohibits bicycle riding on sidewalks in the central business district -- roughly Beaver and College avenues and the side streets.

"The bicycles around here get a little ridiculous so I can understand that," Arnowitz said. "Riding in the street can get dangerous, but that's actually where they're supposed to be."

According to a traffic manual, bicycles are considered vehicles, Caster said.

"I think that's ridiculous -- a bicycle is a bicycle," Mansfield said. "What's the point of where you ride it? You're not going to hurt anyone unless you're reckless."

The pamphlet listing the ordinances is supposed to be mailed to people's homes in the State College area to make them aware of the lesser known ordinances, Berner said.

But Mansfield, who lives in Penn Tower Apartments, 255 E. Beaver Ave., said he never saw the pamphlet before or received one in the mail or otherwise.

"The pamphlet would probably help me a lot because there's a lot of things in here that I'm not aware of and I could get fined for," Mansfield said.

Stephanie Slick (senior-environmental resource management) lives on West Nittany Avenue and also has never received this pamphlet.

If people received the pamphlet "they might still do it, but they would do it secretly or try to hide it," Slick said.

"If people know about it at least they'll be aware but I don't know if it'll stop people from letting their weeds grow above six inches," Arnowitz said.