HomeMy WebLinkAbout1061ORDINANCE NO. 1061
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF UKIAH REVISING THE UKIAH CITY
CODE BY REPEALING DIVISION 2, CHAPTER 4,
THEREOF, ENTITLED "TRAILERS AND TRAILER
CAMPS" AND ADDING THERETO DIVISION 7,
CHAPTER 1, ARTICLE 8, ENTITLED "CAMPING"
The City Council of the City of Ukiah hereby ordains as follows.
SECTION ONE. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS
The City Council hereby finds and declares as follows.
1. Within the last two years, Ukiah has seen a dramatic increase in the number of
persons traveling to the City who do not have a place to live.
2. Many of these transients do not take advantage of public services available to
persons who are sometimes called "homeless."
3. The transient homeless who do not avail themselves of temporary shelter or
other local social services camp on public and private property, creating a number of
public nuisance impacts, including:
a. Unsanitary conditions resulting from human waste and trash;
b. Interference with the use of public property by other members of the
public;
c. Interference with the use of commercial property by businesses located
there and other private property by owners or others in lawful possession; and
d. A risk of uncontrolled fires from camp or cooking fires.
4. The problems described in items 1-3 above result from camping in cars, trucks
and other vehicles as well as from camping in the open.
5. State law now comprehensively regulates commercial camping in organized
camp grounds and Recreational Vehicle parks, making the provisions of the Ukiah City
Code regulating "trailer camps" obsolete.
6. The streets and public areas within the city should be readily accessible to
residents and the public at large.
7. Private property within the City should be reserved for lawful use as approved
by the owners of said property.
8. The use of public and private property within the City for camping purposes or
storage of camping paraphernalia and related personal property interferes with the rights
of others to use these areas for the purposes for which they were intended.
9. Such activity frequently lacks adequate provision for fire safety, sanitation and
refuse disposal and therefore constitutes a public health and safety hazard which
adversely affects the public health, safety and welfare of the community, as well as
private property rights.
10. The purpose of this Ordinance is to maintain streets, parks and other public
and private areas within the City in safe, clean, sanitary and accessible condition in order
to adequately protect the health, safety and public welfare of the community, and to limit
camping to circumstances that do not create public and private nuisance and adverse
public safety impacts.
SECTION 2
Sections 2450-2470 in Chapter 4, Division 2 of the Ukiah City Code are hereby repealed.
SECTION 3
Article 8, entitled "Camping," is hereby added to Chapter 1, Division 7 of the Ukiah City
Code to read as follows.
{}6080: DEFINITIONS: The following words shall have the following meaning,
when used in this Article, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Camp" or "Camping" means the activity of living temporarily in the outdoors, including
to place, pitch, or use camp facilities or camp paraphernalia for such purposes.
"Camp facilities" include, but are not limited to, tents, huts, motor vehicles, Recreational
Vehicles or temporary structures, when established, maintained or operated to Camp
"Camp paraphernalia" includes, but is not limited to, bedrolls, blankets, tarpaulins, cots,
beds, sleeping bags, tents, hammocks, items used for cooking food or similar equipment.
Camp paraphernalia also includes other personal effects, when used or stored with Camp
paraphernalia as described herein.
"Establish" means setting up or moving equipment, supplies or materials on to public or
private property to Camp.
"Human Habitation" means use of a parked motor vehicle or Recreational Vehicle to
Camp.
"Maintain" means keeping or permitting equipment, supplies or materials to remain on
public or private property in order to Camp or operate Camp facilities.
"Operate" means participating or assisting in establishing or maintaining a Camp or
Camp facility.
"Private property" means all private property including, but not limited to, streets,
sidewalks, alleys, and improved or unimproved land.
"Public Property" means all public property including, but not limited to, streets,
sidewalks, alleys, and improved or unimproved land and parks.
"Recreational Vehicle" means a Recreational Vehicle as defined in California Health and
Safety Code Section 18010.
"Recreational Vehicle Park or Mobile Home Park" means any area of land within the
City licensed pursuant to the California Health and Safety Code as a Mobile Home Park,
as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 18214, or a Special Occupancy
Park as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 18862.43, which has a
currently effective City business license, and in which space is rented or held out for
Camping.
"Store" means to put aside or accumulate for use when needed, to put for safekeeping, to
place or leave in a location.
"Street" means a street, alley, way or place of whatever nature, publicly or privately
maintained for purposes of vehicular travel. "Street" includes highway, as that term is
defined in the California Vehicle Code.
{}6081: UNLAWFUL CAMPING: Except as provided in Subsections B. 1-4,
below, it is unlawful and a public nuisance for any person to
Camp, establish, maintain, operate or occupy Camp facilities, or use Camp paraphernalia
in the following areas:
A. Any public property; or
B. Any private property, provided, however, that this prohibition does not apply to:
Overnight camping on private residential property by friends or family of
the property owner or person in lawful possession of the property, so long
as the owner or lawful occupant consents, and the camping does not create
a public or private nuisance;
2. Mobile Home Parks and Special Occupancy Parks;
3. Camping in public parks pursuant to Section 1967; and
4. Camping on public or private property in connection with a special event,
when authorized pursuant to Section 6082.
{}6082: SPECIAL EVENT PERMT: The City Manager or his or her designee
may issue a permit pursuant to this Section authorizing overnight camping
on public or private property for a special event, provided he or she can find that the
event will not cause a public or private nuisance, when conducted in accordance with
reasonable conditions intended to avoid nuisance impacts. "Special event," as used
herein, means an event sponsored by the City or a non-profit or community-based
organization of not more than 72 hours duration which is conducted for the purpose of
promoting sports, education, or other charitable activities.
The City Manager or his or her designee shall require a written application
from the sponsoring organization for camping in connection with a special
event. No such application shall be required for a City sponsored event.
The application shall contain such information as the City Manager shall
determine necessary in order to assure compliance with this Section.
,
The sponsoring organization must agree in writing to abide by any
reasonable conditions imposed in connection with the issuance of a
permit, which shall include, at a minimum:
ao
Special event insurance with coverage and policy limits
determined to be adequate by the City in consultation with its
liability insurer;
b. An agreement to indemnify and defend the City against any
claims arising out of the event;
c. Provision for adequate sanitation and trash collection facilities;
and
de
Measures to control noise and other conditions which could
disturb the peace and quiet enjoyment of neighboring
properties.
,
Any failure to comply with a condition imposed on a sponsoring
organization shall be considered a violation of this Article, shall entitle
the City Manager to deny a future application by such organization,
and shall be subject to any other remedies authorized by this Code or
other provisions of law.
{}6083:
STORAGE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY ON PUBLIC OR
PRIVATE PROPERTY: It is unlawful and a public nuisance for any
person to store camp paraphernalia in the following areas:
A. Any public property; or
B. Outside a structure on any private property without the prior written consent of
the owner.
{}6084: USE OF VEHICLES FOR HUMAN HABITATION: It is unlawful
for any person to use any motor vehicle or Recreational Vehicle for human
habitation on or in any public or private street, alley, or parking area or any public or
privately owned off-street parking facility/area which is held open for common public
use.
{}6085: PENALTY FOR VIOLATION: Any violation of this Article shall
be deemed an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed three
hundred dollars ($300.00) for a first offense, and, for a second or subsequent offense, a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) or
imprisonment in the County jail for a period not to exceed three months or by both fine
and imprisonment.
SECTION 4
The provisions of this Article are declared to be separate and severable. The invalidity of
any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or portion of this Article, or the
invalidity of the application thereof to any person or circumstance shall not affect the
validity of the remainder of this Article, or the validity of its application to other persons
or circumstances.
SECTION 5
Nothing in this Article shall limit or preclude the enforcement of other applicable laws.
SECTION 6
This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days after its adoption and shall be published
as required by law.
Introduced by title only on January 5, 20005 by the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
Councilmembers Crane, McCowen, Rodin, Baldwin, and Mayor Ashiku
None
None
None
Adopted on January 19, 2005, by the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: Councilmember Crane
Councilmembers McCowen, Rodin, Baldwin, and Mayor Ashiku
~-/
Mark Ashiku, Mayor
ATTEST:
t
Marie Ulvila, City Clerk