Anaheim Municipal Code Ch. 11.11 Obstruction of Public Rights- of-Way and Facilities

(a) "Landscaped Area" means all improved landscaped areas, except for open grass areas.

(b) "Median" means a traffic fixture consisting of a strip of ground dividing or separating a street, roadway or highway into lanes according to the direction of travel.

(c) "Personal Property" means tangible personal belongings or possessions, which shall include any movable or tangible thing that is subject to ownership; property or chattels that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, or touched, including, but not limited to, furniture, appliances, items used for camping such as tents or bedding, money, books, and "shopping carts" as defined in Chapter 7.52 of this Code.

(d) "Public Park" means all dedicated parks and all planted parkways, triangles and traffic circles maintained by the City of Anaheim. "Public Park" does not include the parkway strips between the curb and sidewalk along the streets and highways of the City.

(e) "Public Rights-of-Way" or "Public Right-of-Way" means any place of any nature which is dedicated for use by the general public for pedestrian and vehicular travel, and includes, but is not limited to, a street, sidewalk, curb, crossing, intersection, parkway, highway, boulevard, road, roadway, tunnel, bridge, thoroughfare or any other similar public way.

(f) "Store" means to put aside Personal Property in a Public Area or accumulate it for use when needed; to place Personal Property in a Public Area for safekeeping; and/or to leave Personal Property unattended in a Public Area. For purposes of this definition, "Public Area" means publicly-owned or controlled property.

(g) "Street" means a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. The term "Street" includes highways.

(h) "Unattended" means no person who asserts or claims ownership over Personal Property is present with or accompanying the Personal Property. (Ord. 6589 § 1 (part); October 29, 2024.)

(a) No person shall fix in place, Store, maintain or leave Personal Property that is Unattended in or on a Public Right-of-Way.

(b) No person shall sleep, lie down, or sit on any movable chair, bucket, crate, cooler, or similar Personal Property, in or on a Public Right-of-Way, other than as part of a lawful event taking place along the Public Right-of-Way.

(c) No person shall sit, lie, or sleep, or Store, maintain, or place Personal Property on a Median, public parkway, or Landscaped Area, with the exception of sitting in a Landscaped Area specifically designed for that purpose.

(d) No person shall sleep or lie down on or under a public transit/bus bench, or a bench, table, playground equipment, or similar fixture or structure in a Public Park.

(e) No person shall obstruct public or private access by sitting, lying, or sleeping in a Public Right-of-Way, or by storing, using, maintaining, or placing personal property in a Public Right-of-Way:

1. In a manner that obstructs or impedes passage in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act;

2. On or within ten (10) feet of an operational or utilizable driveway, ramp, or loading dock;

3. Within ten (10) feet of an operational or utilizable entrance or exit to any building, establishment, retail store, restaurant, office building, or other place into which the public is invited;

4. Within ten (10) feet of a fire hydrant, fire plug, or other connection used by the Fire Department;

5. Within ten (10) feet of an automatic teller machine or any door that provides access to an automatic teller machine;

6. Within ten (10) feet of an electric vehicle charging station, parking pay station, or parking meter;

7. Within ten (10) feet of the entrance to a public restroom;

8. Within ten (10) feet of a sidewalk ramp, or a corner where a street, roadway, highway, or alley intersect;

9. In a manner that unreasonably interferes with required maintenance of public equipment or facilities or the use of the Public Right-of-Way by motor vehicles, pedestrians or bicycles; or

10. Within two hundred (200) feet of any school or day care center.

It shall not be a violation of this Section for a person to sit for purposes of viewing a legally conducted parade or similar lawful or permitted event. (Ord. 6589 § 1 (part); October 29, 2024.)

Notwithstanding any other provision in this Code, each violation of the provisions of this Chapter may be enforced alternatively as follows:

(a) A violation of this Chapter may be punishable as a misdemeanor or an infraction at the discretion of the City Attorney; or

(b) The City Attorney may institute an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to restrain, enjoin or abate the condition(s) found to be in violation of the provisions of this Chapter, as provided by law.

Any individual charged with violation of this Chapter, in lieu of being taken to jail, may, at the election of the citing police officer and with the consent of the individual, be taken to a facility providing social services related to mental health, housing, and/or substance abuse treatment. (Ord. 6589 § 1 (part); October 29, 2024.)