Chapter 8.05 — CAMPING ON PUBLIC PROPERTY

The public streets and areas within the city should be readily accessible and available to residents and the public at-large for use consistent with the public area's designated purpose. The use of these areas for camping purposes or storage of personal property interferes with the rights of others to use the areas for the purposes for which those areas were intended. This chapter aims to maintain public streets and areas within the city in a clean and accessible condition.

(Ord. No. 592, § 1, 11-12-2024)

The following definitions apply to the use of these terms for purposes of this chapter:

Camp means to place, erect, maintain, pitch or occupy camp facilities and/or to use camp paraphernalia.

Camp facility includes, but is not limited to, tents, huts, or other temporary physical shelters, including but not limited to, cots, beds, sleeping bags, hammocks or bed rolls.

Camp paraphernalia includes, but is not limited to, tarpaulins, cots, beds, sleeping bags, hammocks or non-city-designated cooking facilities, and similar equipment.

Public property means any publicly owned property in the city, including any of the following; public parks, public alleyways, public parking lots, public passageways, public rights-of-way, publicly owned or maintained landscaped areas or greenbelts, sidewalks, curbs, public educational institutions, including properties owned by Bishop Unified School District, or other government-owned properties located within the city.

Sleep means sleeping at any time between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. in or on any public property or on any streets, sidewalks, alleys, public rights-of-way, or any other public property within the city.

Store means to put aside or accumulate for use when needed, to put for safekeeping, to place or leave in a location.

Street includes, but is not limited to, all highways, avenues, lanes, alleys, courts, places, squares, sidewalks, parkways, curbs, or other public ways in this city which have been or may hereafter be dedicated and open to public use, or such other public property so designated in any law of this state.

(Ord. No. 592, § 1, 11-12-2024)

• Prohibited—Unauthorized sleeping, camping, and storage of personal property on public property.

It is unlawful for any person to sleep, camp, and/or store personal property on any public property within the city.

(Ord. No. 592, § 1, 11-12-2024)

This chapter shall not apply to the following:

1.

Anyone sleeping or camping in a specified camping area designated by the city. The city council may, by resolution, establish one or more specified camping areas. Such camping areas, if any, may be located on public property.

2.

Any event involving camping that is approved or sponsored by the city.

(Ord. No. 592, § 1, 11-12-2024)

The provisions of this ordinance shall be enforced by the Bishop City Police Department or designated enforcement officers. Upon discovering a violation, the enforcement officer shall issue a warning to the individual involved, providing a reasonable amount of time to vacate the area.

Failure to comply with the warning may result in a citation or a fine. Violation of this chapter may be prosecuted as a misdemeanor subject to the fines in the Bishop Municipal Code Chapter 1.14.

(Ord. No. 592, § 1, 11-12-2024)