Carpinteria Municipal Code Ch. 9.60 Public Nudity

The city council finds and determines as follows:

A. It is the policy of the city that the public beaches, parks and places hereof shall be available for the use and enjoyment of the public to the maximum extent possible.

B. It is further the policy of the city that members of the public are entitled to use the public beaches, parks and places hereof without being subjected to offensive conduct by other members of the public.

C. The presence of persons in a state of nudity in public places, places open to the public, and places open to public view whether such places are public or privately owned, tends to discourage the use and enjoyment of the public beaches, parks and places of this city, creates a nuisance, and is offensive to members of the public who wish to use and enjoy such public beaches, parks and places.

D. The presence of persons in a state of nudity in public places, places open to the public, and places open to public view whether such places are publicly or privately owned, is offensive to persons residing in the vicinity of such places and interferes with such residents' comfortable enjoyment of their property.

E. The presence of persons in a state of nudity in public places, places open to the public and places open to public view whether such places are publicly or privately owned, creates a nuisance and is offensive as set forth hereinabove even when such nudity is not sexually motivated and is not otherwise lewd.

F. The prohibition of nude persons from public places, places open to the public, and places open to public view whether such places are publicly or privately owned is necessary to preserve and maintain the public order and the general welfare of the citizens of this city.

G. It is the intent of the city council to prohibit nudity in public places, places open to the public, and places open to public view whether such places are publicly or privately owned, even when such nudity is not sexually motivated or otherwise lewd.

(Ord. 368 § 1 (part), 1985)

A. It is declared a public nuisance and unlawful for any person to appear on any beach, park, street or in any other public place or place open to the public or exposed to public view, including specifically a view from any private residence or any portion of the real property in the immediate vicinity of such private residence, whether such place is publicly or privately owned, unclothed or in such a state of undress as to expose, in the case of a female, any portion of her breasts below the areolas thereof or in the case of any male or female, any part of his or her pubic or anal region or genitalia.

B. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any acts which take place wholly within a fully enclosed building or any portion thereof; and nothing contained herein shall be construed to prohibit any act or acts which are expressly authorized or prohibited by the Penal Code of the state.

C. Violation of this section shall be an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed the sum of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00).

(Ord. 368 § 1 (part), 1985)

If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this chapter, or the application thereof to any person or place, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter or its application to other persons or places. The city council declares that it would have adopted this chapter, and each section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses, phrases or portions, or the application thereof to any person or place be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. 368 § 1 (part), 1985)