Ceres Municipal Code Ch. 08 Obstruction of Public Streets and Sidewalks

A. It shall be deemed an infraction to obstruct any street or alley within the City by leaving or allowing to remain in such street or alley any wagon, truck, automobile, float or other vehicle, or by placing or allowing to remain in any such street or alley anything of a large or bulky nature which may obstruct the free passage through the street or alley.

B. No person shall loiter, stand or sit in or upon any public highway, street, alley, sidewalk or crosswalk so as to in any manner hinder or obstruct the free passage of persons or vehicles passing along the same or so as to in any manner annoy or molest persons passing along the same.

C. No person shall place, deposit or dump or cause to be placed, deposited or dumped any dirt, rocks, gravel, mud or other objects of any nature or description on the traveled portions of any City street, highway or alley. No person shall place, deposit or dump or cause to be placed, deposited or dumped any dirt, rocks, gravel, mud or any objects of any nature or description whatsoever in, on or against or in such a manner as to obstruct any natural or artificial storm drains running through or under any City street or highway. Such obstructions constitute a public nuisance which may be abated in accordance with title 19.

D. No person shall place, deposit, or dump, or caused to be placed, deposited, or dumped any glass or other sharp substances likely to wound the feet of animals or persons, or likely to puncture the tires of any vehicle.

(Ord. No. 2020-1057, § 2, 3-23-2020)

The prohibition of obstruction of streets as found in this chapter shall not include the following:

A. The placement of waste wheelers in the street for collection purposes at the times and subject to the conditions as stated in section 6.01.050.B of the Ceres Municipal Code.

B. Material placed in the street during the City's leaf and limb pickup program as authorized by section 6.01.050.C of the Ceres Municipal Code.

C. Items placed upon the public street or sidewalk for a scheduled pickup by the City's garbage franchisee.

D. The temporary placement of dumpsters in the public street or sidewalk during construction or property cleanup.

E. Any other item whose placement upon the public street or sidewalk is authorized by the Ceres Municipal Code, State law or Federal law.

(Ord. No. 2020-1057, § 2, 3-23-2020)

It is unlawful and constitutes an infraction for any person to:

A. Ride or drive a horse or team upon a sidewalk except as may be necessary to enter or leave adjacent property.

B. Operate, move or park a bicycle upon a sidewalk which has a "no bike" or "no bicycle" notice painted or posted thereon, except to enter or leave adjacent property.

C. To ride on a skateboard upon a city walk which has a "No Skateboards" notice painted or posted thereon.

D. To deposit or cause to be deposited upon a sidewalk any obstruction, except that paper, garbage, trash and/or rubbish may be deposited at the curb pursuant to chapter 6.01 after 5:00 p.m. of a day immediately prior to the day scheduled for garbage collection. As used in this section, the term "obstruction" shall mean any object which impedes or interferes with pedestrian traffic. "Obstruction" does not include the carrying on of the business of vending on a sidewalk if operating in compliance with chapter 17 of title 5 of this Code. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection D to the contrary, the City Manager may, upon written application therefor, grant permission on a day to day basis to any person to place objects in the nature of obstructions on sidewalks, provided that the objects are not unsightly or dangerous and will provide a service or benefit to the public generally.

(Ord. No. 2020-1057, § 2, 3-23-2020)

Should an obstruction be placed upon a public street or sidewalk in such a manner and under circumstances which constitute an immediate threat to the public health and safety, the obstruction may be immediately removed without notice by the use of City forces or by contract provider without prior notice to either the owner of the obstruction or the adjacent property owner. Such removal may be made at either the direction of the City Manager or authorized designee.

(Ord. No. 2020-1057, § 2, 3-23-2020)

Upon the issuance of a third citation within a 12-month period for a violation of the provisions of this chapter, the City may elect to remove the obstruction from the public street or sidewalk.

(Ord. No. 2020-1057, § 2, 3-23-2020)

A. Upon the removal of an obstruction from a public street or sidewalk by the City pursuant to section 12.08.040 or 12.08.050 of this chapter, the City shall take the following steps:

1. If the obstruction is junk, garbage, or other item(s) which has no apparent value, the City may immediately destroy or otherwise dispose of the item(s) without notice to any person.

2. If the obstruction appears to have some reasonable value, the City shall send by first class U.S. mail a "Notice of Removal of Obstruction" to the owner of the item(s), if known. If the owner of the item(s) is not known, the notice shall be sent to the owner of the property immediately adjacent to the location of the obstruction as shown on the latest Stanislaus County Assessor's Roll. The notice shall contain the following information:

a. A brief description of the item(s) removed;

b. The location where the item(s) are being stored;

c. The date after which the item(s) will be destroyed or otherwise disposed of, which date shall not be less than ten days from the mailing of the notice;

d. A statement that the item(s) may be retrieved by the owner prior to their destruction or disposal date by presentation of proof of ownership (which may be by sworn declaration) and payment of costs incurred by the City for removal and storage, which costs may include administrative costs;

e. A statement of the costs incurred to date.

3. If the item(s) are not retrieved by the owner within the prescribed period, the City may destroy or dispose of the item(s) or treat the item(s) as surplus City property.

(Ord. No. 2020-1057, § 2, 3-23-2020)

If an obstruction is removed pursuant to either section 12.08.040 or 12.08.050 of this chapter, the person who placed the obstruction shall be responsible for the payment of the reasonable cost incurred by the City for the removal, storage and destruction of the obstruction, including all reasonable cost of administration.

The following procedure shall be followed for the assessment and collection of the costs authorized by this section:

A. A "notice of costs" shall be personally delivered or sent by U.S. mail to the person or persons who placed or caused the placement of the obstruction. The notice shall contain the following:

1. An itemized statement of all costs;

2. A statement that if the person or persons assessed the costs maintains a City utility account, and the costs are not paid within 30 days of the mailing of the notice, the costs may be assessed to and collected as part of their utility service account and that failure to pay the costs will result in a termination of utility services.

(Ord. No. 2020-1057, § 2, 3-23-2020)

A. No person shall install, use, or maintain any news rack which projects onto, into or over any part of the roadway of any public street, or which rests, wholly or in part, upon, along or over any portion of a roadway.

B. No person shall install, use, or maintain any news rack which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any sidewalk or parkway, when such installation, use or maintenance endangers the safety of persons or property, or when such site or location is used for public utility purposes, public transportation purposes or other government use, or when such news rack unreasonably interferes with or impedes the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, the ingress into or egress from any residence, place of business, or any legally parked or stopped vehicle, or the use of poles, posts, traffic signs or signals, hydrants, mailboxes, or other objects permitted at or near the location, or when such news rack interferes with the cleaning of any sidewalk by the use of mechanical sidewalk cleaning machinery.

(Ord. No. 2020-1057, § 2, 3-23-2020)