Compton Municipal Code § 7-14 Obstruction of Public and Private Passageways

[Added by Ord. #1577, § 4709]

a. Merchandise or Signs or Public Property. No person shall place any merchandise or article of personal property upon any property between the building line of any building and the public sidewalk, public street, parkways, within the business district, or without, or any other area, without first having gotten written permission from the City Council. Nor shall any person place any sign, or display any merchandise or article of personal property between the building line of any building thereon and the public sidewalk where the owner of such property permits or consents to the public using such property as a thoroughfare.

b. Soliciting Business on Public Streets. No owner or employee of any place of business where goods are sold or offered for sale, or where any service is rendered, shall use any portion of the sidewalk in front of such place of business or adjacent thereto or elsewhere for the purpose of soliciting, requesting or enticing any other person to enter any such place of business to examine, purchase or give any order for the purchase of any goods; and no such person shall solicit, request or entice any person to enter any such place of business to bargain for or avail himself of the service rendered by or in any place of business.

c. Soliciting for Business; Itinerant Salesman. No person shall solicit, offer, request, entice or seek an offer to buy goods on a public street, parkway, alley or other public property without first having obtained a business license as required by Chapter 9, §§ 9-1, 9-2 and 9-5.

[Added by Ord. #1577, § 4709.1]

a. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to boxes, barrels or other receptacles containing merchandise delivered to any person whose building or business abuts the public property referred to above. These receptacles may be unpacked and their contents removed provided that the contents are removed immediately and such receptacles are immediately removed from the property.

b. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to any box or receptacle placed upon any property for the purpose of receiving bakery or dairy products.

[Ord. #1577, § 4709.2; Ord. #1694, § 1; Ord. #1990, § 1]

a. Public Property. No person or persons, after first being warned by a law enforcement officer, or where a sign or signs prohibiting loitering has been posted, shall willfully and maliciously loiter, stand, sit or lie in or upon any public street, sidewalk, walkway area or mall so as to create or cause to create any of the following:

1. Hinder or obstruct the free passage of pedestrians thereon; or

2. Block, obstruct, or prevent the free access to the entrance to any building open to the public; or

3. Stand in any roadway other than in a safety zone or in a crosswalk if such action obstructs or impedes the lawful movement of traffic. This provision shall not apply to any public officer or employee, or employee of a public utility when necessarily upon street in line of duty.

b. Private Property Open to Public. No person or persons, after first being warned by a law enforcement officer, or where a sign or signs prohibiting loitering has been posted, shall willfully and maliciously loiter, stand, sit or lie in or upon any portion of private property utilized for public use, so as to create or cause to create any of the following:

1. Hinder or obstruct the free passage of pedestrians thereon; or

2. Block, obstruct, or prevent the free access to the entrance to any building open to the public; or

3. Stand in any roadway other than in a safety zone or in a crosswalk if such action obstructs or impedes the lawful movement of traffic. This provision shall not apply to any public officer or employee, or employee of a public utility when necessarily upon street in line of duty.

c. Without Lawful Purpose.

1. Every person who shall loiter or wander without apparent reason or business, and who refuses to identify himself and account for his presence when requested to so do by a peace officer, if the surrounding circumstances are such as to indicate to a reasonable person that the public safety demands such identification, shall be guilty of loitering. Loitering, as used in this section, is defined in Subsection 7-2.3 of this Code.

d. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to prohibit persons from sitting on public benches or other public facilities provided for such purposes.

[Ord. #1888, § 1]

a. No person shall enter or be present upon any private property or portion of private property not open to the general public without the consent of the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession, where signs forbidding entry are displayed as provided in Paragraph f.

b. No person shall enter upon any private property or portion of private property, not open to the general public, who within the immediately preceding six months was advised as follows: to leave and not return, and that if he or she returns to the property within six months of the advisement he or she will be subject to arrest. This advisement must be made by the owner, the owner's agent, the person in lawful possession or a peace officer at the request of the owner, owner's agent, or person in lawful possession. The advisement shall be documented in writing by the individual making it and shall include the name of the person advised, the date, approximate time, address and type of property involved. Such documentation shall be retained for a minimum period of one year. This subsection is not violated if a person so advised enters the property within the designated six month period, if he or she has been expressly authorized to do so by the owner, the owner's agent or a person in lawful possession.

c. Entry Requiring Express Consent of Owner.

1. No person shall enter or be present upon private property not open to the general public without the express consent of the owner or the owner's agent when that person:

(a) Has been convicted of any violation of the law involving narcotics, prostitution, vandalism, weapons, disturbance of the peace, loitering, threat to commit a violent act, or a violent act on same private property not open to the general public, whether or not such property is posted in accordance with Paragraph f; and

(b) Has subsequent to the conviction been told to leave and not return to that same property, by the owner, the owner's agent or a peace officer, the request of the owner or the owner's agent.

2. The request to leave must be made within six months of the date of the conviction and shall be documented in writing by the individual making the request. The documentation of the request shall include the name of the person being requested to leave, the date, the approximate time, the address and the type of property involved.

3. This paragraph applies even if the person has the consent of a person in lawful possession but does not apply to persons who have a right of lawful possession to the subject property. An individual who has the consent of the person in lawful possession may not be refused entry by the owner or the owner's agent for a period exceeding 12 months, computed from the date of the request.

d. No person shall enter or be present upon any private property or portion of private property open to the general public who within the immediately preceding 24 hours was advised to leave and not return, and that if he or she returns to the property within 24 hours of the advisement, he or she will be subject to arrest. This advisement must be made by the owner, the owner's agent, the person in lawful possession or a peace officer at the request of the owner, owner's agent or the person in lawful possession. A request to leave may be made only if it is rationally related to the services performed or the facilities provided.

e. The term "private property" shall mean any real property, including but not limited to, buildings, structures, yards, open spaces, walkways, courtyards, driveways, carports, parking areas and vacant lots, except land which is used exclusively for agricultural purposes, owned by any person or legal entity other than property owned or lawfully possessed by any governmental entity or agency.

f. For purposes of Paragraph a, one sign must be printed or posted in a conspicuous manner at every walkway and driveway entering any enclosed property or portion thereof and at a minimum of every 50 feet along the boundary of any unenclosed lot. This requirement is met if at least one sign is conspicuously printed or posted on the outside of every structure on such property, so as to be readable from each walkway and driveway entering such property. The sign shall state as follows:

The language "THIS PROPERTY CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC No Entry Without Permission" on said sign shall be at least two inches high.

g. When a peace officer's assistance in dealing with a trespass is requested, the owner, owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession shall make a separate request to the peace officer on each occasion. However, a single request for a peace officer's assistance may be made to cover a limited period of time not to exceed 12 months when such request is made in writing and provides the specific dates of the authorization period.

h. This subsection shall not apply in any of the following instances: (1) When its application results in, or is coupled with, any act prohibited by the Unruh Civil Rights Act, or any other provision of law relating to prohibited discrimination against any person; (2) when its application results in, or is coupled with, an act prohibited by Section 365 of the California Penal Code, or any other provision of law relating to the duties of innkeepers; (3) when public officers or employees are acting within the course and scope of their employment or in the performance of their official duties; or (4) when persons are engaging in activities protected by the United States Constitution or the California Constitution or when persons are engaging in acts which are expressly required or permitted by any provision of law.

i. Violation of any of the provisions of this subsection shall be a misdemeanor or an infraction.

j. If any part or provision of this subsection, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this section, including the application of that part or provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, the provisions of this subsection are severable.

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Editor's Note: Former Subsection 7-14.5, Street Banners, previously codified herein and containing portions of Ordinance No. 1577, was repealed in its entirety by Ordinance No. 2211. See § 19-10 for street banners.