Fairfield Municipal Code Art. VIII Camping and Storage of Personal Property

The public streets and public property within the City should be readily accessible and available to residents and the public at large. The use of these areas for camping purposes or storage of personal property interferes with the rights of others to use the areas for which they were intended. Camping on private property without the consent of the owner, without proper sanitary measures, and for other than a minimal duration affects private property rights as well as public health and safety. The purpose of this article is to maintain streets, parks, and other public and private areas within the City in a clean and accessible condition and to adequately protect the health, safety, and welfare of the community, while recognizing that, subject to reasonable conditions, camping associated with special events can be beneficial to the City’s cultural and educational climate.

(Ord. No. 2001-05, § 2; Ord. No. 2017-11, § 1)

Unless the particular provisions or the context otherwise requires, the definitions contained in this section shall govern the construction, meaning and application of words and phrases used in this article.

(a)

"Camp"

means to pitch, maintain, or occupy camp facilities, or to use camp paraphernalia, in such a way as to reasonably appear, in light of all circumstances, that a person(s) is using the area occupied as a living accommodation, regardless of his or her intent or the nature of any other activities in which he or she might also be engaging.

(b)

"Camp facilities"

include, but are not limited to, tents, huts or temporary shelters.

(c)

"Camp paraphernalia"

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

(d)

"Park"

means the same as defined in Chapter 12B of this Code.

(e)

"Store"

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

(f)

"Public street"

means the same as defined in Chapter 16 of this Code.

(g)

"Public property"

means all public property including, but not limited to, streets, sidewalks, alleys, parks, plazas, waterways, parking lots, and improved or unimproved land.

(Ord. No. 2001-05, § 3; Ord. No. 2017-11, §§ 2, 3)

It shall be unlawful for any person to camp in the following areas, except as otherwise provided:

(a) Any public property.

(b) Any private property.

(1) This Section does not prohibit overnight camping on private residential property by friends or family of the property owner or lawful occupant, so long as the owner or lawful occupant consents and the overnight camping is limited to not more than one consecutive night.

(2) Nothing in this Article is intended to prohibit or make unlawful the activities of an owner or lawful occupant of private property that are normally associated with and incidental to the lawful and authorized use of private property for residential or other purposes, or where such activities are expressly authorized by the City’s laws, ordinances, and other regulations.

(3) The City may issue a temporary permit to allow camping on public or private property in connection with certain temporary events, as provided in Chapter 12A, Chapter 12B, and Section 25.32.8.

(Ord. 2001-05, § 4; Ord. No. 2017-11, § 4)

It shall be unlawful for any person to store personal property, including camp facilities and camp paraphernalia, in the following areas, except as otherwise provided:

(a) Any public property.

(b) Any private property without the consent of the property owner.

(Ord. 2001-05, § 5; Ord. No. 2017-11, § 5)

Violations of this Article shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Ord. 2001-05, § 6; Ord. No. 2025-03, § 1)

If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, clause or phrase in this ordinance, or any part thereof, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining sections or portions of this ordinance or any part thereof. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases may be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. 2001-05, § 7)