Laguna Niguel Municipal Code Art. 1 Prohibition of Public Nudity

The city council finds and determines as follows:

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

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

(3) The presence of persons who are nude and exposed to public view in or on public rights-of-way, public parks, public beaches or any other public land, or in or on any private property open to public view from any public right-of-way, public beach, public park or other public land, tends to discourage the use and enjoyment of the public beaches, parks and places of the city, creates a nuisance and is offensive to members of the public who wish to use and enjoy such public beaches, parks and places, and who are unwillingly exposed to such persons.

(4) The prohibition of nude persons from public places, places open to the public and places open to public view is necessary to preserve and maintain the public order and the general welfare of the citizens of the city.

(5) 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, even when such nudity is not sexually motivated or otherwise lewd.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 3, 3-6-90)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Nude means devoid of an opaque covering over any one of the following parts of the human anatomy: the genitals, pubic hair, buttocks, natal cleft, perineum, anal region, pubic hair region, or any portion of the female breast below the top of the areola thereof.

Public right-of-way means any place of any nature which is dedicated to use by the public for pedestrian and vehicular travel, and includes but is not limited to a street, sidewalk, curb, gutter, crossing, intersection, parkway, highway, alley, lane, mall, court, way, avenue, boulevard, road, roadway, viaduct, subway, tunnel, bridge, thoroughfare, square and any other similar public way or place.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 3, 3-6-90)

Cross reference— Definitions generally, § 1-1-18.

(a) Every person over the age of ten years is guilty of a misdemeanor who is nude and exposed to public view in or on any public right-of-way, public park, public beach or waters adjacent thereto, or other public land, or in or on any private property open to public view from any public right-of-way, public beach, public park or other public land.

(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 in this section shall be construed to prohibit any act which is expressly authorized or not prohibited by the Penal Code of the state.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 3, 3-6-90)