Mendocino County Municipal Code Ch. 14.32 Camping Restrictions on Public and Private Property

This Chapter is enacted for the purpose of prohibiting unauthorized camping on public and private property. The public areas within the County should be readily accessible and available to residents and the public at large. Private property within the County should be reserved for lawful use as approved by the owner or person in lawful possession thereof. The unauthorized use of public and private property within the County for camping purposes or storage of personal property interferes with the rights of others to use the areas for their intended purpose. Such activity frequently lacks adequate provisions for fire safety, sanitation, and refuse disposal and therefore constitutes a public health and safety hazard and adversely impacts the environment. The purpose of this Chapter is to maintain public areas within the County in a clean, sanitary, and accessible condition, to limit access to private property for camping purposes except as approved by the owner or person in lawful possession thereof, and to adequately protect the health, safety, and public welfare of the community. Nothing in this Chapter is intended to interfere with the otherwise lawful, ordinary, and customary use of public or private property or to supersede other County ordinances regulating the use of public property, including, but not limited to Chapters 14.04, 14.08, 14.16 and 14.20 of this Code, nor shall this Chapter be interpreted to permit activity otherwise prohibited by this Code or any other law.

(Ord. No. 4457, § 2, 2-4-2020)

The following words shall have the following meanings, when used in this Chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Camp facilities" means tents, tent-like shelters, tarpaulins, huts, or temporary or permanent structures, when placed on public or private property for the purpose of camping or when used on public or private property to camp. Camp facilities also include recreational or motor vehicles used as camp facilities.

"Camp paraphernalia" means bedrolls, blankets, tarpaulins, cots, beds, sleeping bags, tents, hammocks, mattresses, sleeping pads, portable stoves, barbecues, grills, cooking pots, or similar equipment when placed on public or private property for the purpose of camping or when used to camp. Camp paraphernalia also includes other personal effects and property, when used or stored with camp paraphernalia as described herein.

"Camp site" means the physical area on public or private property occupied by camp facilities and/or at which camp paraphernalia is stored or used for purposes of camping.

"Camping" or "to camp" means the establishment, occupation, operation or maintenance of a camp site and/or the activity of living temporarily in the outdoors, on public or private property, either in the open air or using camp facilities and camp paraphernalia, including the erecting, placement, pitching, storing or using, as applicable, of camp facilities or camp paraphernalia for such purposes.

"Establish" means setting up or moving camp facilities, camp paraphernalia or other equipment, supplies or materials onto public or private property to camp or make ready to camp.

"Floodway" means the area designated as "floodway" on the Flood Boundary Floodway Map issued by the Federal Emergency Management Authority ("FEMA") for the County of Mendocino, regardless of ownership, and any other area within one hundred and fifty (150) feet of the top of the bank of any creek, stream, river, pond, lake, other body of water, or drainage facility, whether naturally occurring or manmade, the purpose of which is to channel water to any creek, stream, river, pond, lake or other body of water.

"Maintain" means keeping, storing, staging, or permitting camp facilities, camp paraphernalia or other equipment, supplies or materials to remain on public or private property to camp or make ready to camp.

"MCC" or "Code" means Mendocino County Code.

"Motor vehicle" means a self-propelled car, truck, van, or other motorized vehicle that can carry two (2) or more persons within an enclosed or enclosable portion thereof.

"Occupy" means to be physically present and/or reside at a camp site.

"Operate" means participating or assisting in establishing or maintaining a camp or camp facility.

"Permanent" means when used in reference to a camp site, camp facilities, camp paraphernalia, or other equipment, supplies or materials: any camp facility, camp paraphernalia or other equipment, supplies or materials that cannot be broken down, packed up, and removed from a camp site as readily as a tent or tent-like structure, as commonly used for temporary recreational camping.

"Private property" means real property that is not public property, including, but not limited to, streets, sidewalks, roads, and improved or unimproved land.

"Public park" means any real property owned or leased or otherwise controlled by the County of Mendocino and which may legally be used for public recreation purposes, including camping. The term "park" is interchangeably used herein with the term "County park."

"Public property" means all real property owned, controlled, or managed by the County of Mendocino including, but not limited to, improved or unimproved land, roads, streets, sidewalks, and alleyways. "Public property" shall also include property owned by the State of California to the extent the State has provided its express or implied consent to the County's exercise of jurisdiction or has failed to regulate the use of its property.

"Recreational or motor vehicles used as camp facilities" means recreational or motor vehicles when placed on public or private property to camp.

"Recreational vehicle" means as defined in California Health and Safety Code sections 18009.3 and 18010.

"Recreational vehicle park or mobile home park" means any area of land within the County licensed pursuant to the California Health and Safety Code as a mobile home park, as defined in California Health and Safety Code section 18214, or a special occupancy park as defined in California Health and Safety Code section 18862.43, which has a currently effective County business license, and in which space is rented or held out for camping.

"Safe camping and/or safe parking facility" means an officially designated location where individuals who lack access to shelter may temporarily camp using camp facilities or recreational or motor vehicles used as camp facilities. Nothing herein shall be construed to permit or allow any other violation of this code unless consistent with adopted rules of operation for such facility.

"Sidewalk" means any area of public property adjacent to a street, or within a parking lot, whether improved or unimproved, and commonly intended or designed for pedestrian use, or other non-vehicular activity.

"Store" means to put aside, accumulate, stage, position for immediate or future use, to put for safekeeping, to place or leave in a location.

"Street" means a street, alley, way, road, roadway, highway, right-of-way, or place of whatever nature, publicly or privately maintained for purposes of vehicular travel.

(Ord. No. 4457, § 2, 2-4-2020)

(A) Except as provided in the MCC, it is unlawful and a public nuisance for any person to camp, or to establish, maintain, operate or occupy a camp site or camp facilities, including a recreational vehicle or motor vehicle used as camp facilities, or store or use camp paraphernalia in or upon the following areas, at any time, unless expressly authorized by the MCC:

(1) Any public park;

(2) Any sidewalk;

(3) Any street or road;

(4) Any other public property not specifically mentioned in this Section;

(5) Any floodway;

(6) Any private property;

(7) Any beach contiguous to the Pacific Ocean;

(8) All that portion of the unincorporated area of Mendocino County designated as the Mendocino Historical Preservation District as described in section 20.760.01 subdivision (A) of the Mendocino County Code;

(9) The public right-of-way along Heeser Drive in the Town of Mendocino to the extent not covered by the preceding subsections;

(10) The public right-of-way on the frontage road, CR 500B, known as Brewery Gulch Road southerly of the Town of Mendocino, between mile post 0.23 and mile post 0.27;

(11) Any public property between US 101 and the Russian River from the Mendocino County line north to the Russian River Bridge south of Hopland;

(12) The public right-of-way on Geysers Road between mile post 0.00 and mile post 0.64.

(B) The prohibitions on camping identified in MCC section 14.32.030(A), (C) and (D) do not apply to:

(1) Camping on private residential property by friends or family of the property owner or person in lawful possession of the property, so long as the owner or lawful occupant consents, that the camping is allowed under the MCC, that it is not in a floodway, and the camping does not otherwise create a public or private nuisance; however, nothing herein shall authorize a private property owner to operate an unauthorized campground, trailer park or recreational vehicle park or grant permission to anyone to camp on their property when such conduct would violate the MCC or any other provision of law.

(2) Mobile home parks and special occupancy parks, licensed campgrounds, recreational vehicle parks, governmentally controlled campgrounds or County parks for which camping is specifically an authorized public use, or other locations where camping is specifically allowed under the MCC or State law.

(3) Camping on public or private property in connection with a special event, when authorized pursuant to any applicable County ordinance.

(4) Recreational or motor vehicles, except as stated in Section 14.32.030(A)(8)—(11) or (C), used as camp facilities that are legally parked occupying a space equal to the dimensions of the vehicle, and do not remain parked longer than the posted time limit, if any, or twelve (12) hours, whichever is less.

(5) Camping or parking of a recreational or motor vehicle, in a public park or areas therein as are expressly posted by the Park Authority, as defined in MCC Chapter 14.28, for such purpose, but only for a maximum of fourteen (14) nights; this includes but is not limited to Indian Creek Campground, in the vicinity of Philo.

(6) Camping in any public park or upon any ocean beach when authorized by this Code and/or State regulations.

(C) The establishment, maintenance, operation, or occupation of a camp or camp facilities, or storage or use of camp paraphernalia, outside a vehicle is prohibited unless specifically permitted by the MCC, even when the prohibition on camping does not otherwise apply pursuant to MCC section 14.32.030(B)(4).

(D) Establishment, maintenance, operation or occupation of permanent camp sites or camp facilities or camp paraphernalia for camping and/or attaching permanent structures to trees or other on-site fixtures and the associated use or installation of building materials, pallets, ropes, wire, fencing or similar materials is prohibited.

(Ord. No. 4457, § 2, 2-4-2020; Ord. No. 4475, § 1, 11-17-2020)

(A) The involuntary sitting, lying or sleeping of a homeless person with no reasonable access to alternative shelter shall not be deemed to be a violation of MCC sections 14.32.030(A)(2) or (4), so long as:

(1) The person does not establish, maintain, operate or occupy a camp facility between the hours of six o'clock (6:00) A.M. and ten o'clock (10:00) P.M.; and

(2) The person does not establish, maintain, operate or occupy a camp site or camp facilities, or use camp paraphernalia within an area larger than sixty-four (64) square feet per person; and

(3) The activities of the person do not preclude the ordinary and/or customary use of any sidewalk or other public property.

(B) It shall be prima facie evidence that a person has reasonable access to an alternative shelter when:

(1) The person is informed of a location of a homeless shelter or safe camping or safe parking facility, currently in operation within the County that provides reasonable accommodations for the person; and

(2) Such shelter is actually available to the person; and

(3) Such shelter is reasonably accessible from the person's current location; and

(4) The shelter does not require the person to engage in religious services objectionable to that person; and

(5) The person voluntarily refuses to utilize or sleep in such shelter.

(Ord. No. 4457, § 2, 2-4-2020)

It is unlawful and a public nuisance for any person to store or maintain camp paraphernalia, except as otherwise permitted at a particular location, in the following areas:

(A) Any public property;

(B) Any floodway; or

(C) Outside a structure on any private property without the consent of the owner.

(Ord. No. 4457, § 2, 2-4-2020)

(A) Whenever any person commits any act that is declared by this Chapter to be a misdemeanor, he or she may be arrested by a peace officer legally empowered to enforce laws adopted by County ordinances pertaining to County parks. If such arrested person does not demand to be taken before a magistrate, such person may, instead of being taken before a magistrate, be released according to the procedure set forth in Sections 853.6 et seq., of the California Penal Code, which provide for the issuance and enforcement of citations for misdemeanors.

(B) If personal service on the individual found to be in violation of this Chapter is not possible, service of the citation will be valid and proper if the notice of citation is firmly affixed to a conspicuous object in the camp site, or to a vehicle or structure.

(Ord. No. 4457, § 2, 2-4-2020)

A first offense of any violation of this Chapter shall be deemed an infraction and punished as prescribed in Government Code Section 25132. Any second or subsequent violations of this Chapter shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the County jail for not more than six (6) months, or both. Every day any violation of this Chapter continues shall constitute a separate offense. "The section is not the exclusive remedy for violation of this Chapter. This Chapter may be enforced by any other legally available remedy, such as through civil penalties pursuant to MCC Chapter 1.08."

(Ord. No. 4457, § 2, 2-4-2020)

The provisions of this Chapter are hereby declared to be severable. If any provision, clause, word, sentence or paragraph of this Chapter or the application thereof to any person, establishment, or circumstances shall be held invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the other provisions or application of this Chapter.

(Ord. No. 4457, § 2, 2-4-2020)