Morro Bay Municipal Code Ch. 8.26 Public Property Camping Regulations

A. As the city continues to offer assistance and services to persons experiencing homelessness, the city must appropriately consider various interests and formulate policy to best protect public health, safety, welfare, property, and the environment, with its limited resources.

B. The city council acknowledges that at the time of the adoption of this ordinance, there is a lack of nightly shelter beds and housing available regionally for persons experiencing homelessness and recognizes the systemic lack of state and federal investment in shelter and public health services for those experiencing homelessness.

C. The city council acknowledges that it is currently unavoidable that some persons will live or shelter for survival outdoors until they are able to access affordable or free shelter or housing. In Morro Bay, this has typically meant sheltering, sometimes for extended periods of time, on city rights-of-way and city property, and at times on other public agency property such as the California Department of Parks and Recreation property.

D. Public rights-of-way and public property are generally intended for public use and travel. The city council is the authority for rights-of-way within the city; as such, the city must consider the safety of motorists and pedestrians travelling on roadways and sidewalks, including to and from neighboring properties, businesses, and residences.

E. The city owns limited property where camping can or should be allowed for reasons including but not limited to public health and safety concerns and issues created by the impact of camping on public property.

F. The city has had increasing concerns regarding public health and safety due to camping on or in rights-of way and public property in or near streets, roads, sidewalks, schools, residences, businesses, critical infrastructure, public access points and similar locations. Public utility properties (e.g., stormwater, water, sewer) are environmentally and operationally sensitive and generally closed to the public or have limited access for safety, environmental and security reasons.

G. Over the long term and working with other governmental agencies and non-profit organizations, the city's goal is that people should not have to live outside and there should be safer options because long-term camping for survival and sheltering outside is not a solution for people without homes.

H. It is the purpose and intent of the city council to provide standards for camping and survival sheltering on city rights-of-way and public property, which are intended to be as compatible as possible with the needs of everyone in Morro Bay to be healthy, safe, and have access to public places.

I. Smaller camp sites support both the health and safety of people who are camping for survival on public property as well as the health and safety of the public.

J. It is the purpose and intent of the city council to provide standards for camping and survival sheltering on city rights-of-way and public property which will address issues such as fire risk, unsanitary conditions, health risks, public infrastructure security, public access impediments, trash, waste and public safety hazards to both people camping as well as neighboring businesses, residents and community members, as well as environmental degradation, which have occurred with longer-term camping in the city.

K. It is the intent of the city to evaluate each removal of an established campsite with considerations of public health and safety, including for the people who are sheltering in the camps, potential user conflicts, and available resources. The city intends to use a team approach and coordinate with other governmental agencies and non-profit organizations as appropriate. When the city requires a person experiencing homelessness to remove an established campsite, through these regulations, it intends to provide the person adequate time to remove the established campsite before the city removes the established campsite, to secure any personal property with reasonable utility or reasonable value for the person to retrieve at a later date, and to clean the former established campsite to address threats to public health and safety.

(Ord. No. 665, § 2, 1-9-24)

The following words and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meaning ascribed to them by this section unless it is apparent from the context that another meaning is intended.

"Camp" or "camping" means residing in or using any public property for one or more nights for living accommodation purposes, such as sleeping activities or making preparations to sleep (including the laying down of bedding for the purpose of sleeping), or using any tents, or storing personal belongings (including but not limited to clothing, sleeping bags, bedrolls, blankets, sheets, luggage, backpacks, kitchen utensils, cookware, and similar material), or making any fire using Bunsen burners or other heating items, or regularly cooking meals. These activities constitute camping when it reasonably appears, in light of all the circumstances, that a person is using public property as a living accommodation for one or more nights, with the intent to camp.

"Camp facilities" include, but are not limited to, tents, huts, or similar temporary shelters consisting of any material with a top or roof or any other upper covering or that is otherwise enclosed by sides that is of sufficient size for a person to fit underneath or inside while sitting or lying down and includes the use of a tarp or other material tied or affixed to a structure or bush to create an enclosed area.

"Camp materials" includes but is not limited to, tarpaulins, cots, beds, sleeping bags, hammocks, shopping carts, recyclable material and/or non-city designated cooking or heating facilities and similar equipment, or personal possessions that would facilitate one's use of a park, public property, or any portion of the public right-of-way as a temporary residence.

"Critical infrastructure" means real property or a facility, whether privately or publicly owned, that the city manager designates as being so vital and integral to the operation or functioning of the city or in need of protection that its damage, incapacity, disruption, or destruction would have a debilitating impact on the public health, safety, or welfare. Critical infrastructure may include, but is not limited to, government buildings, such as fire stations, police stations, jails, or courthouses; hospitals; structures, such as antennas, bridges, roads, train tracks, drainage systems, or levees; or systems, such as computer networks, public utilities, electrical wires, natural gas pipes, telecommunication centers, or water sources.

"Enforcement personnel" means the employee(s) of the city, including but not limited to sworn police officers, authorized by the city to seek compliance with, and enforce, the regulations, requirements and rules of this chapter.

"Established campsite" means a location or locations in the public right-of-way or on city property where a camp, camps, and/or camp materials have been set up for twenty-four hours or more.

"Fire severity zones" means mapped area as defined by the office of state fire marshal that designates zones (based on factors such as fuel, slope, and fire weather) with varying degrees of fire hazard (i.e., moderate, high, and very high).

"Greywater" means untreated wastewater from bathtubs, showers, bathroom washbasins, clothes washing machines and the like. It does not include any toilet discharge, unhealthy bodily wastes, or manufacturing wastes.

"Hazardous water" means sewage, toilet discharge, unhealthy bodily wastes, manufacturing wastes and the like.

"Landscaped area" means any manicured or natural ground covered areas including but not limited to flower beds, bushes, brush areas, or shrubs.

"Personal property" means any tangible property and includes, but is not limited to, goods, materials, merchandise, tents, tarpaulins, bedding, blankets, sleeping bags, personal items such as household items, luggage, backpacks, clothing, food, documents, and medication.

"Playground" means any park or recreational area specifically designed to be used by children that has play equipment installed, or any similar facility located on public or private school grounds, or on city, county, or state park grounds.

"Public property" means any publicly owned property in the city, whether improved or unimproved, including, but not limited to, any of the following: public alleyways; public parking lots; public passageways; public streets; public rights-of-way; park playgrounds; freeway on-ramps and off-ramps; publicly owned, maintained, or operated parks; publicly owned, maintained, or operated landscaped areas or greenbelts; publicly owned fences, trees, light poles, or equipment boxes; publicly owned, maintained, or operated open spaces including, but not limited to, public facilities or buildings of any kind; public sidewalks, curbs, and gutters; public educational institutions; or other government owned, maintained, or operated properties located within the city.

"Public utilities" means every common carrier, toll bridge corporation, pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation, telephone corporation, telegraph corporation, water corporation, sewer system corporation, and heat corporation, where the service is performed for, or the commodity is delivered to, the public or any portion thereof, as defined by Public Utilities Code Section 216, and as amended.

"Rights-of-way" means all city-owned or controlled rights-of-way, whether in fee title or as holder of a public easement for right-of-way or public access purposes. Public rights-of-way include but are not limited to any public road, street, sidewalk, or private street or other property that is subject to a public access easement dedicated or granted to the city for vehicular use, pedestrian use, utilities or other means, and any planter strip or landscaped area located adjacent to or contained within streets that is part of the public right-of-way.

"School" means any institution, facility or organization, whether public or private, that offers instruction on those courses of study required by the California Education Code or that is maintained pursuant to standards set by the State Board of Education. School for purposes of this section does not include a vocational or professional institutions of higher education, including a community or junior college, college, or university. The setback shall be calculated from the school property boundaries.

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

"Transportation facility loading area" means that area within two hundred feet of where trains, buses or any form of public transportation loads or unloads passengers.

"Vehicle" means a "motor vehicle" as defined by California Vehicle Code, Section 415 and includes a "recreational vehicle" as defined by California Health and Safety Code, Section 18010(a).

(Ord. No. 665, § 2, 1-9-24)

Persons who do not have any other permanent residence or domicile and/or are involuntarily experiencing homelessness are permitted to camp on public property or rights-of-way, provided the camping is occurring in compliance with the following time, place and manner regulations and consistent with any administrative rules and policies promulgated by the city manager, or designee, adopted after the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived, in accordance with this chapter.

1. Time. Unless otherwise specified, any camping or camp, where allowed, may only occur for twenty-four hours at a time in any one location. After twenty-four hours in one location, the camp and all associated camp materials must be moved at least one street block or six hundred feet, whichever is greater, to another allowed location.

2. Place. Camping is not allowed at any time in any of the following places:

a. Within two hundred feet of a residentially zoned property boundary or within any area zoned residential, as determined by the city of Morro Bay Zoning Map and the Morro Bay Municipal Code.

b. Within any mixed use overlay zone, as determined by the city of Morro Bay zoning map and the Morro Bay Municipal Code.

c. Any place where camping, a camp, or camp materials create a physical impediment preventing emergency or non-emergency ingress, egress or access to public or private property, including but not limited to, on public sidewalks or other public rights-of-way, driveways providing access to vehicles, and entrances or exits from buildings and/or other real property.

d. Any vehicle lane, bicycle lane, or roundabout within any public rights-of-way or transportation facility loading area.

e. Within one thousand feet from any shelter both established for emergency evacuations as well as approved under the Morro Bay Municipal Code and/or approved consistent with any applicable provision of state or federal law.

f. On any street or public rights-of-way, the city has closed to camping due to construction, heavy vehicle use, or other use of the roadway that is incompatible with camping in the rights-of-way. The city does not need to close a street to vehicle traffic, to close a street to camping under this section.

g. Within, or within two hundred feet of, any school.

h. Within, or within two hundred feet of, any playground.

i. Within, or within two hundred feet of, any area designated as visitor serving commercial (VSC), as determined by the city of Morro Bay zoning map and the Morro Bay Municipal Code.

j. At the following public property: Morro Bay City Hall, Morro Bay Community Center, Morro Bay Veterans Hall, Morro Bay Public Library, Morro Bay Centennial Parkway and Stairway, and such further designations made in writing by the city manager, or her or his designee, upon the written recommendation of the Morro Bay police chief and the Morro bay fire chief.

k. Within, or within two hundred feet of, critical infrastructure.

l. Within, or within two hundred feet of, either a very high fire severity zone or a high fire severity zone.

3. Manner. Camping, when and where allowed, is subject to all of the following limitations and regulations:

a. Individuals, camp materials, camps, or personal property may not obstruct, block, prevent access to, or impede: sidewalk accessibility or passage; clear vision of moving vehicles or bicycles; usage of fire hydrants; usage or function of public utilities, critical infrastructure, or other city infrastructure; or, otherwise obstruct, block, prevent access to, or impede the use of the rights-of-way for vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle, or other passage.

b. A camp or camping shall be limited to a spatial footprint of no greater than twelve feet by twelve feet, or one hundred forty-four square feet, and shall have a smaller footprint if necessary to comply with the restrictions set forth in this chapter. The intent of this section is to allow a person to sleep protected from the elements and maintain the essentials for living, while still allowing others to use public spaces as designed and intended.

c. To prevent larger camping sites from forming and the impacts to public health and safety that can result, a camp shall not be within a one hundred fifty-foot radius of any other camp.

d. Individuals may not accumulate, discard, or leave behind garbage, debris, unsanitary or hazardous materials, or other items of no reasonable utility or reasonable value, as determined by the city, in public rights-of-way, on city property, or on any adjacent public or private property.

e. Open flames, recreational fires, burning of garbage, bonfires, or other fires, flames, or heating deemed unsafe by the Morro Bay Fire Department, or the Morro Bay Police Department, are prohibited. Types of flameless cooking stoves and other flameless devices for keeping warm, as consistent with this subsection, are permitted.

f. Dumping of greywater or hazardous water into any facilities or places not intended for greywater or hazardous water disposal is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to city streets, public rights-of-way, public waterways and storm drains, which are not intended for disposal of greywater or hazardous water.

g. Unauthorized connections or taps to public utilities, including but not limited to such connections or taps that cross over city property, roadways, rights-of-way, driveways, streets, sidewalks, and fences, are prohibited.

h. Violations of building codes, fire codes, and other relevant codes or standards for health and safety, are prohibited.

i. Obstruction of, or attachment of camp materials or personal property to, fire hydrants, utility poles, public utilities infrastructure, public infrastructure, fences, trees, vegetation, vehicles, or buildings is prohibited.

j. Individuals may not build or erect structures, whether by using plywood, wood materials, pallets, or other materials. Items such as tents, and similar items used for shelter that are readily portable, are not structures for purposes of this section.

k. Storage of personal property such as vehicle tires, bicycles, or associated components (except as needed for an individual's personal use), gasoline, generators, lumber, household furniture, propane tanks, combustible material or gases, or other items or materials, is prohibited, other than what is related to camping, sleeping, or keeping warm and dry.

l. Digging, excavation, terracing of soil, alteration of ground, water or infrastructure, or damage to vegetation or trees is prohibited.

m. All animals, in the custody, ownership or companionship of an individual, must be leashed or crated at all times.

n. Camps shall consist of no more than two persons, two animals (e.g., dogs) that are leashed or crated at all times, and one tent.

(Ord. No. 665, § 2, 1-9-24)

A. Voluntary Compliance. Before enforcement actions are taken in respect to this chapter (with the exception of enforcement of subsection B.3., the enforcement personnel shall make a good faith effort to contact the person violating this chapter and provide a reasonable opportunity to cure or remedy the alleged violation. Enforcement personnel shall make a good faith effort to determine whether the person subject to enforcement has been referred to service providers and/or local non-profit assistance organizations and make a referral if it appears none has been made. The following shall be communicated to the person in a manner designed to help them understand the alleged violation:

1. A written or verbal description or identification of the activity constituting the alleged violation and identification of the recipient as being the person responsible for the violation;

2. A written or verbal statement that the enforcement personnel has determined the activity to be a violation;

3. A written or verbal statement of the action required to fix the violation and the time and/or date by which the violation must be fixed; and

4. A written or verbal statement advising that if the violation is not fixed within the time specified, enforcement actions may be imposed.

B. Notice of Violation.

1. Seventy-Two-Hour Notice. Prior to implementing any of the enforcement mechanisms provided for in this chapter to remove an established campsite and/or camp facilities because of violations of this chapter, the enforcement personnel shall provide occupants of an established campsite or camp facilities, at least seventy-two hours in advance of any action to remove the established campsite or camp facilities, notice both to remove the camp within seventy-two hours consistent with the requirements of this chapter as well as of the intent by the city to remove the established campsite or camp facilities in no less than seventy-two hours (the "notice"). The notice shall be in writing and shall be posted on or near the established campsite or camp facilities, so as to reasonably communicate the notice to persons living at the established campsite or camp facilities but not present during the attempt to provide notice. In addition, the enforcement personnel shall make a good faith effort to personally provide the written notice to the occupant(s) of the established campsite or camp facilities present at the time the enforcement personnel posts the notice. Failure of the occupant(s) of the encampment to comply with the notice's requirements to remove the camp within seventy-two hours consistent with the requirements of this chapter shall constitute a violation of this chapter. The notice shall contain the following information:

a. The location of the established campsite or camp facilities;

b. The date and time notice was posted;

c. A statement that the established campsite or camp facilities violates this chapter;

d. An advisement that the city will remove the established campsite or camp facilities seventy-two hours after the date and time of the notice;

e. Information about any housing, shelter or homeless services available for occupants of the established campsite or camp facilities, the phone number and address to contact in order to obtain such housing, shelter or homeless services, if available, and information about obtaining free transportation, if available, to such housing, shelter or homeless services;

f. An advisement that any personal property remaining at the established campsite or camp facilities site when the enforcement personnel returns to remove the camp facilities will be impounded for no fewer than ninety days, or as provided for by applicable law, and will be discarded thereafter if not claimed; and

g. The address, phone number, and operating hours of the location where the personal property will be stored and may be retrieved, being a storage facility and depending on the property potentially with the Morro Bay Police Department, and that the city will charge no fee for storage or retrieval.

2. Less than Seventy-Two-Hour Notice. The notice detailed above may establish a shorter time for the removal of the encampment if the enforcement personnel have determined the conditions at the established campsite or camp facilities requires removal of the established campsite or camp facilities in less than seventy-two hours to avoid a potential emergency, such as possible site contamination by hazardous materials or when there is reasonable potential danger to human life or safety. Failure of the occupant(s) of the encampment to comply with the notice's requirements to remove the camp consistent with the requirements of this chapter shall constitute a violation of this chapter.

3. Illegal Activity or Exceptional Emergency. Enforcement personnel may remove an established campsite or camp facilities without providing the notice described above in the following circumstances:

a. When there is probable cause for law enforcement officials to believe that illegal activity, other than camping, is occurring at an established campsite or camp facilities, or in the immediate vicinity of an established campsite or camp facilities; or

b. When there is probable cause for law enforcement officials to believe that the property that comprises an established campsite or camp facilities is being used or is intended to be used to commit or facilitate the commission of otherwise illegal activity; or

c. In the event of an exceptional emergency, such as significant evidence of site contamination by hazardous materials or when there is immediate danger to human life or safety.

C. Removal of an Established Campsite or Camp Facilities. If the occupant(s) fail to comply with the request for voluntary compliance set forth in subsection A above, and after the enforcement personnel comply with the requirements set forth in subsection B above, any camp, camp materials, or personal property in violation of any of the standards in this chapter may be removed or cleaned-up by the city or its designated contractors, and the enforcement personnel may take appropriate actions to remove an established campsite or camp facilities and enforce this chapter, consistent with the following:

1. When removing camp facilities, or individuals, camp materials, or personal property from an established campsite, enforcement personnel will make reasonable efforts to remove individuals without the use of force or citation.

2. When removing personal property, the city shall make reasonable efforts to determine if the property belongs to an individual and has any reasonable utility or reasonable value. The city shall make reasonable efforts to identify which established campsite the property was removed from, to aid in connecting people with their property. Items that are perishable, that have no reasonable use or value, that are not identifiable as belonging to an individual, or that are in an unsanitary condition due to saturation or contamination from bodily fluids, whether human or animal, or other contamination, will be considered garbage, discarded, and need not be stored.

3. Weapons, drug paraphernalia, or other contraband, and items that appear to be either stolen or evidence of a crime, shall be provided to law enforcement officials.

4. Following removal of personal property from city property or rights-of-way, the city shall post a notice at or as near as possible to the location the property was collected and on the city's website, stating where the personal property is being stored, and listing the phone number and hours a person claiming ownership can collect or make arrangements to collect their personal property.

5. After an established campsite or camp facilities has been removed, then at the recommendation of the police chief or fire chief on the basis of public health and safety, the city manager may order that no camp be set up in that same location or a one hundred-foot radius for up to thirty days. The city shall post signs informing the public that camping is prohibited at the location for the specified period of time.

D. Removal and Storage of Personal Property or Camp Materials During Removal of an Established Campsite or Camp Facilities. Personal property or camp materials may be removed from city rights-of-way, city property, or a camp, during removal of an established campsite or camp facilities pursuant to subsection C. above, if in violation of the provisions of this chapter, as provided for herein.

1. Personal property removed from city rights-of-way or city property and unclaimed at the time of removal will be stored by the city for a minimum of ninety days, or the duration (if shorter in time) allowed by applicable state or federal law, counting from the day of the removal as day one.

2. Items that are perishable, that have no reasonable use or value, that are not identifiable as belonging to an individual, or that are in an unsanitary condition due to saturation or contamination from bodily fluids, whether human or animal, or other contamination, will be considered garbage, discarded, and will not be stored. Property discarded, dumped, or otherwise abandoned in the city rights-of-way or on public property may be immediately discarded.

3. The city will store personal property at a storage facility at or near a designated city facility, where people can reasonably retrieve belongings. Notwithstanding any otherwise applicable city policy or procedure, all items collected and stored pursuant to this chapter that reasonably appear to have a monetary value at the time of collection of less than one thousand dollars shall be stored at a storage facility, and items that reasonably appear to have a monetary value at the time of collection of one thousand dollars or more shall be separately stored for safekeeping with the Morro Bay Police Department ("MBPD").

4. The city will make reasonable efforts to provide a range of times the storage facility will be available for people to collect their personal property. The city may dispose of any personal property (whether stored at the storage facility or with the MBPD) that remains unclaimed after ninety days, or the duration (if shorter in time) allowed by applicable state or federal law, counting from the day of the removal as day one.

(Ord. No. 665, § 2, 1-9-24)

A citation for a violation of Chapter 8.26 shall be for an infraction. At the city's discretion, it may issue administrative citations under Chapter 1.03. Citations will be issued only when other means of achieving compliance have been unsuccessful or are not practicable for the particular situation.

(Ord. No. 665, § 2, 1-9-24)

The city manager, or designee, is specifically authorized to modify or suspend enforcement of any section or part of this chapter in the event of a declared emergency, pursuant to administrative rules or policies, weather conditions (including but not limited to extreme heat or cold), or for any other reason within the city manager's authority, regardless of whether an emergency has been declared. In addition, the city manager may suspend the enforcement of regulations contained in this chapter when the city manager, or designee, has determined a person does not have access to shelter and is engaged in case management or behavioral health services, or when necessary or appropriate to respond to a person's disability, or as further set forth in city's administrative policies implementing this Chapter 8.26 adopted by the city manager, or designee, pursuant to Section 8.26.090.

(Ord. No. 665, § 2, 1-9-24)

The city manager, or designee may adopt administrative rules or policies governing or guiding enforcement of this chapter, consistent with the intent of this chapter, including but not limited to ensuring consistent and appropriate enforcement for various circumstances. These administrative rules or policies should ensure that enforcement is tailored to various circumstances, including but not limited to situations where a person has a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, where minor children are present or otherwise involved, where a person has employment obligations that may relate to their ability to comply with this chapter, or for other reasons that may support discretion in enforcement.

(Ord. No. 665, § 2, 1-9-24)

Methods of enforcement for violations of this chapter are not exclusive and may consist of multiple enforcement mechanisms where legally authorized and appropriate. However, the intent of the city is to always resolve violations at the lowest possible level, and to engage to seek compliance and solve problems while maintaining the dignity of all involved.

(Ord. No. 665, § 2, 1-9-24)