Newport Beach Municipal Code Ch. 10.80 Public Safety Orders and Regulation of Large Gatherings

The City Council declares its purpose and intent in enacting this chapter is as follows:

A. Newport Beach experiences extraordinary visitor volumes during certain holidays, special events, and other periods of increased public activity.

B. Large crowds may rapidly develop because of social media promotion or other circumstances without adequate planning or coordination with public safety personnel.

C. Large uncontrolled crowds may obstruct emergency vehicle access, impede evacuation, create dangerous crowd densities, increase the likelihood of assaults, riots, vandalism, illegal fireworks, alcohol-related offenses, and other threats to public health and safety.

D. During such events, immediate operational flexibility is necessary to preserve life, protect public property, maintain emergency access, facilitate evacuation, and allow police, fire, emergency medical, and lifeguard personnel to safely perform their duties.

E. During rapidly evolving events, conditions may deteriorate within minutes, requiring immediate operational decisions that cannot await further legislative action. These circumstances may not rise to the level of a declared local emergency but nevertheless require prompt action to ensure the safe use of public streets, sidewalks, parks, and other public facilities.

F. The City owns and manages beaches, piers, boardwalks, parks, parking facilities, public rights-of-way, and other public property for the benefit of the public and possesses authority to establish reasonable time, place, and manner regulations governing access to and use of such property.

G. The purpose of this chapter is to provide narrowly tailored authority to temporarily regulate access to public property and implement necessary operational measures whenever objectively verifiable public safety conditions require immediate action.

H. Nothing in this chapter authorizes regulation based upon the content or viewpoint of expressive activity, or the restriction on public access to coastal resources, except to the minimum extent and duration reasonably necessary to protect public safety, preserve emergency access, or respond to objectively identified hazardous conditions.

(Ord. 2026-15, 9/22/2026)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words, terms, phrases, and their derivations have the meanings given herein.

"Beach" or "beaches"

means any public ocean front or bay front beach within the City, including ocean or bay public piers, public floats, public wharves, or public strands adjoining public ocean front or bay front beach areas.

"Dangerous crowd density"

means crowd conditions that reasonably create a substantial risk of crushing, trampling, inability to freely move, delay emergency evacuation, or which could lead to serious bodily injury.

"Emergency access corridor"

means any roadway, alley, beach access, sidewalk, fire lane, pathway, or other area designated by police, fire, or lifeguards for emergency vehicle or emergency personnel access.

"Public plaza"

means an open public area that is owned or controlled by the State, the County, the City, or other public entity that has been physically improved, which allows access to the beach, a boardwalk, or public pier, and where people can gather.

"Public property"

means all property owned or controlled by the State, the County, the City, or other public entity including, but not limited to, any publicly owned or controlled building, structure, restroom, bridges, beach, parking garage, parking lot, passageway, pier, public right-of-way, public plaza, driveway, landscaped area, parkway, median, greenbelt, open space, public park, or park facility.

"Public rights-of-way" or "public right-of-way"

means the area or areas on, below, or above a public roadway, public highway, public street, public sidewalk, public path, public trail, public plaza, public bike lane or path, public boardwalk, public alleyway, or a utility easement in which the City has interest.

"Public safety area"

means the geographic area identified in a public safety order.

"Public safety incident"

means an occurrence involving dangerous crowd density, criminal activity, civil disorder, fire hazards, medical emergencies, hazardous conditions, or other circumstances creating an imminent threat to public safety requiring coordinated emergency response.

"Public safety order"

means a written administrative order issued by the City Manager or Police Chief pursuant to this chapter establishing temporary operational measures within a designated geographic area to protect public health, safety, welfare or property.

"Safety Enhancement Zone"

means the area that has been designated by the City Council as a Safety Enhancement Zone pursuant to Section 1.04.060 and during the time that designation is in effect.

"Shade covering"

means any umbrella, canopy, or other shade structure.

(Ord. 2026-15, 9/22/2026)

A. Authority. The City Manager and Police Chief are authorized to issue a public safety order whenever the City Manager or Police Chief determines, based upon substantial evidence, that extraordinary circumstances exist creating a significant risk to public safety or property that requires temporary operational measures to protect life, the public health, safety, welfare, or property.

B. Required findings. Before issuing a public safety order, the City Manager or Police Chief shall make written findings that one or more of the following circumstances exist:

1. There is a public safety incident;

2. Credible information indicates a substantial risk of violence, vandalism, looting, or other criminal activity;

3. A planned or spontaneous gathering is reasonably expected to significantly exceed the capacity of available public infrastructure or public safety resources;

4. Prior events involving substantially similar circumstances have resulted in significant threats to people or property;

5. Public infrastructure or critical facilities require temporary protective measures;

6. Persons are blocking public streets, sidewalks, alleys, bridges, beach access points, public plaza entry points, or emergency access corridors;

7. Illegal fireworks, incendiary devices, explosives, or other hazardous materials present an unreasonable risk of injury or fire;

8. Public safety personnel are unable to safely perform operations because of dangerous crowd conditions;

9. Medical incidents or fire hazards exceed available public safety capability; or

10. Any other objectively identifiable condition comparable in nature and severity to those listed above that creates a threat to life, public health, safety, or welfare or property.

C. Scope of Order. Any public safety order shall be in writing and shall:

1. Describe the factual basis supporting the order;

2. Identify the geographic boundaries of the public safety area;

3. Specify the date and time the order becomes effective; and

4. Identify the temporary operational regulations set forth in subsection D being implemented, which shall be the least restrictive available to address the specific conditions identified in the written findings.

D. Temporary Public Safety Order. Upon making the findings required by subsection B, the City Manager or Police Chief may issue a public safety order containing temporary operational regulations implementing one or more of the following measures:

1. Restrict pedestrian access;

2. Restrict or prohibit vehicle entry on to designated public streets or public property by means of temporary traffic control devices or law enforcement personnel;

3. Close public parking lots or parking structures;

4. Close piers, parks, boardwalks, greenbelts, alleys, portions of beaches or other public property;

5. Establish one-way pedestrian routes;

6. Establish temporary one-way vehicle circulation routes;

7. Establish emergency access corridors;

8. Suspend additional entry into designated public areas;

9. Establish designated rideshare pickup and drop-off locations;

10. Reserve public areas for emergency operations;

11. Issue evacuation orders requiring people to leave a designated area;

12. Establish temporary hours of access or temporary curfews applicable to designated public property;

13. Establish regulations to prohibit intentionally organized events reasonably expected to overwhelm available public infrastructure or materially interfere with emergency access, public safety operations, or lawful public use; or

14. Implement any other temporary traffic control measure, authorized by law, or any comparable pedestrian or access control measure that is necessary and is the least restrictive available means to protect life, emergency access, or property.

E. Duration. Any public safety order implemented pursuant to this section shall remain in effect only for so long as the conditions justifying the public safety order continue to exist and shall be terminated immediately when those conditions cease. In no event shall any public safety order remain in effect for more than 24 hours, unless the City Manager or Police Chief makes a subsequent public safety order upon the making of new findings satisfying the requirements set forth in this section.

F. Geographic Scope. Any public safety order shall be limited to the smallest geographic area, which is reasonably necessary to address the public safety conditions.

G. Notice. When reasonably practicable, efforts should be made to provide public notice of the public safety order through signage, posting on the City's website, public address systems, social media, emergency alerts, or other similar measures designed to provide notice.

H. It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any public safety order issued pursuant to this section.

I. The City Manager or Police Chief shall provide an informational report to the City Council regarding any public safety order issued pursuant to this section within thirty (30) calendar days of the issuance of the order. The report shall include the findings made, measures implemented, duration, arrests, and what other less restrictive measures were considered.

(Ord. 2026-15, 9/22/2026)

A. Removal of Items and Obstructions. Any personal property, equipment, furniture, tent, shade covering, canopy, cooler, barricade, sign, or any similar object placed, left, or maintained within a Safety Enhancement Zone while the Safety Enhancement Zone is in effect, or in a geographic area designated in a public safety order while the public safety order is in effect, that blocks emergency access, interferes with public safety operations, creates a fire hazard, or creates an immediate safety hazard, may be temporarily moved or repositioned by the City to the nearest reasonably safe location necessary to maintain emergency access or protect the public health, safety or welfare. If any item cannot be safely relocated or relocation would not adequately maintain emergency access or protect public health, safety or welfare, the City may remove and impound the property for later retrieval in accordance with applicable law.

B. Large Gatherings. No person shall knowingly organize, sponsor, coordinate, or conduct an intentionally planned event reasonably expected to attract 100 or more participants within a Safety Enhancement Zone, when the Safety Enhancement Zone is in effect, or in a geographic area designated in a public safety order while the public safety order is in effect, without obtaining a special event permit pursuant to Chapter 11.03.

(Ord. 2026-15, 9/22/2026)