Sec. 20.21. - Encampment on private property.

Acts prohibited. It is unlawful for any person to camp in or on any occupied or unoccupied private property without the express written permission of the owner or person in current lawful possession of the property. For purposes of this section, the term "camp" shall have the same meaning as set forth in Oceanside City Code section 20.21.1(b).

(Ord. No. 93-19, § 5, 10-13-93; Ord. No. 21-OR0261-1, § 1, 4-21-2021)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 21-OR0261-1, § 1, adopted April 21, 2021 amended § 20.21 and in doing so changed the title of said section from "Encampment" to "Encampment on private property," as set out herein.

(a)

Purpose/findings.

(1)

Public streets, sidewalks and walkways are created and maintained for the primary purposes of enabling pedestrians and vehicles to safely and efficiently move about from place to place, facilitating deliveries of goods and services, and providing all potential customers and visitors with convenient access to goods and services, as well as a place to recreate and engage in free public speech in shared civic space;

(2)

Sitting or lying on public streets, sidewalks or walkways generally interferes with the primary purposes of the public street, sidewalk or walkway, and may threaten public safety and damage the public welfare;

(3)

Pedestrians, particularly the elderly, disabled, and vision-impaired, are put at increased risk when they must see and navigate around individuals sitting or lying upon the public sidewalk;

(4)

In some circumstances, people sitting or lying on sidewalks deter many members of the public from frequenting those areas. This, in turn, contributes to an erosion of the essential economic viability of those areas. Business failures and relocations can cause vacant storefronts, contributing to a spiral of deterioration and blight which harms the public health, safety and welfare;

(5)

There are numerous other areas within the city where sitting can be accommodated without unduly interfering with the safe flow of pedestrian traffic, impairing commercial activity, threatening public safety or harming the public welfare. These other areas include city parks, numerous public benches and other seating facilities, plazas, portions of sidewalks not intensively used by pedestrians, common areas open to the public, and private property with the permission of the property owner;

(6)

The city recognizes that there is a fundamental need to sleep and desires to accommodate that need while also satisfying the needs of the general public to travel freely and safely throughout the city;

(7)

The limited regulation of sitting or lying down on sidewalks is reasonably necessary and appropriately balances the public interest and individual rights;

(8)

Designated open space contains ecologically-sensitive habitats, including many protected plant and wildlife species as well as fresh water supplies. Except as provided for in this section, human presence in open space other than on designated trails can seriously damage or destroy these habitats as well as increase the risk of wildfire danger and possible injuries to and from threatened wildlife.

(b)

Definitions.

Camp means to pitch or occupy camp facilities, or to use camp paraphernalia, for living purposes in an outdoor area. The act of sleeping on its own does not constitute camping.

Camp facilities include, but are not limited to, tents, huts, unapproved shacks or temporary shelters.

Camp paraphernalia includes, but is not limited to, tents or tent-like structures, cots, beds, hammocks or personal cooking facilities and similar equipment. This definition shall not include blankets, sleeping bags or bedrolls.

Obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic means to impede or block the passage of another person or a vehicle, or to require another person or a driver of a vehicle to take evasive action to avoid physical contact;

Open space means any parcel or area of land or water which is essentially unimproved and devoted to an open space use, and which is designated as Open Space in the Oceanside Zoning Ordinance or the Land Use Element of the General Plan.

Public place means public property, whether improved or unimproved, and includes, but is not limited to, publicly-owned parking lots, driveways, open space, parks, plazas, highways, streets, bridges, alleys, driveways, rights-of-way, trails, sidewalks, paths, and walkways.

(c)

Prohibitions. Except as provided in this section:

(1)

It shall be unlawful for any person to camp, occupy camp facilities or use camp paraphernalia in any public place;

(2)

No person shall sit or lie down upon a public sidewalk, or upon a blanket, chair, stool, or any other object placed upon any public sidewalk, or in doorways or entrances to buildings abutting such sidewalks, in such a way as to obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic;

(3)

No person shall be permitted to sleep in open space as defined in section 20.21.1(b) at any time; and

(4)

No person shall cook food in any public place, except as otherwise allowed by this Code or by license or permit. This section shall not prohibit cooking in areas designated for such purposes.

(d)

Exceptions. The prohibitions of this section shall not apply to any conduct which is in conformity with the terms of any valid license or permit granted pursuant to this Code, including activities conducted on a public sidewalk or in a public place pursuant to a valid license or permit.

(e)

Picketing or protesting. It is not the intent of this section to prohibit protesting, picketing, demonstrating, signature gathering, voter registration, leafleting, or any other lawful activity permitted under the laws of the United States of America, State of California, or by the National Labor Relations Act in connection with a labor dispute.

(f)

Affirmative defenses. It is an affirmative defense to any prosecution under this section that the person is:

(1)

Sitting, lying down or sleeping because of a medical emergency;

(2)

Sitting upon a chair or bench located upon the public sidewalk which was placed there by an abutting private property owner or tenant pursuant to a valid permit or by a public agency;

(3)

Sitting on a sidewalk within a designated bus zone while waiting for public or private transportation; or

(4)

Sitting or lying on a sidewalk while participating in or attending a parade, festival, performance, rally, demonstration, meeting or similar event conducted pursuant to a valid permit.

(Ord. No. 21-OR0261-1, § 2, 4-21-2021; Ord. No. 24-OR0592-1, § 1, 10-23-2024)

(a)

Definitions.

Personal effects for purposes of this section means personal property consisting of the following items:

(1)

Medication, medical devices, eye glasses or other prescription lenses;

(2)

Sleeping bag or bed roll which is sanitary and non-verminous;

(3)

Tents in usable and reasonably good condition;

(4)

Clothes stored in a manner protecting them from the elements, which are not unsanitary, soiled, or verminous;

(5)

Non-perishable food items; and

(6)

Personal property with an estimated individual fair market value of at least fifty dollars ($50.00).

Public place shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 20.21.1(b).

Store means to put aside or accumulate for use when needed, to place for safekeeping, or to put, place or leave in a particular place, whether attended or unattended.

(b)

Storage of personal property in public places. It shall be unlawful for any person to store personal property, including camp facilities and camp paraphernalia as defined in section 20.21.1(b), in any public place, improved or unimproved, except as otherwise provided by the city council, or pursuant to a valid license or permit. Nothing herein shall be construed to allow storage where otherwise prohibited by this Code.

(c)

Authorization. This section shall not limit or be construed to limit the use of camp facilities and camp paraphernalia in public parks, public open space, city streets, parking lots or other public property where such use has been specifically authorized by a valid license or permit.

(d)

Property removal. City employees as designated by the city manager may remove personal effects unlawfully stored or found in public places as outlined in subsection (a) above or found in an unlawful encampment as follows:

(1)

The location of any personal property including camp facilities and paraphernalia shall be noticed as follows:

"It is illegal to store personal property in a public place, including, but not limited to, public open space, parks and parking lots. If this personal property is not removed within 24 hours of the date of this posting, be advised: THE PERSONAL PROPERTY SHALL BE DEEMED INTENTIONALLY ABANDONED AND SUBJECT TO REMOVAL AND POSSIBLE DESTRUCTION."

(2)

City personnel may remove any personal property unlawfully stored or remaining in a public place after the posting period has expired. City personnel shall offer the person claiming ownership of the personal property, if any, a list of resources available.

(3)

Personal effects which pose an imminent threat to public health or safety, is contraband or which is evidence of a crime shall not be subject to the above notice requirements and shall be removed immediately by city personnel or police and stored or destroyed according to the provisions below.

(4)

At the time of removal of unlawfully stored or remaining personal effects, city personnel shall conspicuously post and date a notice either at the exact location from which the personal effects were removed or at another nearby location giving the following information.

a.

A list of personal effects removed;

b.

A telephone number for information on retrieving personal effects;

c.

An address where the personal effects are temporarily stored;

d.

The length of time during which the personal effects may be claimed.

(5)

Following removal of unlawfully stored or remaining personal effects, city personnel shall do the following:

a.

Maintain an inventory identifying the personal effects, where the personal effects are approximately located, and a reasonable estimate of value for such personal effects;

b.

Place the removed personal effects in containers labeled in a manner facilitating identification by city personnel and owner and which reasonably protect such property from damage or theft; and

c.

Store removed personal effects in an area designated by city for a period of ninety (90) days.

(6)

Personal property stored by the city which is claimed within ninety (90) days from removal shall be released to the person claiming ownership provided that person identifies the property and the approximate location where the property was left.

(7)

Property which remains unclaimed after ninety (90) days is deemed intentionally abandoned and may be summarily abated and destroyed.

(Ord. No. 21-OR0261-1, § 3, 4-21-2021; Ord. No. 24-OR0592-1, § 2, 10-23-2024)