Orange County Municipal Code Div. 3 Illegal Encampments and Camping on Flood Control District Property

(a) The use of District property for camping purposes and/or for storage of personal property interferes with the lawful purposes and operations of the District. The purpose of this chapter is to maintain District property in blight-free conditions, to secure access for flood control purposes, and to ensure that District property is used for its intended purposes.

(b) When large amounts of personal property are being left unattended on District property, it creates blight, obstructs District property, interferes with access to and maintenance of District property and thus, affects the use of District property for its intended purposes.

(Ord. No. 25-023, § 1, 11-18-25)

For purposes of this Division, the words and phrases defined herein shall be construed in accordance with the following definitions and those contained in Title 9, Section 9-2-20.

Abandoned Personal Property means unattended, but not stored, personal property that by its condition of damage, deterioration, disrepair, non-use, obsolescence, or location causes any reasonable person to conclude that the owner has permanently relinquished all right, title, claim and possession thereto. In determining whether property is abandoned, enforcement officers shall, erring on the side of caution, evaluate the facts and circumstances surrounding the item(s), including whether the personal property is unattended and lacks objective signs of abandonment. Examples of objective signs of abandonment include, but are not limited to, items located in gutters, placed adjacent to trash receptacles, an empty and/or broken tent sitting by itself on a sidewalk with no other belongings, or a bag of clothes that is open and strewn across a sidewalk.

Camp means to pitch or occupy camp facilities, to use any District property for living accommodation or habitation purposes such as sleeping activities, or making preparations to sleep, including the laying down of bedding for purposes of sleeping, even in the absence of camp facilities, or to use or store camp paraphernalia for purposes of living accommodation or habitation purposes.

Camp Facilities include, but are not limited to, tents, huts or other temporary shelters of any kind, extra clothing, personal hygiene items, and/or shopping carts, strollers, wheeled suitcases or similar mobile containers used to transport and/or store other camp paraphernalia items.

Camp Paraphernalia includes, but is not limited to, tarpaulins, umbrellas, cots, beds, bedding, sleeping bags, hammocks, cooking facilities, kitchen utensils, camping stoves, portable barbeques and similar equipment, extra clothing, personal hygiene items, and/or shopping carts, strollers, wheeled suitcases or similar mobile containers used to transport and/or store other items of camp paraphernalia.

Enforcement Officer is defined in Section 1-1-40.2(d).

Essential Personal Property means tents, tarpaulins, bedding, blankets, sleeping bags, bicycles, trailers, carts, clothing, identification, medical papers or devices, medications, personal items (e.g., photographs and documents) and items necessary to acquire assistance for, or achieve, instrumental activities of daily living. Essential personal property does not include any items intended for commercial purposes, such as items, consumable or otherwise, for sale, trade, barter, or in consideration of donations.

District Property means all or any part of the entire width of right-of-way of a District flood control channel, whether or not such entire area is actually utilized for flood control purposes and also includes, but is not limited to vacant parcels, basins, dams, and access roads, whether owned by District in fee or by easement, grant, indenture, or other legal document. "District property" is further defined as an area or interest identifying District ownership as shown on: County Assessor's parcel map; official record of survey; District right-of-way map; or deed recorded with a County Recorder.

Encampment means a temporary living area established by individuals on District property or any public property. These areas often feature built structures and personal belongings, including but not limited to camp paraphernalia, and can be a source of public health and safety concerns. An encampment encompasses the definition of camp but applies to more than one individual pitching or occupying camp facilities on public District property.

Non-Essential Personal Property means all items other than essential personal property.

Personal Property means any tangible property other than land that may be subject to ownership. Personal property includes essential and non-essential personal property.

Store means to put aside or accumulate for use when needed, to put for safekeeping, to place or leave in a location. Stored personal property does not include abandoned personal property.

Stored Personal Property means personal property, other than abandoned personal property, that is accompanied by signs of ownership, such as packing, stacking, or organizing.

Unattended means no person is present with the personal property who asserts or claims ownership of the personal property.

(Ord. No. 25-023, § 1, 11-18-25)

Unless authorized by permit or other applicable law, it is unlawful:

(a) To construct, place, or maintain on District Property any semi-permanent structure, including but not limited to hand-built sheds and structures with metal or other heavy roofing and siding materials, for the purpose of sheltering one or more persons.

(b) To illegally camp on District Property, including but not limited to using, placing, or maintaining a tent, sleeping bag, blanket, or other materials for the purpose of sleeping, lying, or sheltering one or more persons in the same location. For purposes of this section, the same location shall mean within five hundred (500) feet of the location in which the person camped on the previous day or night.

(c) To illegally camp within five hundred (500) feet of any posted notice to vacate or other official signage designating a location for encampment clearance or otherwise prohibiting sitting, sleeping, lying, camping, or placing Personal Property in that location.

(d) To sit, sleep, lie, or camp on any District Property in a manner that impedes access to District facilities and/or impedes or interferes with the operation of District facilities.

(e) To store any Non-Essential Personal Property on District Property.

1. It shall not be a violation of subsection (e) to: (1) store property in accordance with a District or County issued permit; (2) store property as part of activities expressly authorized by the County or District; (3) store property for authorized County, District, public utility, or government agency purposes.

(Ord. No. 25-023, § 1, 11-18-25)

(a) Any violations of the provisions of this Division are unlawful and subject to the enforcement remedies pursuant to Sections 1-1-34 through 1-1-39 and 1-1-40, et seq. of this Code and any other means provided by law.

(Ord. No. 25-023, § 1, 11-18-25)

If any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Division is held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed severable and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions hereof. The Board of Supervisors hereby declares that it would have adopted this article irrespective of the invalidity of any particular portion thereof and intends that the invalid portions should be severed, and the balance of the article be enforced.

(Ord. No. 25-023, § 1, 11-18-25)