Rancho Santa Margarita Municipal Code Ch. 6.13 Camping in Public Areas

Footnotes:

--- (5) ---

Editor's note— Ord. No. 14-02, § 1, adopted May 28, 2014, repealed the former Chapter 6.13, §§ 6.13.010—6.13.070 in its entirety, which pertained to child safety zones—prohibition of registered sex offenders from entering parks, and derived from Ord. No. 12-01, § 1, adopted February 8, 2012. Subsequently, Ord. No. 25-01, § 2, adopted June 25, 2025, and enacted a new Ch. 6.13 as set out herein.

Publicly owned, operated, and/or maintained streets, sidewalks, buildings, parks and other public areas within the City should be readily accessible and available to residents and the public at large. The use of these facilities for camping purposes or storage of personal property interferes with the right of the public to use the areas for the purpose for which they were intended. The purpose of this Chapter is to maintain publicly owned, operated, and maintained property within the City in a safe, clean, and publicly accessible condition.

(Ord. No. 25-01, § 2, 6-25-2025)

In addition to the definitions set forth elsewhere in this Code, for purposes of this Chapter, the words and phrases defined herein shall be construed in accordance with the following definitions:

Camp means to pitch or occupy camp facilities, to live temporarily in a camp facility or outdoors, including within a vehicle, and/or to use camp paraphernalia, whether or not the activity incorporates the use of any camp facilities.

Camp facilities include, but are not limited to, tents, huts, or other similar temporary shelters or structures.

Camp paraphernalia means and includes, but is not limited to, tarpaulins, cots, beds, blankets, sleeping bags, hammocks, non-City designated cooking facilities and similar equipment.

Director means the Director of Public Works/City Engineer, and the Public Works Director/City Engineer's designee.

Eviction means expulsion from a public area and, if applicable, revocation of a facility permit.

Park means a public park owned, operated, and/or maintained by the City including, without limitation, the City's skate park, splash pad, and dog park.

Public area means and includes, but is not limited to, any street, sidewalk, building, grounds, lot, parcel, open space area, park, plaza, or parking lot owned, operated and/or maintained by the City.

Public street means and includes, but is not limited to, any street, road, highway, alley, sidewalk, parkway, bridge, culvert, drain, and other such facilities owned, operated, and/or maintained by the City.

Sidewalk means the portion of the public right-of-way between the curb line of any City-owned, operated and/or maintained street, road, highway, bicycle lane, or other thoroughfare designed for vehicular travel, and the adjacent property line, whether or not that area is paved.

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

(Ord. No. 25-01, § 2, 6-25-2025)

Unless otherwise permitted by the City, no person shall:

(1) Maintain, erect, or permit the erection of any hut, shanty, tent, tarpaulin, or any other type of temporary shelter or structure upon any public area.

(2) Camp, occupy camp facilities or use camp paraphernalia upon any public area.

(3) Store personal property, including camp facilities and camp paraphernalia, upon any public area.

(Ord. No. 25-01, § 2, 6-25-2025)

No person shall delay, linger, or idle about in any public restroom in a public area, or in the approaches or walks adjacent to any public restroom, in any manner which has the effect of preventing, inhibiting, or impairing the intended use of the restroom by members of the public. No person shall be cited under this section unless he or she has first been notified by a peace officer or City personnel that he or she is in violation of the prohibition of this Section and thereafter continues the violation.

(Ord. No. 25-01, § 2, 6-25-2025)

(a) Maintenance. The City Manager, Director of Public Works/City Engineer or their designees may temporarily close any public area, or any portion thereof, when such area, or facilities thereon, need to be reconstructed, renovated, refurbished, repaired, restored, cleaned or maintained.

(b) Hazardous Conditions. The City Manager, Director of Public Works/City Engineer or their designees may close any public area, or any portion thereof, when a hazardous condition poses potential danger to citizens, City employees, or City property. Any such closure shall be for the duration of the existence of the hazardous condition as determined by the City Manager, Director of Public Works/City Engineer or their designees.

(c) No person shall enter or remain upon any public area that has been closed to the public pursuant to this Section.

(Ord. No. 25-01, § 2, 6-25-2025)

No person shall obstruct public or private access to any public area, or any equipment or facilities thereon, including, but not limited to, benches, tables, chairs, athletic equipment, restrooms, paths, walkways, trails, or similar equipment and facilities, by sitting, lying, or sleeping upon, and/or by storing, using, maintaining, or placing personal property upon such public area in a manner which prevents, obstructs, or impedes use of the property in the manner for which it was intended.

(Ord. No. 25-01, § 2, 6-25-2025)

(a) A person is subject to eviction from a specified public area when all of the following conditions occur and no lesser sanction reasonably appears to suffice:

(1) The person is in violation of any provision of this Chapter;

(2) The person has been warned in a manner that is reasonably calculated to reach the person that eviction may result from any further violation;

(3) After receiving such warning, a further violation occurs or, following a warning, the violation continues unabated.

(b) Where a violation is of such magnitude or seriousness as to create immediate threat to public health, safety, and/or welfare, no warnings will be necessary prior to eviction.

(c) A group is subject to eviction from a public area when any one of the following conditions occurs and no less sanction reasonably appears to suffice:

(1) There is probable cause to believe that an unlawful assembly exists pursuant to California Penal Code Section 407;

(2) There is a clear and immediate threat to public health, safety, and/or welfare, which cannot reasonably be forestalled without evicting the entire group;

(3) There exists a group sponsored or organized activity which violates one or more federal, state or local laws or regulations and such group sponsored organized activity has not ceased as a result of a peace officer or City personnel giving one or more warnings to the permit applicant and the group as a whole;

(4) There are multiple individual violations of federal, state or local laws or regulations which have not stopped following the eviction of one or more such individual violators and violations continue after the group has had a reasonable opportunity to cure them.

(d) An order of eviction may be given orally and/or in writing by any member of law enforcement, a City Code Enforcement Officer, or any employee of the City's Public Works or Community Services Departments. An order of eviction is effective immediately upon oral or written notification to the evicted party.

(e) It is unlawful and a violation of this Code for any person to enter or remain upon a public area from which they have been evicted in accordance with this Section. Such violations may be punished in accordance with Section 1.03.020 of this Code.

(f) Right of Appeal. Any person or group evicted from a public area may appeal the eviction to the Public Works Director as set forth in this section.

Appeal of an order of eviction shall be taken within ten days of notice of the order of eviction being provided to the evicted party.

An appeal shall be taken by timely filing with the City Clerk or the Director a written appeal statement setting forth the grounds for the appeal, along with the City's appeal fee, which shall be established by City Council resolution. All written appeal statements must include either a physical mailing address or email address where the appellant can receive notifications regarding the appeal. If delivered to the City Clerk, the appeal shall be transmitted to the Director within ten days of its filing and receipt of the appeal fee. Upon receipt, the Director shall set a time and place for a hearing on the appeal.

A hearing before the Director shall be set not later than 15 days from the date of filing of the appellant's written appeal statement with the City. Notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given to the appellant, in writing, at the address provided by the appellant in their written appeal statement.

At the hearing, the appellant and the City shall be entitled to legal representation and may present relevant evidence, testify under oath, and call witnesses who shall testify under oath. The Director shall not be bound by the traditional rules of evidence in a hearing, except that hearsay evidence may not be the sole basis for the decision of the Director. The Director may continue the hearing as deemed necessary.

The decision of the Director on the appeal shall be final and binding upon all parties concerned unless timely judicial review is sought pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6.

(Ord. No. 25-01, § 2, 6-25-2025)

Any violation of the provisions of this Chapter is unlawful and subject to the enforcement provisions of Section 1.03.020 of this Code.

(Ord. No. 25-01, § 2, 6-25-2025)