Redwood City Municipal Code § 49.1 Definitions

[For the purpose of this Chapter the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:]

ENCAMPMENT: Any tent, makeshift structure, or accumulation of belongings in a place not meant for human habitation, belonging to at least one (1) person, where the person or people plan to stay in one (1) location continuously with no definite plans to move, except when such activity occurs (i) in a public area that the City has specifically set aside or clearly marked for public camping, such as a campground or picnic area, and (ii) with a valid permit, reservation, or other applicable authorization from the City.

EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES: There are facts and circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to believe that, in the interest of public safety and welfare, an encampment urgently needs to be removed with less than twenty-four (24) hours' notice. Exigent circumstances include, but are not limited to, material fire or other environmental risks; obstructing or interfering with the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic; blocking access to a parking lot or building; outbreak of a communicable or contagious disease; or circumstances that pose an imminent threat to the integrity, operation, or accessibility of essential utility infrastructure, including, but not limited to, water, sewer, electricity, gas, or telecommunications systems.

PERSONAL EFFECTS: Personal property consisting of any of the following items:

1. Identification/Social Security cards;

2. Medications, medical devices, eyeglasses;

3. Photos/photo albums;

4. Tax, medical or legal records;

5. Nonperishable food items; and

6. Any other reasonably usable, not overly soiled, nonverminous items that reasonably appear to have value to persons experiencing homelessness, including tents, sleeping bags, clothes, and functional bicycles.

SENSITIVE AREA: Includes:

1. Any institution of learning for minors, whether public or private, offering instruction in those courses of study required by the California Education Code and maintained pursuant to standards set by the State Board of Education. This includes kindergarten, elementary school, middle or junior high school, and senior high school. This definition also includes Cañada College.

2. The San Mateo County Navigation Center located at 275 Blomquist Street, Redwood City, California 94063.

3. Any waterway, bank of a waterway, tributary of a waterway, estuary or wetland. Waterway means any natural or artificial channel, stream, river, creek, canal, drainage ditch, or other conduit—whether intermittent or continuous—that carries or is capable of carrying surface water, including, but not limited to, Redwood Creek, Cordilleras Creek, Bayfront Canal, and Redwood Shores Lagoon. This includes the banks, beds, and adjacent riparian zones of such channels. For the purposes of this Chapter, waterways also include areas designated for stormwater management or flood control, and any location within seventy-five (75) feet of the edge of a waterway, where human activity may pose a risk to water quality, ecological integrity, or public safety. Wetland means wetland within the meaning of federal law or state law.

SHELTER LOCATION: A public or private facility, with available space, including a bed, for an indigent, homeless individual to stay at no charge to the individual. For purposes of this Chapter, shelter location does not include any of the following: (a) shelter space where an individual cannot stay because the individual has exceeded a shelter's maximum stay rule; (b) shelter space that cannot reasonably accommodate the individual's mental or physical disabilities; (c) shelter space that does not permit a minor child to be housed in the same facility with at least one (1) parent or legal guardian when the individual in question has custody of a minor child; (d) shelter space for which an individual is required to attend or participate in religious activities or programs as a condition of utilizing the shelter space; or (e) shelter space that is unavailable due to the individual's sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, religious affiliation, criminal convictions, or pet(s).

(Ord. No. 2550, § 1(Exh. A), 9-8-25)

The intent of this Chapter is to preserve the health, safety, and welfare of the inhabitants of the City of Redwood City, including individuals experiencing homelessness. This Chapter addresses issues such as fire risk, unsanitary conditions, public safety hazards, and environmental degradation associated with unregulated encampments in the City. To that end, this Chapter generally prohibits the establishment of unregulated encampments on public property when there is an available shelter location, as defined herein.

(Ord. No. 2550, § 1(Exh. A), 9-8-25)

A. When there is an available shelter location for a person, it is unlawful and a public nuisance for that person to place, erect, configure, construct, or maintain an encampment on public property anywhere in the City.

B. Section 49.3.A shall not be enforced against any person unless that person has declined an offer of an available shelter location or otherwise has access to shelter or the means to obtain it.

(Ord. No. 2550, § 1(Exh. A), 9-8-25)

The City Manager is authorized to establish standard policies, procedures, forms, and/or administrative regulations that are consistent with this Chapter in order to implement this Chapter.

(Ord. No. 2550, § 1(Exh. A), 9-8-25)

A. Any person who is in violation of this Chapter shall be given at least two (2) written warnings prior to enforcement of the violation as a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for no more than six (6) months, or both. No initial written warning shall be given to a person without a screening of the person's mental and physical condition. The written warnings may be issued at any time a violation is identified regardless of the duration of time between each warning, subject to the requirements of Subsection B below, and regardless of the location of the encampment. Each written warning shall provide the person with information about at least one (1) available shelter location, as required by Section 49.3.B and shall include a written offer of placement in such shelter location.

B. Each day that an encampment exists under Section 49.3.A shall be a separate violation of this Chapter, and each written warning required under this Section 49.5 shall be given no more frequently than once during every twenty-four-hour period.

C. A person who is in violation of this Chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor twenty-four (24) hours after receiving a second written warning as set forth above and failing to vacate the encampment.

D. If a person who violates this Chapter is subject to arrest, the arresting officer shall be permitted to seize and store the personal effects of the person arrested if necessary to prevent items from being stolen or damaged and/or if deemed necessary to prevent the immediate reestablishment of an encampment that violates this Chapter.

E. Any person charged with a misdemeanor violation under this Chapter shall be entitled to participate in any appropriate diversion programs offered by the Superior Court.

F. This Chapter may be enforced by the City's law enforcement agencies, including Code Enforcement and the Police Department, and the County of San Mateo, its officers, employees and agents.

(Ord. No. 2550, § 1(Exh. A), 9-8-25)

A. The establishment of an encampment that violates this Chapter is declared a public nuisance, and city representatives are authorized to remove any such encampment after providing notice and complying with the shelter location requirements set forth in this Chapter. Unless a seizure of personal effects or other items of property and arrest occur related to a misdemeanor violation, as set forth above in Section 49.5.D, or unless exigent circumstances exist, the following written notice shall be given before the City removes any personal effects belonging to anyone found to be in violation of this Chapter:

1. Encampments within two hundred (200) feet of a sensitive area: At least forty-eight-hours' written notice shall be given before the City removes any personal effects belonging to anyone found to be in violation of this Chapter.

2. All other encampments: At least seventy-two-hours' written notice shall be given before the City removes any personal effects belonging to anyone found to be in violation of this Chapter.

B. Personal effects or other items of property that pose an imminent threat to public safety or health, are contraband, are evidence of a crime, are obstructing or interfering with the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, and/or are blocking access to a parking lot of a building shall not be subject to the above-described notice requirements and may be immediately removed by appropriate City staff, pursuant to law.

C. When neither exigent circumstances nor the circumstances described in Section 49.6.B exist, prior to removing an encampment found to be in violation of this Chapter, a written notice with the following information shall be provided to the person violating this Chapter:

1. The date and time of written notice;

2. The location of the notice;

3. The following statement: "Persons in this area must vacate and remove all belongings on or before: [insert date and time to vacate]. The City will clean this site on or after the time and date specified above. Unaccompanied items are subject to removal and may be discarded or destroyed."

4. A telephone number and a physical address for individuals receiving the notice to direct questions or concerns regarding removal and storage of personal effects, and to make requests for reasonable assistance from City representatives in the removal of personal effects.

D. After the notice period has expired, at the time of removal of any personal effects from an encampment, City representatives shall conspicuously post a dated notice, at or near the location from which personal effects were removed, with the following information:

1. A statement that personal effects were removed;

2. A telephone number for information on retrieving personal effects;

3. A physical address where the personal effects are temporarily stored and instructions for retrieving the personal effects;

4. A statement that personal effects will be stored for ninety (90) days at no cost to owner(s) of the personal effects.

The posting of notice required under this subsection shall not apply if the removal of personal effects is conducted pursuant to Section 49.5.D and the arresting officer has reason to believe that all items belong to the individual(s) being arrested. In such cases, the individual(s) being arrested shall be provided with written notification of where their personal effects are being stored and how to retrieve them at a later date.

E. City representatives shall itemize and photograph all removed personal effects and place such personal effects in containers labeled in a manner facilitating identification by City representatives and the owner and which reasonably protect such personal effects from damage or theft.

F. Personal effects stored by the City which are claimed within ninety (90) days from removal shall be released to the person claiming ownership providing they provide reasonable evidence of ownership, including, for example, identifying the property and the approximate location where the property was left. Presentation of a government-issued identification shall not be required to reclaim personal effects.

G. Personal effects that remain unclaimed after ninety (90) days may be discarded, recycled, dedicated for public use, or given to a nonprofit agency for charitable use.

H. Where the City has a reasonable basis to believe that an encampment has been abandoned and is not occupied, the City may promptly remove any items that reasonably appear to be garbage. For items that do not reasonably appear to be garbage, the City may post a written "notice of apparently abandoned property" which notifies potentially interested parties that the City believes the site to be abandoned and will discard unclaimed items in no fewer than forty-eight (48) hours where the encampment is within two hundred (200) feet of a sensitive area or seventy-two (72) hours for all other encampments. In these circumstances, the City shall have no obligation to attempt to identify, remove, and/or store any unattended items that reasonably appear to have no value. If unattended items remain at an apparently abandoned site after a notice period of forty-eight (48) hours or seventy-two (72) hours, as applicable, the City may discard, recycle, or donate items that remain.

(Ord. No. 2550, § 1(Exh. A), 9-8-25)

A. Nothing in this Chapter shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any requirement, power, or duty in conflict with any federal or state law.

B. Nothing in this Chapter shall be interpreted as excusing any individual from complying with other provisions of the City's Municipal and Zoning Codes.

(Ord. No. 2550, § 1(Exh. A), 9-8-25)