Ridgecrest Municipal Code Art. I In General

(a) Violations; penalty. The violation of any of the provisions of this section is a misdemeanor.

(b) Prohibited acts. It shall be unlawful for any person in the city to:

(1) Wander, idle or loiter on the premises or grounds of any drive-in restaurant, cafe, hotel, apartment house, bungalow court, roominghouse, or any other professional business, financial, commercial or industrial establishment, without lawful business, or after any lawful business has been concluded, and after such person has been requested to leave the premises by the owner, any person in lawful possession thereof, or any of their agents.

(2) Wander, idle or loiter on any parking lot, or on the grounds of any drive-in restaurant, drive-in theatre, trailer court, trailer park, motel, whether in an automobile or not, without lawful business with the owner or occupant of said place, or after such lawful business has been concluded.

(3) Sleep or lodge in any public building, grounds, parks, streets, sidewalks without the express permission of city authorities, or use any trailer, house trailer, bus, truck or automobile in any park, public grounds, streets or sidewalks for sleeping or lodging unless such place pursuant to all applicable laws and regulations.

(c) Exemption. This section shall not apply to members of the military or naval forces of the United States or of the state militia in obedience to lawful orders of duly constituted authority.

(Code 1980, §§ 4-3.101—4-3.103; Ord. No. 89-20, § 3; Ord. No. 90-01, § 3)

(a) Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(b) Tapes or prerecorded messages prohibited. No person, firm or corporation shall use or cause the use of any electrical or mechanic device or attachment to any telephone that reproduces any taped or prerecorded message to report any police emergency by utilization of the telephone trunk lines of the police department.

(Code 1980, §§ 4-10.101, 4-10.102; Ord. No. 89-20, § 10; Ord. No. 90-01, § 10)

(a) Violation. Violation of this section is an infraction.

(b) Purpose. The purposes of this section are declared to be as follows:

(1) To protect the health and safety of the people and the expense incident to the littering of public places by the uncontrolled distribution of handbills; and

(2) To preserve to the people their constitutional right to receive and disseminate information by distinguishing between the nuisance created by the uncontrolled distribution of handbills and the right to deliver newspapers.

(c) Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Handbill means and includes any printed or written matter, any sample or device, circular, leaflet, paper, booklet or any other printed or otherwise reproduced original copies of any matter or literature.

Newspaper means and includes any newspaper of general circulation, as defined by general law, any newspaper duly entered with the United States Postal Service in accordance with federal statute or regulation, any newspaper filed and recorded with any recording officers provided by general law, and any periodical or current magazine regularly published with not less than four issues per year and sold to the public.

Private property means and includes any dwelling, house, building or other structure designed for use either wholly or in part for private residential purposes, whether inhabited or temporarily or continuously uninhabited or vacant, and includes any yard, grounds, walk, driveway, porch, steps, vestibule or mailbox belonging or appurtenant to such dwelling, house, building or other structure.

Public property means and includes any and all streets, boulevards, avenues, lanes, alleys or other public ways and any and all public parks, squares, plazas, grounds, and buildings.

(d) Posting or distribution of handbills.

(1) No person shall throw, cast, distribute, scatter, deposit, or place a handbill upon any public property within the city, except as may be authorized or required by the laws of the United States, the state, and the ordinances of the city provided it shall be lawful to distribute a handbill to a person willing to accept it.

(2) No person shall throw, cast, distribute, scatter, deposit or place any handbill upon an unattended vehicle, except in a manner that will prevent it from being blown about or scattered by the elements.

(Code 1980, §§ 6-37.1—6-37.3; Ord. No. 94-03, §§ 2—4)