San Clemente Municipal Code Ch. 12.18 Public Storage of Personal Property

This chapter is intended to protect the public health, safety, and welfare by preventing injuries to persons and property. This chapter is also intended to ensure that certain locations within the City remain accessible to the public as well as City and public safety personnel. Meaningful protection of such interests includes, among other things, regulations governing public storage of personal property. Left unregulated, the storage of personal property in public spaces can cause significant adverse health and safety impacts, including the following:

A. .....Property stored in, on, or adjacent to critical infrastructure can result in damage, disruption, incapacitation, and destruction. Such consequences can lead to delayed emergency response times, interrupted utility service, and injuries to persons or property.

B. .....Property stored near critical driveways, loading docks and/or in a manner that obstructs (often heavily trafficked) public rights-of-way can likewise result in injuries to persons or property. Among other things, such injuries can be caused by persons having to traverse around obstructions and vehicles entering and exiting roadways.

C. .....Storing property in public spaces also contributes to blight, can damage such property, and foster unsanitary conditions (e.g., accumulation of items infested with insects or vermin).

(Ord. No. 1722, § 4, 2-1-2022)

"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 personnel 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.

"Business hours" means the hours that City Hall for the City is open to the public for business.

"City" means the City of San Clemente, California.

"City property" means property or easement that is owned, operated, or managed by the City.

"Critical use area" means any of the following areas of City property:

1. Within ten feet of any operational or utilizable entrance, exit, driveway, service area, or loading dock, or within, on, or obstructing, any stairway, passageway, hallway, or corridor leading to such areas.

2. Within ten feet of critical infrastructure.

3. Within five feet of any parking space, whether delineated with space markings or otherwise.

4. Any area upon a sidewalk or other public right-of-way that the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (as amended from time to time) requires to be clear of obstructions for purposes of pedestrian and disabled pedestrian traffic.

"Critical infrastructure" means fire or law enforcement stations; hospitals; structures, such as antennas, bridges, train tracks, or drainage systems; or systems, such as computer networks, public utilities, electrical wires, natural gas pipes, telecommunication centers, or water resources. Critical infrastructure also includes real property or a facility, whether privately or publicly owned, that the City Manager or designee designates as being so vital and integral to the operation or functioning of the City or in need of protection that its damage, incapacity, disruption, or destruction would have a debilitating impact on the public health, safety, or welfare.

"Enforcement personnel" means the Orange County Fire Authority, the Orange County Sheriff's Department and employees of the City's Code Compliance, Park Ranger, and Marine Safety Divisions. Enforcement personnel also includes employees designated by the City Manager as having authority to enforce this chapter.

"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.

"Instrumental activities of daily living" means activities a person engages in, on their own behalf, to achieve, or participate in, any of the following:

1. Getting into/out of bed or a chair

2. Toilet hygiene

3. Bathing or showering

4. Getting dressed

5. Personal hygiene

6. Eating

7. Walking/climbing stairs

8. Caring for others

9. Caring for pets

10. Child rearing

11. Communication management

12. Community mobility

13. Financial management

14. Health management and maintenance

15. Home establishment and maintenance

16. Meal preparation and cleanup

17. Religious observances

18. Safety procedures and emergency responses

19. Shopping

"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.

"Public utilities" means any outdoor water, sewer, or electrical outlets or fixtures on government owned, maintained, or operated properties within the City that are not designated for public use.

"Sheriff" means any sworn personnel of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

"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. 1722, § 4, 2-1-2022; Ord. No. 1779, § 5, 9-3-2024)

A. Prohibition. .....No person shall store any non-essential personal property on City property.

B. Exceptions. .....Subsection (A) shall not apply to any of the following:

1. Storing property in accordance with a City-issued permit.

2. Storing property as part of activities expressly authorized by the City.

3. Property storage by an employee of the City or any public utility or government agency in the course of their employment.

(Ord. No. 1722, § 4, 2-1-2022)

A. Abandoned Personal Property. .....Enforcement personnel may remove and immediately discard any abandoned essential and non-essential personal property located on City property without complying with the preremoval notice, post-removal notice, storage, and retrieval requirements set forth in subsections (B)(3), (B)(4) and (B)(5) below.

B. Stored Personal Property. .....Enforcement personnel may remove unattended stored essential and non-essential personal property on City property subject to the following procedures:

1. Critical Use Areas. Essential and non-essential personal property, that is blocking access to any critical use area and that cannot be moved aside may be removed subject to the post-removal notice, storage, and retrieval requirements set forth in subsections (B)(3)(b), (B)(4) and (B)(5) below. If personal property can be moved aside so as to not block access to the critical use area, then such property shall be removed in accordance with subsection (B)(2) (all other areas), as applicable.

2. All Other Areas. Essential and non-essential personal property that is not covered by subsection (B)(1) (Critical Use Areas) may be removed in accordance with the following:

a. Essential Personal Property. Essential personal property may be removed subject to the pre-removal notice, postremoval notice, storage, and retrieval requirements set forth in subsections (B)(3)(a), (B)(3)(b), (B)(4), and (B)(5) below.

b. Non-Essential Personal Property. Non-essential personal property may be removed subject to the post-removal notice, storage, and retrieval requirements set forth in subsections (B)(3)(b), (B)(4), and (B)(5) below.

3. Notice.

a. Pre-Removal Notice. In instances where pre-removal notice is required, such notice shall:

i. Be posted no less than 24 hours prior to the removal.

ii. Be posted at the site of the personal property.

iii. Include the date and time by which the personal property must be moved.

iv. Explain that the City will remove and impound the personal property if it is not moved from City property.

b. Post-Removal Notice. In instances where post-removal notice is required, such notice shall:

i. Be posted immediately after the removal of personal property.

ii. Be posted at the site from which the personal property was removed.

iii. Detail the procedures for retrieving the personal property.

4. Storage.

a. Manner and Timing. In instances where storage is required, the City or Sheriff shall store removed personal property for 90 days from the date of removal.

b. Location. The removed personal property shall be stored at a location or locations in the City that reasonably facilitate retrieval.

c. Records. The City or Sheriff shall keep written records, maintained for at least 90 days following removal, of any personal property stored. The records shall include the date that the personal property was removed, the location from which the personal property was removed, and a general description of the personal property.

5. Retrieval. During business hours, the City or Sheriff shall promptly assist any person seeking to retrieve property stored pursuant to subsection (B)(4) above.

6. Exceptions. The notice, storage, and retrieval regulations set forth in subsections (B)(3), (B)(4), and (B)(5) above shall not apply to the following:

a. Items that present a health and safety risk if stored, such as items soiled by bodily fluids, items that are moldy, items infested by insects or vermin, and perishable food. Such items need not be stored and may be discarded.

b. Items that constitute evidence of a crime or contraband, which may be seized and discarded as permitted by law.

(Ord. No. 1722, § 4, 2-1-2022; Ord. No. 1779, § 6, 9-3-2024)