San Joaquin County Municipal Code Ch. 2 Critical Infrastructure Ordinance

The purpose of this Chapter to mitigate the threat of fire and other potential causes of destruction and damage to and interference with, critical infrastructure, in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, by authorizing the removal of persons and their personal property in, on, or near critical infrastructure.

(a) A principal threat to the public health, safety, and welfare is the potential destruction of, damage to, or interference with, infrastructure that is critical to the provision of public services such as law enforcement, fire prevention, transportation, and utilities including communication, water, and waste disposal;

(b) Destruction of, damage to, or interference with, critical infrastructure is caused by fire, contamination, restricting access, or other causes; and

(c) Destruction of, damage to, or interference with, critical infrastructure is often caused by persons whose activities are not permitted or authorized in, on, or near critical infrastructure.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

When used in this Chapter, the following words and phrases have the following meanings:

(a) "Camp" means to place, pitch or occupy camp facilities; to live temporarily in a camp facility or outdoors; to use camp paraphernalia.

(b) "Camp facilities" include, but are not limited to, tents, huts, vehicles, vehicle camping outfits or temporary shelter.

(c) "Camp paraphernalia" includes, but is not limited to, bedrolls, tarpaulins, cots, beds, sleeping bags, hammocks or cooking facilities and similar equipment.

(d) "Critical infrastructure" means each of the following:

(i) Levees, including any embankment built to prevent the overflow of a waterway, or a ridge of sediment deposited naturally alongside a river by overflowing water; or

(ii) Real property or a facility, whether privately or publicly owned, that the County deems vital and integral to the operation or functioning of the County such that its damage, incapacity, disruption, or destruction would have a debilitating impact on the public health, safety, or welfare.

(e) "Debris" means building and construction materials, garbage, refuse, wreckage, spoiled or ruined household goods, and similar material.

(f) "Facility" means a building, structure, equipment, system, or asset.

(g) "Garbage" means discarded nonputrescible or putrescible household items, objects, or materials for which there is no use or reuse intended. Garbage does not include source- separated recyclables, food waste, or yard waste.

(h) "Hazardous waste" has the same meaning as in California Public Resources Code § 40141.

(i) "Infectious waste" has the same meaning as in California Code of Regulations, Title 14, § 17225.36.

(j) "Solid waste" means all putrescible and non-putrescible solid, semisolid, and liquid wastes, including garbage; ashes; industrial waste; demolition and construction waste; discarded home and industrial appliances; abandoned vehicles and vehicle parts; dewatered, treated, or chemically fixed sewage sludge that is not hazardous waste; manure; dirt; soil, rock, gravel, sand, or other aggregate material; and other discarded solid and semisolid waste; but not including recyclables, food waste, or yard waste.

(k) "Wildfire risk area" has the same meaning as in California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Part 9, § 202.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

The County Board of Supervisors hereby deems the following facilities necessary for the provision and protection of public services, such as law enforcement, fire prevention, medical care, transportation and utilities, such as electricity, water, waste disposal, and telecommunications, unless otherwise deemed to be not critical by a resolution of the Board of Supervisors:

(a) Government buildings, such as fire stations, police stations, jails, or courthouses; hospitals;

(b) Public service/utility structures, such as antennas, bridges, roads, train tracks, drainage systems, and levees;

(c) Public service/utility systems, such as computer networks, public utilities, electrical wires, pipelines, telecommunication equipment, or water sources.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

(a) It is a violation of this Chapter for any person to store personal property, including camp facilities and camp paraphernalia or release debris, hazardous waste, infectious waste, or solid waste, or for any property owner to allow or maintain such prohibited activities, in the following locations, except as otherwise provided by resolution of the Board of Supervisors:

(i) On critical infrastructure;

(ii) Within twenty-five (25) feet of critical infrastructure;

(iii) Within twenty-five (25) feet of a vehicular or pedestrian entrance or exit of critical infrastructure;

(iv) On those portions of a right-of-way that are required by local, state, or federal law to be free of obstruction to first responders, including but not limited to members of law-enforcement, fire-prevention, or emergency-medical-services agencies; or

(v) In a wildfire risk area.

(b) If a location identified in subsection (a) is private property, it is not intended by this section to prohibit otherwise legally allowed uses of the property, including overnight camping on private residential property, so long as the property owner consents and any overnight camping is limited to not more than one consecutive night.

(c) Nothing in this chapter is intended to prohibit or make unlawful the activities of an owner of private property or other lawful user of private property that are normally associated with and incidental to the lawful and authorized use of private property for residential or other purposes; and nothing is intended to prohibit or make unlawful the activities of a property owner or other lawful user if such activities are expressly authorized by the County Development Title or other laws, ordinances, and regulations.

(d) Each day that prohibited activities continue is deemed to be a new and separate offense.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

(a) The County may abate any violation of this chapter within twenty-four (24) hours after a county officer or their agent posts a notice of planned abatement;

(i) If a county officer or their designee determines that a violation of this Chapter poses an imminent threat to public health or safety then the County may abate that violation immediately without notice.

(b) Abatement pursuant to subsection (a) may include, but is not limited to, removal of camp facilities, camp paraphernalia, personal property, debris, hazardous waste, infectious waste, or solid waste; and securing the perimeter of the property with fencing, gates, or barricades to prevent violations of this Chapter.

(c) Regardless of the County's authority to conduct abatement pursuant to this section, every owner, occupant, or lessee of real property, and every holder of any interest in real property, is required to maintain the property in compliance with local, state, and federal law; and is liable for violations thereof.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

No person shall willfully prevent, delay, resist, obstruct, or otherwise interfere with a county official, employee, contractor, or volunteer in their execution of an abatement pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

(a) The County hereby declares and finds that violations of this Chapter are a public nuisance subject to abatement, remedies, and penalties according to the provisions and procedures contained in this Chapter and Title 1, Division 2.

(i) A violation of this Chapter deemed a nuisance may be abated by the County pursuant to this Chapter and by means of a restraining order, injunction, or any other order or judgment in law or equity issued by a court of competent jurisdiction necessary to enjoin violations or to compel compliance with this Chapter.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

(a) The County hereby declares and finds that violations of this Chapter constitute an infraction, in addition to being subject to any state, local, or federal law and administrative or civil penalties.

(b) A violation of this Chapter may be prosecuted by County authorities in the name of the people of the State of California or through civil action.

(c) Any person violating this Chapter shall be guilty of an infraction.

(d) Every violation of this Chapter prosecuted as an infraction is punishable by the following:

(i) A fine of one hundred dollars ($100.00) for a first violation.

(ii) A fine of two hundred dollars ($200.00) for a second violation of this Chapter within one (1) year of the first violation.

(iii) A fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each additional violation of this Chapter within one (1) year of the first violation.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

Any person who violates this Chapter is subject to a minimum civil fine/penalty of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) and a maximum civil fine/penalty of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) for each violation.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

(a) The County shall be reimbursed for all costs, including time, services, and materials needed to abate a violation of this Chapter and hold the violator(s) accountable unless the County waives reimbursement in whole or in part.

(i) The hourly rate used to compute time spent to investigate, document, abate a violation, and recovery costs shall be the actual costs.

(ii) The County entitled to recover all County costs for the voluntary and involuntary abatement of violations.

a. Voluntary abatement is the abatement of a violation by the owner after notification of the violation from the County that such violation exists and must be abated.

b. Involuntary abatement is that action that is performed by, under the direction of, or at the initial expense of the County.

(b) County costs may be assessed against the violator and the owner of the property where the violation occurred as a personal obligation and as a lien on the property, or both.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

The Board of Supervisors shall, by Resolution, adopt a fee schedule for any fees it deems necessary under this Chapter.

(a) The amount of the fees adopted pursuant to this section shall not exceed the amount reasonably required to inspect, administer, or process the required permits, certificates, licenses, or other forms or documents, or to defray the costs of enforcement required to be carried out by the County/.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

All remedies provided for in this Chapter are cumulative and not exclusive, and are in addition to any other remedy or penalty provided in this Code and by law. Nothing in this Chapter shall be deemed to authorize or permit any activity that violates any provision of state or federal statute.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

The adoption of this Chapter is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility of a significant effect from the adoption of this Chapter.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

In the event that any California statute adopted or referred to in this Chapter is amended or succeeded by another enactment of the California Legislature, it shall be deemed such amendments shall be automatically deemed adopted as part of this Chapter as if fully set forth herein.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)

If any part or subsection of this Chapter is for any reason held to be invalid, unlawful, or unconstitutional, such invalidity, unlawfulness, or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity, lawfulness, or constitutionality of any other part of this Chapter.

(Ord. No. 4597, 7-12-2022)