Sonora Municipal Code § 9.56 Unlawful Camping

The streets and public areas within the city should be readily accessible and available to residents and the public at large. The use of these areas for camping purposes interferes with the rights of others to use the area, for which they were intended. Such activity can constitute a public health and safety hazard, which negatively impacts the community.

Camping on private property without the proper sanitary measures for any duration adversely affects private property rights, as well as, the public health, safety, and welfare of the city. The purpose of this section is to maintain streets, parks, and other public and private areas within the city in a clean, sanitary, and accessible condition and to adequately protect the health, safety, and public welfare of the community. Nothing in this section is intended to interfere with otherwise lawful and ordinary uses of public or private property.

(Adopted by Ord. 841 on 9/5/2017)

Unless it is apparent from the context that another meaning is intended, the following words, when used in this section, shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this chapter.

"Camp" or "camping" means the placement on public or private property for the purpose of making a living accommodation for one or more nights of tents, tarpaulins, temporary shelters, house trailers, mobile homes, motor vehicles or parts thereof, trailers, cooking facilities, cots, ground covers, bedding, hammocks, backpacks, sleeping bags and other equipment of a similar nature used to live temporarily in the outdoors.

"Camp facilities" include, but are not limited to, tents, huts, temporary shelters, trailers, and vehicles.

"Camp paraphernalia" includes, but is not limited to, collapsible shelters, cots, beds, sleeping bags, bed rolls, hammocks, barbeques, open fires, portable stoves, or other cooking equipment not provided or approved by the city.

"Public property" means any publicly owned property in the city, improved or unimproved, including, but not limited to, any of the following: public alleyways; public parking lots; public passageways; public streets; public rights-of-way; publicly owned, maintained, or operated parks; publicly owned, maintained, or operated landscaped areas or greenbelts; publicly owned, maintained, or operated open spaces, including, but not limited to, those adjacent to City Hall or other public facilities or buildings of any kind; public sidewalks, curbs, and gutters; public restrooms; and public waterways, creeks, and streams.

"Recreational vehicle" means any of the following:

A. A "travel trailer" is a portable structure built on a frame designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for camping, travel, recreation, and vacation use, as identified by the manufacturer.

B. A "camper" or "camper shell" is a structure designed primarily to be mounted upon a motor vehicle and for use as a temporary dwelling for camping, travel, recreation, and vacation purposes.

C. A "motorized home" or "motorhome" is a portable, self-contained dwelling designed and constructed as an integral part of a self-propelled vehicle.

D. A "tent trailer" is a canvas folding structure mounted on wheels and designed for camping, travel, recreation, and vacation use.

"Vehicle" shall have the same meaning as those terms defined in the California Vehicle Code.

(Adopted by Ord. 841 on 9/5/2017; Ord. No. 900, § 3, 2-3-2025)

A. Except as otherwise provided in Section 9.56.050, it shall be unlawful for anyone to camp upon any public property.

B. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person to sleep, between midnight and five a.m., in any vehicle parked on public property.

(Adopted by Ord. 841 on 9/5/2017)

A. Except as otherwise provided in Section 9.56.050, it shall be unlawful to camp upon private property within the city without the consent of the property owner.

B. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person to sleep, between midnight and five a.m., in any vehicle parked in or on any privately-owned parking area used for the parking of employees or customers without the prior consent of the parking lot owner.

(Adopted by Ord. 841 on 9/5/2017)

Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit:

A. Persons from lawfully camping within campgrounds approved by the city.

B. Persons from lawfully camping on private property which is operated, maintained, and publicized to the public as a campground in conformance with the regulations of the city's Municipal Code and Zoning Ordinance.

C. Persons from camping in connection with a special event conducted in accordance with a permit issued by the city under other provisions of the Municipal Code.

D. Overnight camping in a recreational vehicle which is parked on a public street when the occupants of the recreational vehicle are guests of the owners or occupants of an adjacent residential property and:

1. The recreational vehicle is legally parked directly adjacent to the residential property where the occupants are guests;

2. The overnight camping in the recreational vehicle at that location shall not extend for a period of more than seven consecutive days without an interruption of at least seven consecutive non-camping days, subject to the parking regulations in section 10.08.040; and

3. The recreational vehicle is self-contained, free of sewage leaks, and does not require any hook-ups to the adjacent residential property.

E. Recreational camping on residential property under the following conditions:

1. The recreational camping activity is, at all times, monitored by an adult residing at the residential property;

2. Those involved in the recreational camping activity must be:

a. Family members, relatives, or guests of the owner; or

b. Members of an organization such as the boy scouts, cub scouts, girl scouts, etc.; and

3. The recreational camping does not extend for a period of more than two consecutive nights without an interruption of at least seven consecutive non-camping days.

(Adopted by Ord. 841 on 9/5/2017; Ord. No. 900, § 4, 2-3-2025)

A. It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this chapter.

B. Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be issued a written cease and desist notice. The written notice shall set forth the section or sections that the person is violating. The written notice shall state that the individual has seventy-two hours to cease any and all violations of this chapter from the date the written notice is issued.

C. If a person who receives a written notice pursuant to this section 9.56.060(B) fails to comply with this chapter in five days, the person shall be deemed guilty of an infraction in accordance with section 1.08.010(C) of the Sonora Municipal Code, which is punishable by:

1. A fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for a first violation;

2. A fine not exceeding two hundred dollars for a second violation of the same section or sections within one year;

3. A fine not exceeding five hundred dollars for a third violation of the same section or sections within one year.

D. After a person's third infraction, in addition to other remedies provided by law, a violation of this chapter shall be a misdemeanor and punishable pursuant to section 1.08.010(B) of the Sonora Municipal Code.

E. Any citation issued for a violation of this chapter may be dismissed upon review by the city administrator if, in the interest of justice, at the time of citation issuance, all local homeless shelters were full to capacity, the person cited had no reasonable or adequate alternative course of action, and the person cited did not substantially contribute to the circumstances necessitating camping as his or her only reasonable course of action.

(Adopted by Ord. 841 on 9/5/2017; Ord. No. 900, § 5, 2-3-2025)