Sonora Municipal Code § 9.61 Protection of Critical Infrastructure and Fire Severity Zones

The city council finds as follows: (1) an immediate 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; (2) destruction of, damage to, or interference with, critical infrastructure is caused by fire, contamination, blocked access, or other causes; and (3) 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.

The purpose of this chapter is to mitigate the threat of fire and other potential causes of destruction and damage to and interference with critical infrastructure 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.

(Adopted by Ord. 889 on 7/18/2022)

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

"Camp" and "camping" mean 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, or temporary shelters.

"Camp paraphernalia" includes, but is not limited to, tarpaulins, cots, beds, sleeping bags, hammocks, or non-city designated cooking facilities and similar equipment.

"Critical infrastructure" means real property or a facility, whether privately or publicly owned, that the City Administrator 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. Critical infrastructure may include, but is not limited to, government buildings, such as fire stations, police stations, jails, or courthouses; hospitals; schools; wastewater facilities; structures, such as antennas, bridges, roads, train tracks, waterways, drainage systems, or levees; or systems, such as computer networks, public utilities, electrical wires, natural gas or propane pipes, telecommunication centers, or water sources.

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

"Fire prevention official" means the Fire Chief, or designee.

"Garbage" includes all kitchen and table food waste, and animal or vegetable waste that attends or results from the storage, preparation, cooking or handling of, foodstuffs.

"Hazardous waste" has the same meaning as in California Public Resources Code Section 40141.

"Infectious waste" has the same meaning as in California Code of Regulations., Title 14, Section 17225.36.

"Refuse" includes garbage and rubbish.

"Solid waste or wastes" includes all putrescible and non-putrescible solid and semisolid wastes, such as refuse, garbage, rubbish, paper, ashes, industrial wastes, demolition and construction wastes, abandoned vehicles and parts thereof, discarded home and industrial appliances, manure, vegetable or animal solid and semisolid wastes and other discarded solid and semisolid wastes, and also includes liquid wastes disposed of in conjunction with solid waste disposal sites.

"Fire Severity Zones" California law requires CAL FIRE to identify areas based on the severity of the fire danger expected to prevail there. These zones or "zones" are based on factors such as fuel, slope, and fire weather. There are three zones according to the increased fire hazard: medium, high and very high.

(Adopted by Ord. 889 on 7/18/2022)

Nothing in this chapter is meant to preempt or otherwise replace the enforcement of violations under the Sonora Municipal Code or as otherwise permitted under law.

(Adopted by Ord. 889 on 7/18/2022)

A. It is unlawful and a public nuisance for any person to camp, occupy camp facilities, or use camp paraphernalia at the following locations:

1. Critical infrastructure;

2. Within twenty-five feet of critical infrastructure;

3. Within twenty-five feet of a vehicular or pedestrian entrance or exit of critical infrastructure;

4. 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

5. Areas designated as a Fire Severity Zone.

B. It is unlawful and a public nuisance for any person to store personal property, including camp facilities and camp paraphernalia, in the following locations without the written consent of the owner, except as otherwise provided by resolution of the city council:

1. Critical infrastructure;

2. Within twenty-five feet of critical infrastructure;

3. Within twenty-five feet of a vehicular or pedestrian entrance or exit of critical infrastructure;

4. 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

5. Areas designated as a Fire Severity Zone.

C. It is not intended by this section to prohibit overnight camping on private residential property by friends or family of the property owner, so long as the owner consents and the overnight camping is limited to the period that the owner has given their consent. All overnight camping on private residential property within the City is subject to applicable building and fire codes under the Sonora Municipal Code and prohibitions on the use of trailers and mobile homes as set forth in Title 17 of the Sonora Municipal Code.

D. 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 Title 17 or other laws, ordinances, and regulations.

(Adopted by Ord. 889 on 7/18/2022)

A. Any violation of section 9.61.040 may result in abatement of an occupant's personal property after providing them with no less than seventy-two hour written notice that the occupant's camp, camp paraphernalia, or camp facility is located in or on a designated critical infrastructure or a fire severity zone.

B. Summary abatement without prior notice is warranted when conditions or violations are so severe that immediate action is required to prevent the serious threat of harm.

C. Abatement pursuant to subsections A or B may include, but is not limited to, removal of camp facilities, camp paraphernalia, personal property, garbage, hazardous waste, infectious waste, junk, or refuse; and securing the perimeter of the property with fencing, gates, or barricades to prevent further occurrences of the nuisance activity.

D. Regardless of the city'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 the Sonora Municipal Code, and applicable provisions of state and federal law; and is liable for violations thereof.

E. The cost of abatement, including all administrative costs of any action taken hereunder, may be assessed against the subject premises as a lien, made a personal obligation of the owner, or both, in accordance with procedures in section 1.08.090.

(Adopted by Ord. 889 on 7/18/2022; Ord. No. 900, § 6, 2-3-2025)

In accordance with California Penal Code § 148, every person who willfully resists, delays, or obstructs any public officer, peace officer, or an emergency medical technician, as defined in Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code, in the discharge or attempt to discharge any duty of his or her office or employment to enforce this Chapter shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(Adopted by Ord. 889 on 7/18/2022)

A. In addition to any other remedy allowed by law, any person who violates a provision of this chapter is subject to criminal, civil, and administrative penalties pursuant to Chapters 1.08 and 1.20.

B. Violations of this chapter are hereby declared to be a public nuisance.

C. All remedies prescribed under this chapter are cumulative and the election of one or more remedies does not bar the city from the pursuit of any other remedy to enforce this chapter.

(Adopted by Ord. 889 on 7/18/2022)