Taft Municipal Code Ch. 14 Use of Vehicles for Human Habitation Prohibited

It is the City's responsibility to promote the health, peace, safety, welfare and convenience of all persons in regards to their use and enjoyment of public lands. The City Council finds it necessary to regulate the use of vehicles for human habitation on public land for this purpose while ensuring that all such regulations comport with applicable law. (Ord. 852-23, 7-18-2023)

The following definitions apply to this chapter:

BLOCK: Five hundred feet (500').

HABITATION: More than one of the following activities and when it reasonably appears, in light of all the circumstances, that a person is using a vehicle as a place of residence or accommodation: possessing inside or on a vehicle items that are not associated with ordinary vehicle use, such as a sleeping bag, bedroll, blanket, sheet, pillow, kitchen utensils, cookware, cooking equipment, bodily fluids; obscuring some or all of the vehicle's windows; preparing or cooking meals inside or on a vehicle; sleeping inside the vehicle; leaving of litter, rubbish, or waste in or around the vehicle; having furniture or equipment in or around the vehicle, such as chairs, tables, umbrellas, or portable cooking equipment; leaving, storing, or otherwise discarding of human wastes inside the vehicle or in the vicinity of the vehicle.

PARK: A park, playground, recreation center, tennis courts, swimming facilities, sports field, ball field and/or open space or other area, structure or facility, owned or used by the City and devoted to active or passive recreation, or open for or dedicated to public use within the City of Taft, including, without limitation, those constructed, adapted, or designated as such after adoption of this chapter, and including, but not limited to, that area commonly referred to as "rails to trails" or similar description.

PUBLIC STREET: Shall mean and include, without limitation, streets, roads, highways, alleys, sidewalks, parkways, bridges, culverts, drains, and all other facilities and areas necessary for the construction, improvement and maintenance of streets and roads.

VEHICLE: Any device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved or drawn upon a highway, off road or in the water or through the air, including, but not limited to cars, trucks, airplanes, motor homes, recreational vehicles, trailers, watercraft (on or off its hauler) except a device intended to be moved exclusively by human power. (Ord. 852-23, 7-18-2023)

(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to sleep in a vehicle whatsoever for habitation:

1. Between the hours of nine o’clock (9:00) P.M. and six o’clock (6:00) A.M. on any public or private street, parking lot, or unimproved or vacant lot within the City of Taft; or

2. At any time within a one block radius of any edge of a lot containing a park or a licensed school, pre-school, or daycare facility within the City of Taft.

The foregoing shall not apply to a private parking lot or unimproved lot in which the property owner has obtained a conditional use permit from the City to allow for sleeping in the parking lot or unimproved lot. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit camping in public campgrounds pursuant to a permit or license authorized under Federal, State, or local statute or ordinance. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the allowable parking and sleeping in recreational vehicles described in sections 6-12-19 , 6-12-20 , and 6-12-21 of title VI of the Taft Municipal Code if all legal requirements therein are met. Nothing herein precludes the enforcement of any other related laws that the City of Taft is authorized to enforce.

(B) Any violation of this chapter shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable in accordance with title I , including chapters 1 and 2 , of this code, unless deemed an infraction pursuant to section 1-1-11 . The City is authorized to take such actions as may be required for enforcement of this chapter. The City may enforce any violation of this chapter by any and all means available by law, including, but not limited to, civil enforcement through such means as a restraining order and nuisance abatement action for such relief such as preliminary or permanent injunctions, criminal enforcement, and administrative enforcement. These remedies are intended to be cumulative and may be used in conjunction with or in lieu of each other remedy. Any violation of this chapter shall constitute a public nuisance subject to all enforcement, including abatement procedures authorized to the City by this code and all other applicable laws.

(C) If any portion, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this section is for any reason held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such a decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this section. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each portion or subsection, sentence, clause and phrase herein, irrespective of the fact that any one or more portions, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid.

(D) This section may be enforced by enforcement officers of the City of Taft specified in section 1-2-5 of title I.

(E) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect, supersede, or otherwise prevent enforcement of provisions under other provisions of the Taft Municipal Code, California State Law, or other law enforceable by the City or to prevent the City from commencing administrative, civil, or criminal proceedings for nuisance abatement, injunctive relief, or other methods of enforcement available under law. (Ord. 852-23, 7-18-2023; amd. Ord. 854-25, 10-21-2025)