Truckee Municipal Code Ch. 9.14 Camping

The Town Council finds and determines as follows:

(a) The streets and public areas within the town should be readily accessible and available to residents and the public at large. The use of these areas for camping purposes or storage of personal property interferes with the rights of others to use the areas for which they were intended. Such activity can constitute a public health and safety hazard which adversely impacts neighborhoods and commercial areas.

(b) Camping on private property without the consent of the owner or proper sanitary measures adversely affects private property rights as well as public health, safety, and welfare of the town. The purpose of this chapter is to maintain streets, parks and other public and private areas within the town in a clean, sanitary and accessible condition and to adequately protect the health, safety and public welfare of the community.

Unless the particular provisions or the context otherwise requires, the definitions contained in this section shall govern the construction, meaning, and application of words and phrases used in this chapter.

(a) "Attended" means a person being within three (3) feet of his or her property.

(b) "Camp" or "Camping" is defined as the use of areas for living accommodation purposes such as sleeping activities, or making preparations to sleep (including the laying down of bedding for the purpose of sleeping), or storing personal belongings, or making any fire, or using any tents or shelter or other structure for sleeping or doing any digging or earth breaking or carrying on cooking activities. Such activities shall constitute camping when it reasonably appears, in light of all the circumstances, that the participants, in conducting these activities, are in fact using the area as a living accommodation, regardless of the intent of the participants or the nature of any other activities in which they may be engaging. "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) "Private property" means all privately owned property including, but not limited to, privately owned streets, privately owned sidewalks, alleys, and improved or unimproved land.

(e) "Public property" means all publicly owned property including, but not limited to, streets, sidewalks, alleys, and improved or unimproved land.

(f) "Store" means to put aside or accumulate for use when needed, to put for safekeeping, to place or leave in a location.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to sleep, camp, occupy camp facilities, or use camp paraphernalia on any public road or on any public property when an alternative accommodation as defined in subsection (d), designated for such use, is available to such person and the person has adequate means and resources to utilize that accommodation. It shall be unlawful to camp on any private property that is not open to the general public, provided that it shall not be a violation of this ordinance to camp in any publicly or privately owned designated camping facility if: (i) the user has permission of the owner of such property, his agent or the person in lawful possession of such property; and (ii) sanitary facilities are available on such property to the person sleeping or camping in or on such property. Nothing in this section authorizes the obstruction of a public right-of-way. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it shall be unlawful for any person to sleep, camp, occupy camp facilities, or use camp paraphernalia within any structure owned by the Town of Truckee, or on the grounds of such structure, which shall be deemed to include the Town-owned property between the structure and the adjacent property or sidewalk.

(b) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit overnight camping on private property, provided the user has the expressed permission of the owner of such property, his agent, or the person in lawful possession of such property and the primary purpose of the overnight camping is for recreational purposes.

(c) Notwithstanding the prohibition against sleeping on a public road as set forth in subsection (a) above, it is not the intent of this ordinance to prohibit persons, when necessary for their safety or the safety of others, to pull off the public road and sleep inside their vehicles.

(d) Town employees enforcing this chapter shall make a reasonable attempt to determine if an alternative accommodation is available to a person. Alternative accommodations are shelters or other facilities, which allow for public access for the use of lodging regardless of the participant's religion, gender, age, financial resources, or other criteria which would otherwise prevent access to such accommodation. Nothing in this section precludes Town employees from issuing citations or making arrests for violations of other ordinances or statutes.

(ORD 2019-01, 01/08/2019)

(a) On public property, storage of construction materials, tools, lumber, paint, tarps, bedding, luggage, pillows, sleeping bags, food, clothing, literature, papers and all other similar property is prohibited. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a person may have literature, papers, food, clothing, blankets and a reasonable cover to protect such property, occupying up to three (3) cubic feet of space, so long as such property is attended at all times.

(b) It is unlawful for any person to store personal property, including camp paraphernalia, on any private property without the written consent of the owner.

Any person violating any provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(ORD 2015-10, 07-14-2015)