Yuba City Municipal Code Ch. 20 Camping in Yuba City

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 003-14, § 1, adopted Nov. 18, 2014, effectively repealed the former Ch. 20, §§ 5-20.010—5-20.050, and enacted a new Ch. 20 as set out herein. The former Ch. 20 pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ord. No. 001-14, § 1, adopted March 18, 2014. See Appendix A for prior legislative history.

Public property and public rights-of-way within the City 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 that adversely impacts the neighborhoods, commercial property and general welfare of the City.

Camping on private property without the consent of the owner and without proper sanitary measures adversely affects private property rights as well as public health, safety, and welfare.

City services can be utilized to clean up campsites on public and private property. These cleanups can expose City workers and citizens to hazardous conditions including human infectious waste and other hazardous materials. Disposal of these materials is costly and hazardous. Temporary and permanent campsites erected within the City limits are often constructed in a fashion, and/or at a location that makes access by emergency personnel difficult during times of emergency. This puts the campers, campsite visitors, and emergency personnel at a greater risk if an injury, illness, accident or disaster should occur.

The purpose of this chapter is to prohibit, subject to certain restrictions, camping on public or private property within the City in order to maintain public or private property in a clean, sanitary and accessible condition and to adequately protect the health, safety and public welfare of the community.

(Ord. No. 003-14, § 1, 11-18-2014)

For purposes of this chapter, "camping" is defined as residing in or using property for one or more nights 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 (including but not limited to clothing, sleeping bags, bedrolls, blankets, sheets, luggage, backpacks, kitchen utensils, cookware, and similar material), or making any fire or using any tents, regularly cooking meals, or living in a parked vehicle. These activities constitute camping when it reasonably appears, in light of all the circumstances, that a person(s) is using property, as a living accommodation for one or more nights regardless of his or her intent or the nature of any other activities in which he or she might also be engaging.

(Ord. No. 003-14, § 1, 11-18-2014)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 003-19, § 1, adopted October 15, 2019, repealed § 5-20.030, which pertained to camping on public property and derived from Ord. No. 003-14, § 1, 11-18-2014.

Notwithstanding the prohibition of Section 5-20.030, camping shall be allowed in the Yuba Sutter Boat Docks Recreational Vehicle Campground and Marina, located at #80 Second Street, Yuba City (Assessor's Parcel No. 03-290-006) and as may be permitted within City parks by the City's Community Services Director.

(Ord. No. 003-14, § 1, 11-18-2014)

(a) Prohibited. It is unlawful to intentionally camp upon any private property within the City.

(1) For purposes of this section, "intentionally" shall mean the person knows or reasonably should have known the property is private property.

(b) Exceptions. This section shall not apply to persons camping with the written consent of the owner, provided that such written consent is in their possession at the time and is shown upon demand of any peace officer.

(Ord. No. 003-14, § 1, 11-18-2014; Ord. No. 003-19, § 2, 10-15-2019)

Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to the penalty provisions of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of the Yuba City Municipal Code.

(Ord. No. 003-14, § 1, 11-18-2014)