City Council Agenda Report
TO: Mayor Clauzel and Members of the City Council
FROM: Fernando Ulloa, Interim City Manager
BY: Nubia Goldstein, City Attorney
MEETING DATE: December 3, 2024
ITEM NO: 8.2
SUBJECT: Approve First Reading and Introduction of Ordinance No. 879, Reading by Title Only, Waiving Further Reading, an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Patterson, Adding Chapter 9.50, Camping Within City Limits, To Title 9, Public Peace, Morals and Welfare; Amending Chapter
12.24, Park Regulations, of Title 12, Streets and Other Public Places; Amending Section 6.12.030, Depositing or Burying of Garbage Prohibited – Exceptions, of Chapter 6.12, Garbage Removal, of Title 6, Health and Safety; and Amending Section 9.43,040 Abatement, of Chapter 9.43, Health and Hygiene, of Title 9, Peace, Morals and Welfare of the Patterson Municipal Code.
RECOMMENDATION
Motion to Approve First Reading and Introduction of Ordinance No. 879, Reading by Title Only, Waiving Further Reading, an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Patterson, Adding Chapter 9.50, Camping Within City Limits, To Title 9, Public Peace, Morals and Welfare; Amending Chapter 12.24, Park Regulations, of Title 12, Streets and Other Public Places; Amending Section 6.12.030, Depositing or Burying of Garbage Prohibited – Exceptions, of Chapter 6.12, Garbage Removal, of Title 6, Health and Safety; and Amending Section 9.43,040 Abatement, of Chapter 9.43, Health and Hygiene, of Title 9, Peace, Morals and Welfare of the Patterson Municipal Code.
BACKGROUND
In recent years, there has been an increase of unpermitted camping activity within City limits.
These types of encampments attract illegal dumping, rodents, fire hazards, and contamination of the surrounding areas, which pose an immediate threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the public, including encampment occupants. Managing encampments is necessary to maintain healthy and hygienic communities, as is regulation of the use of parks and recreation buildings.
ANALYSIS
The Ordinance will amend the Patterson Municipal Code in three ways. First, it will add a new Chapter 9.50 within Title 9, Public Peace, Morals and Welfare, entitled “Camping Within City Limits,” which will prohibit camping within City limits, with exceptions. The new Chapter 9.50 will also authorize “clean and clear” operations consistent with Chapter 9.43, Health and Hygiene, to temporarily remove and store personal effects and other “camp paraphernalia” such as tarpaulins, cots, beds, sleeping bags, hammocks, and non-city designated cooking facilities and equipment, and remove those items, store and inventory them, and allow the owners an opportunity to claim them within 90-day period. The purpose is to alleviate the hazardous conditions of encampments that arise when personal effects are left outside in parks and other spaces.
When the City abates encampments by collecting personal property of the encampment’s occupants, the United States Constitution’s Due Process Clause requires that the City take reasonable steps to give notice to the property owner. The Ordinance complies with the United States Constitution’s Due Process Clause by providing encampment occupants forty-eight (48) hours’ written notice prior to abatement.
Previously, ordinances that prohibited camping in public places were unenforceable against homeless individuals under the Martin v. City of Boise (“Martin”) decision when there was no practical alternative shelter available. However, the United States Supreme Court recently overturned Martin, determining that the Eighth Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause does not bar public camping ordinances regardless of the availability of alternate shelter.
Second, the ordinance will amend Chapter 12.24, Park Regulations, within Title 12, Streets and Other Public Places, to add regulations regarding the activities in park areas to better address and limit the risk of certain activities and prohibit unlawful activities, minimize traffic congestion, better define the security and insurance requirements, and strengthen the permitting process. The purpose of this chapter is to regulate the use of the parks and recreation buildings of the City in order to provide maximum enjoyment in the use of such parks and buildings and minimum disturbance or interference.
Third, the proposed ordinance will update section 6.12.030, Depositing of burying of garbage prohibited - Exceptions, by repealing the current language and replacing it with a more comprehensive section that adds a paragraph to prohibit dumping on private property or placing any waste or industrial refuse in a waste container other than the one issued for their personal use. Consistent with the other Patterson Municipal Code revisions outlined in this Ordinance, this change will help prevent City residents’ trash containers from becoming overwhelmed with waste they did not generate, given the prohibition on public dumping.
Finally, the proposed ordinance will update section 9.43.040, Abatement, by modifying the notice requirement from seventy-two hours prior to a scheduled clean and clear operation to forty-eight hours. The proposed change will align with the notice requirement in the new Chapter
9.50. FISCAL IMPACT
The City will bear the cost of enforcing the Ordinance. While the City may seek to recover the cost of abating camping and use of camping paraphernalia, the recovery of such abatement costs can be difficult.
OPTIONS:
1. Motion to waive first reading, read by title only, and introduce the proposed Ordinance No 879;
2. The City Council may continue introduction of the proposed Ordinance No. 879 to a later City Council meeting, with direction to staff to provide changes; or
3. Reject the proposed Ordinance No. 879.