Police Department
www.santa-ana.org/police
Item # 29
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
December 17, 2024
TOPIC: Ordinance Amending and Adding Provisions to Chapter 10 (Crimes and Miscellaneous Law Enforcement Provisions) and Amending Related Sections in Chapter 31, Chapter 33, and Chapter 36 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code
AGENDA TITLE
Ordinance Amending and Adding Provisions to Chapter 10 (Crimes and Miscellaneous Law Enforcement Provisions) and Amending Related Sections in Chapter 31, Chapter 33 and Chapter 36 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Conduct a first reading and adopt an ordinance adding and amending various articles and sections of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to prohibit conduct that interferes with public rights of access to public property to address changes in the law brought by the City of Grants Pass, Oregon V. Johnson, et. al., 144 S. Ct. 2202 (2024):
ORDINANCE NO. NS-XXXX entitled AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AMENDING AND ADDING PROVISIONS TO CHAPTER 10 (CRIMES AND MISCELLANEOUS LAW ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS) OF THE
SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE AND AMENDING RELATED SECTIONS IN CHAPTER 31 (RECREATION, PARKS AND PLAYGROUNDS), CHAPTER 33 (STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND PUBLIC WORKS), AND CHAPTER 36 (TRAFFIC) TO PROHIBIT CONDUCT THAT INTERFERES WITH THE PUBLIC’S RIGHTS OF
ACCESS TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND TO ADDRESS CHANGES IN LAW BROUGHT ABOUT BY CITY OF GRANTS PASS, OREGON V. JOHNSON, ET. AL., 144 S. Ct. 2202 (2024)
GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: No
DISCUSSION
The City of Santa Ana, including all City departments, remains committed to ensuring the safety, health, and general welfare of all of its residents, visitors, and businesses. As part of that commitment, it continues to be the obligation of the City to keep the public areas clean and available for public use and to ensure access by the public to all
Ordinance Amending and Adding Provisions to Chapter 10 (Crimes and Miscellaneous Law Enforcement Provisions) and Amending Related Sections in Chapter 31, Chapter 33, and Chapter 36 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code
December 17, 2024
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property, both public and private, by the disabled, elderly, families, children, and visitors to the City of Santa Ana. The Police Department is primarily responsible for the enforcement of the laws and the Public Works Agency collaborates with the Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Agency to maintain the cleanliness of all public areas, including the parks.
The City has taken proactive measures to address the underlying issues leading to unlawful camping and the storage of personal items on public property, including, but not limited to, the implementation of two outreach and engagement teams to address needed resources for unsheltered persons. On June 12, 2022, the City opened the Navigation Center which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing 200 beds for men, women, couples, and families, a commercial kitchen, and an outdoor area for participants and their pets, to provide shelter to homeless persons in the City of Santa Ana. Despite these efforts, the challenges persist.
In May of 2024, the County of Orange released its 2024 point in time count and estimated a total of 7,322 individuals experiencing homelessness living in Orange County, a 28% increase from two years prior. During the same count, it was estimated the City of Santa Ana has 871 unsheltered persons living in the City, a significant increase from 2022, where it was estimated the City had 508 unsheltered persons living in the City.
The City of Santa Ana has adopted regulations to address interference and access to public areas and continues to look for ways to provide necessary resources to the unsheltered to provide a multi-faceted and holistic approach to ensuring the safety, health, and general welfare of all of its residents. However, the public continues to express concern that access to public and private property is being impeded or prevented by people camping on public property, by the storage of personal items on public property, and by people using the public rights-of-way to sit, sleep, and lie down.
In 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued new law addressing the enforcement of laws regarding sleeping, camping, and storing personal property in public parks and public places in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, et al., 144 S. Ct.2202 (2024) (“Grants Pass”).
Based upon the court’s ruling, City Staff recommends adding to and amending the Santa Ana Municipal Code to provide additional enforcement mechanisms to complement and enhance existing efforts to the on-going quality-of-life challenges experienced by residents, visitors, and businesses.
In summary, the proposed Ordinance additions and amendments do the following:
Ordinance Amending and Adding Provisions to Chapter 10 (Crimes and Miscellaneous Law Enforcement Provisions) and Amending Related Sections in Chapter 31, Chapter 33, and Chapter 36 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code
December 17, 2024
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•Adds new Sections 10-94 and 10-95 to Article I (In General) of Chapter 10, which addresses loitering and sleeping on public benches and loitering and sleeping in public restrooms, respectively;
•Amends Section 10-100 of the same Article and Chapter to address not obstructive “matter” in a public right-of-way but obstructions more generally and to include certain areas specifically;
•Adds enforcement provisions related to Section 10-94 to 10-100 to clarify the City’s ability to cite an offense as an infraction or misdemeanor, and to pursue administrative, civil, or criminal enforcement;
•Amends the City’s Article VIII (Camping and Storage of Personal Property) of Chapter 10 to augment the City’s definition of “camp” and camping” as well as “camp facilities.” The proposed ordinance also adds other definitions consistent with other articles and chapters of the SAMC and includes an enforcement provision similar to that added with respect to obstructions; •Amends the City’s Article X (Civic Center Regulation) to delete duplicative provisions related to camping and storage and a provision limiting animals in the civic center (Section 10-550-552). The new Article X adds a definition of the Civic Center, and renumbers the other remaining regulations;
•Adds sections to Chapter 31 (Recreation, Parks and Playgrounds) related to storage of personal property in parks specifically and also prohibiting sleeping or loitering in park restrooms specifically; and
•Amends Section 33-113 of Chapter 33 (Streets, Sidewalks and Public Works) to address sleeping, laying, or standing on a bus bench or shelter when a bus route is not in operation as stated in posted signage.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
There is no environmental impact associated with this action.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
EXHIBIT(S)
1. Ordinance (redline for first reading)
Submitted By: Robert Rodriguez, Acting Police Chief
Approved By: Alvaro Nuñez, City Manager