City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: September 13, 2022
Agenda Item: 10.H
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Ramon Batista, Police Chief, Police Department
Subject: Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance to Amend SMMC Section
4.08.097 to expand to other locations beyond Main Street and Downtown Recommended Action
Introduce for first reading an Ordinance amending Santa Monica Municipal Code (“SMMC”) Section 4.08.097 to: (1) eliminate its location restrictions and expand enforcement to other areas of the City, including the City’s major transit corridors; and (2) clarify the definition of entrance.
Summary
The Police Department is asking City Council to adopt an ordinance expanding the existing sitting and lying in doorways prohibition to include other locations within Santa Monica beyond the Downtown and Main Street Districts to address ongoing access concerns by business owners throughout the City. SMMC 4.08.097 may be amended to expand its applicability to other locations. The amendments clarify that citations will occur only in the entrances or exits of buildings where the owner has requested enforcement and where notice has been provided. Also, the proposed amendment clarifies the definition of entrance to address ongoing concerns from the Police Department.
Discussion
SMMC Section 4.08.097 was first enacted in 2002 to address business owners’ concerns regarding an increasing number of individuals sitting, lying, or sleeping in doorways and blocking access to the entrances of their businesses in the Downtown 2 of 3
and Main Street areas of Santa Monica. Over the last several years, the City has received numerous complaints beyond these areas, including the City’s major transit corridors, such as Wilshire Blvd., Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica Blvd., Broadway, Colorado Ave., and Pico Blvd. Given these contacts in other parts of the City, and after receiving increasing complaints from business owners in other locations in Santa Monica not currently covered by the ordinance, the Police Department is bringing forward potential amendments to the Santa Monica Municipal Code to address these concerns.
The proposed amendments presented to Council in this report would serve to protect access to property when owners and tenants are not present to protect it themselves. It would also protect public health by reducing sanitation risks and preserving aesthetics.
Additionally, it would eliminate the hazards attendant upon people sitting, sleeping, or lying in those unsafe locations. Importantly, the ordinance would not prohibit anyone from sitting or lying in a doorway during a medical emergency, nor would it not prohibit anyone from entering or standing in a doorway. Moreover, it would not generally prohibit activity on the public right-of-way and only prohibits sitting, lying, or sleeping where access to the entrance of building is blocked, in consideration of recent cases on this topic.
While the City deploys a comprehensive approach to addressing homelessness that includes providing urgently needed housing and connections to services, there will be occasions when the City requires a humane, lawful approach to assuring basic rules are followed, especially where access to buildings is blocked and employees and customers are prevented from safely entering. The proposed amendments in this report seek to balance these two objectives.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the proposed action.
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Prepared By: Bradley Michaud, Legal Operations Coordinator Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Proposed Ordinance Revising SMMC 4.08.097 - Expanded Locations B. Written Comments