City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: November 15, 2022
Agenda Item: 10.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Douglas Sloan, City Attorney, City Attorney's Office, Administration Subject: Introduction and Adoption of an Emergency Ordinance Amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.08.095, Prohibition Against Camping in Public Spaces, to Clarify: (1) the Applicability of the Section’s Prohibitions; and (2) the Definition of “Camp Facility”
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of Exemption pursuant to 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
2. Introduce for adoption an Emergency Ordinance amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.08.095, Prohibition against camping in public spaces (“Section 4.08.095”), to clarify: (1) the applicability of the section’s prohibitions in line with recent case law; and (2) the definition of “Camp Facility.” Summary
Johnson v. City of Grants Pass (“Grants Pass”), a recent decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, has held that a city cannot prohibit homeless individuals from sleeping or using blankets, pillows, sleeping bags, cardboard boxes, and other rudimentary protections against the weather on public property, unless shelter space is available for their use. The proposed amendment seeks to clarify Section 4.08.095 in response to the Grants Pass decision. The ordinance also clarifies Section 4.08.095’s definition of “camp facility” for ease of enforcement.
Discussion
Section 4.08.095 was enacted on September 13, 1994 to prohibit maintaining camp facilities for the purposes of living accommodation in the City’s public places. The 2 of 4
purpose of this Section was to address public health and safety concerns and to prevent the potential deterioration in the physical condition of the community’s parks and public places. At the time of enactment, case law with respect to such provisions was not yet settled. Since then, case law has evolved and clarified which provisions a public entity can enforce.
Specifically, Martin v. Boise (“Martin”) and, now, Grants Pass, have provided additional clarification with respect to prohibitions against camping in public, such as Section
4.08.095. Pursuant to Martin, cities cannot criminalize sleeping in public unless a shelter bed is available. Many cities, in response, approved ordinances that did not prohibit sleeping, but prohibited using “camping items,” such as blankets and sleeping bags in public.
To remain compliant with new case law, the proposed amendments are as follows:
4.08.095 Prohibition against camping in public places.
(a) No person shall camp in a prohibited public place.
(b) For the purpose of this Section:
(1) “Camp” means to erect, maintain, store, or occupy a camp facility for the purpose of living accommodations.
(2) “Camp facility” may means the use of, settling, fixing in place, setting up, storing, locating, or leaving behind in a prohibited public place contain any or a combination of the following: tents, huts, other temporary physical shelters, cots, beds, sleeping bags, or hammocks, or bedrolls.
(3) “Prohibited public place” means any of the following: the public parks listed in Section 4.08.091 4.55.020, public beaches, the Santa Monica Municipal Pier, public streets, public alleyways, public parking lots, public passageways, public rights-of-way, publicly-owned landscaped areas or greenbelts, public educational institutions including properties owned by the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified 3 of 4
School District or Santa Monica College, or other government-owned properties located within the City of Santa Monica.
(c) The City Council may, by majority vote, establish one or more specified camping areas. Such camping areas, if any, may be located in prohibited public places, except that such camping areas shall not be located within public parks. (d) This ordinance does not prohibit those who are homeless from using sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, and/or bedrolls while sleeping. This Section shall not take effect until March 1, 1995.
It is important to emphasize that this decision, and the proposed amendments, will not require the City to allow encampments, temporary structures, or inoperable vehicles to be used for habitation in the City. Thus, case law allows the City to continue to provide for public safety and access to our public locations while also allowing individuals who are unhoused to have rudimentary protections against the elements while they sleep.
The proposed amendments seek to balance these two objections.
In accordance with Santa Monica Charter Sections 615 and 619, this proposed amendment is being introduced as an emergency ordinance as it is necessary for ensuring compliance with recent case law, safeguarding the rights of homeless individuals as determined by the courts, and by otherwise preserving the public peace, health, and safety, with the result that this ordinance shall be introduced and adopted at the same meeting and shall become effective immediately upon its adoption.
Environmental Review
Staff has performed a preliminary environmental assessment of this project and, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, section 15061(b)(3), has determined with certainty that there is no possibility that this project may have a significant effect on the environment.
Therefore, this project is not subject to CEQA.
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Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the proposed action.
Prepared By: Michelle Hugard, Deputy City Attorney
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. CC-Ord-Camping Proposed Amendment to SMMC 4.08.095