SR-8-A (126)
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CACS:SEM:se.closure
city Council Meeting: July 13, 1993
Santa Monica, California
STAFF REPORT
TO: Mayor and city council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Ordinance for Introduction Regarding Park Closure
INTRODUCTION
This report presents two alternative versions of a park closure
ordinance for Council's consideration. One closes only Palisades
Park between the hours of 12: 00 a. m. and 5: 00 a.m.
The other
closes all City parks between those hours.
BACKGROUND
At the City council meeting of June 13, 1993 staff was directed to
prepare two alternative park closure ordinances and recommend which
version would best meet the public health and safety concerns which
gave rise to the request.
Councilmembers cited particular concerns regarding Palisades parkr
which has been a center of illicit drug activity.
The park is
located at the edge of the city's downtown business, hotel and
restaurant area and is adjacent to the Santa Monica Pier, all of
which generate late night foot traffic. In crafting an ordinance,
Council asked staff to be sensitive to the needs of transit riders,
service industry workers, tourists and others who might have
legitimate need or interest in being in the park late at night.
Concern was expressed about persons with no alternative to being in
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the park. Councilmembers also discussed the likelihood that
closure of Palisades Park alone would shift illegal activity to
other parks and adjacent areas.
LEGAL ANALYSIS
The accompanying two (2) versions of a park closure ordinance have
been prepared. The sole difference in the ordinances is that one
version closes only Palisades Park between the hours of 12:00 a.m.
and 5: 00 a.m., while the second version closes all City parks
between those hours.
Each version contains limited exceptions. These exceptions are
necessary because of the unique nature of some parks, especially
Palisades Park.
Further, each version specifies that conduct which is proscribed by
Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.08.090 (sleeping in a park),
does not fall within the scope of this Ordinance. In other words,
if someone is sleeping in a park, he or she may be violating
Section 4.08.090, but that person will not also be violating the
proposed ordinances.
The proposed ordinances are well within the police power of the
City Council to pass. The City "has exclusive jurisdiction over
the management and control of its parks and may enact and enforce
such regulations and rules that are necessary or appropriate to
promote park purposes and to ensure the public's health, safety and
welfare in the usage of its parks." people v. Tranthan, 161 eal.
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App.3d SUpp. I, 8, 208 Cal. Rptr. 535, 541 (1984). Consequently,
standing alone neither proposed ordinance should face any
significant legal challenge.
Nonetheless, either proposed ordinance upon adoption will likely
face a legal hurdle. Coming as it will on the heels of the
encampment ordinance and the recently enjoined park usage
ordinance, a legal challenge similar to that which faced the City
of Miami is a distinct possibility, particularly given the
attention the City receives when it passes ordinances.
Pottinqer et al. v. City of Miami, ____ F. Supp. ____ (S.D. Fla.
Nov. 16, 1992), sheds some light on how the courts may view stepped
up law enforcement action which has the effect of preventing
homeless persons from living in a community. In pottinqer, the
District Court concluded that the City of Miami violated the
federal constitutional rights of homeless persons when it "arrested
homeless individuals for performing inoffensive conduct in public
[such as sleeping in closed City parks] when they have no place to
goll. _ F. Supp. at _' Further, the court stated:
although the idea of homeless people sleeping
in public parks may disturb or offend some
portion of society I the answer is not in
arresting individuals who have arguably only
commi tted the offense of being without
shel ter. There exist other means of
preventing crime that are less drastic than
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arresting the homeless for harmless conduct
that poses no threat to society. F. Supp.
at
As a remedy, the court ordered Miami officials to create shelter
zones on public land. In addition, the city now faces the
likelihood of having to pay a large damage award, as well as
attorneys' fees. The City has appealed.
In response to this decision some cities have al tered their
policies with respect to how homeless are treated. For instance,
Dallas, Texas no longer arrests homeless persons for sleeping on
public land.
The outcome of any Pottinqer type lawsuit will depend on how the
city succeeds in demonstrating that its intention in passing the
law was not to make public facilities inhospitable to persons with
no where else to go, but rather its action was for other legitimate
law enforcement purposes. critical to such a defense will be how
the law is enforced in practice.
DISCUSSION
A survey of eleven Southern California cities (Beverly Hills,
Burbank, Culver City, Glendale, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Beach,
Manhattan Beach, Pasadena, Redondo Beach, Santa Barbara and West
Hollywood) showed that park closure ordinances are commonplace.
All had park closure ordinances on the books. Seven of the cities
close their parks at 10:00 p.m., two at midnight, and two at dusk.
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Most report that enforcement of the ordinances varies with police
priorities and that the pOlice find the ordinances useful when
responding to nighttime citizen complaints about noise, vandalism,
substance abuse, gang activity and other disruptive behavior in
parks.
In Santa Monica, most parks are adjacent to residential areas where
late night activity is unusual and disturbing to nearby residents.
Staff anticipate support from park neighbors for the proposed
closure hours if extended to all parks. In the likely event that
a closure in Palisades Park shifts illegal activity to other parks
or to public spaces and private property, the challenges of
enforcement may actually be lessened. The police have ample
statutory support for enforcement action in response to complaints
from private property owners, and believe that if late night
illegal activity is moved out of parks into streets or alleys it
will be more easily observed, reported and stopped by arrest.
Nevertheless, given the foregoing legal analysis, it may be prudent
for Council to initiate park closure hours in Palisades Park only
and extend the provisions of the ordinance to cover other parks
only after assessing their impact in that setting and any resulting
shift in illegal activity.
BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT
There are no direct budget or financial impacts related to passage
of either version of the ordinance. Any legal challenge to the
adopted ordinance would be defended with the budgeted resources of
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the City Attorney's office.
RECOMMENDATION
staff recommends that Council adopt the ordinance providing for
closure of Palisades Park from 12:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. and direct
staff to monitor its use and impact, returning to council if
extension of its provisions to other parks is desirable.
Attachments:
Ordinance Establishing Palisades Park Closure
Ordinance Establishing Parks Closure
Prepared by:
James Butts, Chief of Police
Joseph Lawrence, Acting City Attorney
Susan McCarthy, Director of Community and Cultural
Services
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CA:JL:pkclos2.ord\pc\df
City Council Meeting 7-13-93
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER
(CCS)
(City council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA HONICA
ADDING SECTIONS TO CHAPTER 4.08 OF THE
SANTA MONICA KUNICIPAL CODE TO
ESTABLISH PALISADES PARK CLOSURE
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN
AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 4.08 of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code is amended to read as follows:
section 4.08.091 Palisades Park Closure.
(a) No person shall enter or remain in
Palisades Park between the hours of 12 a.m.
and 5 a.m.
(b) This section shall not apply to any
public sidewalk immediately adjacent to any
public street or highway, or to any street or
highway which traverses Palisades Park,
including the Santa Monica Municipal Pier
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access road or walkway and any portion of
California Avenue.
(c) Any person present in palisades Park
during hours when the park is closed may be
stopped and questioned by any law enforcement
officer to determine whether or not the
person is in compliance with this ordinance.
section 4.08.092 Exceptions.
This Ordinance shall not apply to any
person present in Palisades Park:
(a) When the presence of the person in
the park is necessary so that the person can
travel to his/her residence.
(b) When the presence of the person in
the park is required with respect to the
person's lawful business, trade, profession,
occupation or employment.
(c) When the presence of the person in
the park is necessary so that the person can
travel to or from a lawful pUblic meeting or
place of worship.
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(d) When the presence of the person in
the park is necessary so that the person can
enter or otherwise gain access to a vehicle,
including a car or a bus.
(e) When the presence of the person in
the park is connected with an activity which
is authorized or permitted by the city of
Santa Monica.
(f) When the presence of the person in
the park is governed by Santa Monica Municipal
Code section 4.08.090.
section 4.08.093 Sunset Provision.
This Ordinance shall expire and be of no
further force and effect on September 1, 1994.
Section 4.08.094 penalty.
Any person violating the provisions of
this Ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined
in an amount not to exceed $500 or imprisoned
for a period not to exceed six (6) months or
both.
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SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this
Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further,
are hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to affect
the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or
unconsti tutional by a decision of any court of any competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance.
The city council hereby
declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each and
every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared
invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall
attest to the passage of this Ordinance.
The City Clerk shall
cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper
within 15 days after its adoption.
This Ordinance shall become
effective after 30 days from its adoption.
APP~~
JOSEPH LAWRENCE
Acting city Attorney
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CA:JL:parkclos.ord\pc\df
city Council Meeting 7-13-93
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER
(CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THB CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
ADDING SECTIONS TO CHAPTER 4.08 OF THE
SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH PARKS CLOSURE
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN
AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 4.08 of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code is amended to read as follows:
Section 4.08.091 Park Closure.
(a) No person shall enter or remain in
any of the following city of Santa Monica
parks between the hours of 12 a.m. and 5 a.m.:
1. Ashland Park
2. Beach Park #1
3. Beach Park #4
(Lifeguard Headquarters)
4 . Clover Park
5. Crescent Bay Bank
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6. Douglas Park
7. Hotchkiss Park
8. Joslyn Park
9. Lincoln Park
10. Los Amigos park
11. Marine Park
12. Memorial Park
13. Ocean View Park
14. Ozone Park
15. Pacific street Park
16. Palisades Park
17. Park Drive Park
18. Schader Park
19. stewart Street Park
20. Virginia Avenue Park
(b) This section shall not apply to any
public sidewalk immediately adj acent to any
public street or highway, or to any street or
highway which traverses any park, including
the Santa Monica Municipal Pier access road or
walkway and any portion of California Avenue.
(c) Any person present in any park
during hours when the park is closed may be
stopped and questioned by any law enforcement
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officer to determine whether or not such
person is in compliance with this Ordinance.
section 4.08.092 ExceDtions.
This Ordinance shall not apply to any
person present in any park:
(a) When the presence of the person in
the park is necessary so that the person can
travel to his/her residence.
(b) When the presence of the person in
the park is required wi th respect to the
person's lawful business, trade, profession,
occupation or employment.
(c) When the presence of the person in
the park is necessary so that the person can
travel to or from a lawful public meeting or
place of worShip.
(d) When the presence of the person in
the park is necessary so that the person can
enter or otherwise gain access to a vehicle,
including a car or a bus.
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(e) When the presence of the person in
the park is connected with an activity which
is authorized or permitted by the City of
Santa Monica.
(f) When the presence of the person in
the park is governed by Santa Monica Municipal
Code Section 4.08.090.
section 4.08.093 Penalties.
Any person violating the provisions of
this Ordinance shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined
an amount not to exceed $500 or imprisoned for
a period not to exceed six (6) months or both.
section 4.08.094 sunset Provision.
This Ordinance shall expire and be of no
further force and effect on September 1, 1994.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this
Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further,
are hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to affect
the provisions of this Ordinance.
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SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or
unconstitutional by a decision of any court of any competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance.
The city Council hereby
declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each and
every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared
invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the city Clerk shall
attest to the passage of this Ordinance.
The City Clerk shall
cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper
within 15 days after its adoption.
This Ordinance shall become
effective after 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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JOS LAWRENCE
Acting City Attorney
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