SR-8B (22)
CA:f:atty\muni\strpts\psh
city Council MeetIng 9-13-94
~ 88
Santa Monica, California
SEP 1 3 199'1
TO: Mayor and city council
FROM: City Attorney
SUBJECT: An Ordinance of the CIty Council of the City of Santa
Monica Adopting the InitIative Measure on Park Closures,
SOlicitation, Camping and Procedures Relating to the
ProvIsion of Services to the Homeless
At Its meetIng on September 7, 1994 the CIty CouncIl introduced for
first reading an ordinance of the CIty CouncIl of the Clty of Santa
Monica adopting the inItIatIve measure on park closures,
solicitation, campIng and procedures relating to the provIsion of
services to the homeless. The ordinance is now presented to the
City Council for adoption.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying ordinance be
adopted.
Prepared by: Marsha Jones Moutrle, City Attorney
SEP 1 3 1991t
88
CITY CLERK:CED: (PC:AM:\wpdocs\adwln\pshsord)
Clty Council Meecing: 9/13/94 Santa Mon~caf Callfornla
ORDINANCE NUMBER
1768
(Clty Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA ADOPTING THE INITIATIVE MEASURE ON
PARK CLOSURES, SOLICITATION, CAMPING AND PROCEDURES
RELATING TO THE PROVISION OF SERVICES TO THE HOMELESS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
Purposes
The Clty CounCll enacts thlS ord~nance to
accompllsh.t~e following purposes:
1. To provlde for a balanced approach to the homeless problem
"'"
In Santa Monlca, as recommended in the Homeless Task Force Report
entltled A Call To Action, dated December 1991, by combln~ng social
services and houslng programs for the homeless Wl th measures
deslgned to protect the public safety and well-belng of all Santa
Monlca resldents and vlsitors.
2. To protect publlC access to Santa Monlca's parks and other
publlC places by establishlng reasonable hours for park closure, by
prohlbitlng camping except in designated areas as determlned by the
Clty Counell and by prohlbltlng abuslve solicitation.
3. To provlde the Santa Monlca Police Department with laws
regulating use of Santa Monica parks, abuslve solicltation, and
camping in publlC places that will better enable the Police
Department to protect the publlC safety of Santa Monica's resldents
1
and vlsltors
4. To support the Santa Monlca Pollce Department's
enforcement of laws designed to protect the publlC safety of Santa
Monlca's residents and visltors.
5. To establlsh an annual opportunlty for the Santa Monica
Police Department to lndlcate whether it has adequate resources and
personnel to fully and fairly enforce this Ordinance and other laws
deslgned to protect the public safety of Santa Monlca's resldents
and vlsitors.
6. To ensure effectlve and efflclent dellvery of homeless
serVlces by requlring the Clty Councll to adopt and annually reVlew
a coordlnate~ plan for homeless serVlces In order to maXlmlze the
efficlency and cost-effectlveness of these serVlces to a reasonable
number of homeless reciplents. The plan shall take lnta account
the Clty'S llmlted flnancial, geographical and soclal resources,
all other demands on these resources, and services provlded ln
nelghboring communitles.
7. To establlsh a quarterly reVlew of statistlcs indicating
the dlSposltion of arrests arlslng from enforcement of thlS
ordlnance.
Flndlnqs and Declaratlons The City Cauncll of the Clty of
Santa Monlca flnds and declares.
1. The City of Santa Monlca expends substantlal amounts of
money annually to provide a broad array of social serVlces to
homeless persons in Santa Monlca,
;'"
2 .
The
City of Santa Monica has made substantial
2
mod~flcatlons to lts Zonlng Ordlnance Slnce 1990 to encourage the
p~OVlSlon of affordable houslng, lncluding homeless shelters and
transltional housing, for homeless persons In Santa Monica;
3. The City of Santa Monica has provlded substantlal funds to
assist wlth the development and operatlon of houslng for homeless
persons In Santa Monica;
4. The Santa Monica City Council recently voted to open an
additlonal homeless shelter at 505 Olympic Boulevard that will
provlde temporary lodging facllities for 75 to 100 homeless persons
nlghtly,
5. The Clty of Santa Monlca has establlshed a program called
"SHWASHLOCK, ~' whereby homeless persons In Santa Monlca have access
to lockers, laundry and shower facllities on Clty-owned property
located at 505 Olymplc Boulevard, Santa Monlcai
6 The City of Santa Monlca has a dlsproportionately large
populatlon of homeless persons Wlthin lts boundarles, In comparlson
to o~her cltles wlthln the Los Angeles region;
7 In March 1991, the City of Santa Monlca convened a
Homeless Task Force conslstlng of a diverse group of community
leaders to develop a serles of recommendations addressing
hamelessness ln Santa Monlca,
8. In December 1991, the Homeless Task Force submitted a
wrltten report to the Santa Monlca City Council entltled A Call To
Action, which contains a comprehenslve set of recommendatlons for
changes In local po1icles and practlces concernlng the homeless,
lncludlng recommendations concerning ways to improve publlC safety i
3
9. The Clty has failed to take approprla~e steps to lmplement
the recommendatlons of the Homeless Task Force concern~ng publ~c
safety;
10 The Santa Monica Pol~ce Department has been lmpeded by
C~ty offlclals lD lts efforts to fully and falrly enforce the laws
designed to protect publlc safety In Santa Monlca' s parks and other
public places;
11 In recent years Santa Monlca has experlenced a dramatic
~ncrease In "panhandllng" or slm~lar Sollcltatlon actlvlty lTI
public places;
12. Such panhandling or slmilar sollc~tation activlty lS
sometimes conducted In an abus~ve, threatenlng or lntlmldat.::..ng
manner, or In locations which are inapproprlate for such activlty
because persons sollc~ted lD such locatlons are especlally
vulnerable to lntlmidation;
13 In recent years Santa Monlca has experlenced a
slgnlflcant lncrease in the number of persons llving lD Santa
Monlca publlC places, lncludlng ltS parks. ThlS slgnlficant
increase ~n people livlng in Santa Monica's parks and other publlC
places has contrlbuted to ~ncreased crlmlnal actlvlty and a serious
deterioratlon In the physlcal conditlon of the community's parks
and public places;
14. Many resldents, especlally senior cltlzens, women and
parents wlth young chlldren, have stopped using certalD parks and
frequentlng other publlC areas ln the Clty because they feel
unsafe;
..,.
4
15. It 1S crit1cally 1mportant that the Santa Mon1ca Pollce
Department have the full support of the Clty Council, Clty Manager
and Clty Attorney, and all others actlng under thelr direction and
control, ln enforclng this initlatlve ordinance and other measures
des1gned to protect the publlC safety of Santa Monlca res1dents and
V1Slt.ors, and
16. It is also vltally important that the Santa Monica Pollce
Department have sufflcient resources and personnel to enforce thlS
and other measures deslgned to protect the publlC safety of Santa
Monica resldents and Vlsltors
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
HEREBY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Bectlon 4.08.091 of Chapter 4.08 of the Santa
Monlca Munlclpal Code is hereby amended to read as follows'
4.08.091 Park Closure.
(a) No person shall enter, remaln or be present ln any of the
fcllowlng City of Santa Monica parks between the hours of 11 p.m.
and 6 a.m.: (1) Ashland Park; (2) Beach Park #1; (3) Beach Park #4
(Lifeguard Headquarters) 1 (4) Clover Park; (5) Crescent Bay Park;
(6) Douglas Park; (7) Hotchkiss Park, (8) Joslyn Park, (9) Llncoln
Park; (10) Los Amlgos Park, (11) Marlne Park; (12) Memorlal Park;
(13) Ocean Vlew Park, (14) Ozone Park; (15) Paciflc Street Park;
(16) Park Drlve park; (17) Schader Park, (18) Stewart Street Park,
(20) Vlrglnla Avenue Park
(b) No person shall enter, remaln or be present ln pallsades
Park between the hours of 12 mldnlght and 5 a.m.
.,
5
(C} ThlS Bectlon shall not apply to any publl.c sidewalk
lmmediately adJacent to any publlC street or hlghway, or to any
street or highway WhlCh traverses any park, lncludlng the Santa
Monica Munic~pal Pler access road or walkway and any portlon of
Callforn1a Avenue.
SECTION 2. Sectlon 4.08.092 of Chapter 4.08 of the Santa
Monlca Munlclpal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
4.08.092 Exceptions.
The prohibltlons contalned ln Sectlon 4.08.091 shall not apply
to
(a) Law enforcement officers, or other publlC offlclals or
lnd~vlduals ~ct1ng under the authorlty of the Santa Monlca Pollce
Department or Clty Manager, where they have reason to be present In
a partlcular park for reasons of public safety I emergency I or
offlcial Clty business.
(b) Persons present In a park in connectlon w1th an actlvity
that 1S authorlzed or permltted by the Clty of Santa Monlca.
SECTION 3. Section 4.08.093 of Chapter 4.08 of the Santa
Mon1ca Municlpal Code 1S hereby amended to read as follows
4.08.093 Penaltles.
Any persons violat~ng the provlslons of Sectlons 4.08 _ 091
through 4.08 095 shall be guilty of a m1sdemeanor and upon
conv1ction shall be f1ned ln an amount not to exceed Flve Hundred
Dollars ($500) or lmprlsoned for a perlod not to exceed six months,
or both. In the case of a person who lS granted probat1on for
repeated vlolatlon of any offense under Sections 4.08.091 through
6
4.08095, the court may ~ssue, or d~rect the lssuance of, an
l~Junction or ~stay away~ order to abate and prevent the
contlnuance or recurrence of such violation.
SECTION 4. Section 4.08.095 of Chapter 4 08 of the Santa
Monlca Mun~cipal Code is hereby repealed and replaced w~th the
followlng;
4.08.095 Proh~bitlon Aqa~nst Camplnq in PubllC Places.
(a) No person shall camp in a prohiblted publlC place.
(b) For the purpose of thlS Section.
(1) 11 Camp 11 shall mean to erect, maintaln or occupy a
camp facllity for the purpose of Ilving accommodatlons.
(2) "Camp facility~ shall mean one or more of the
followlng' tents, huts, other temporary physlcal shelters, cots,
beds, sleeplng bags, hammocks, or bedrolls.
(3) "prohibl ted public place 11 shall mean any of the
follow~ng. the publlC parks Ilsted ln Section 4 08.091, publ~c
beaches, the Santa Monica Munlcipal pier, publlC streets, public
alleyways, publlC parking lots, publlC passageways, publlC
rlghts-of-way, publlcly-owned landscaped areas or greenbelts,
publlc educatlonal lnstltutlons lncludlng propertles owned by the
Santa Monlca-Malibu Unlfied School D~strlct or Santa Monica
College, or other government-owned propertles located with~n the
City of Santa Monlca.
(c) The Clty Councll may, by majorlty vote, establlsh one or
more speclfled camplng areas. Such camping areas, if any, may be
located ln prohlb~ted publlC places, except that such camping areas
..
7
shall not be located wlthlTI the public parks Ilsted lD Seetlon
4.08 09l.
(d) ThlS Sectlon shall not take effect untll March 1, 1995.
SECTION 5. Article 4 of the Santa Monica Municlpal Code is
hereby amended to add Chapter 4.54 as follows:
CHAPTER 4.54
PROHIBITION AGAINST ABUSIVE SOLICITATION
Sectlons:
4.54.010
4.54.020
4.54.030
Purpose.
Definltions.
Locatlons Where Solieltatlon Is Prohlbited.
4 54.040 Penaltles.
4 54 010 Purpose.
It 18 the lutent of thlS Chapter to impose reasonable place
and manner 11mltatlons on sollcitation, as defined hereln, In order
to protect the safety of the general public agalnst abuslve
sollcltatlon whlle respecting the constltutlonal rlght of free
speech.
4.54.020 Definltions.
The following words or phrases as used In thlS Chapter shall
have the followlng meanlngs:
(a) llSollCltatlonll shall mean any request made ln person
seeklng an lmmedlate donation of money or other ltem of value. A
person shall not be deemed to be In the act of sollcitation when he
or she passively displays a sign or gives any other lndlcatlon that
he or she lS seeklng donat~ons wlthout addresslng his or her
,.
8
sollcltatlon to any speclflc person, other than In response to an
lnquiry by that person.
(b) r1Donationll shall mean a gift of money or other item of
value and shall also lnclude the purchase of an ltem for an amount
far exceedlng lts value under Clrcumstances where a reasonable
person would understand that the purchase is ln substance a 91ft.
(c) r1AbUSlve Solicltationll shall mean to do one or more of
the following while engaglng lil sollcltation or lmmediately
t.hereafter:
(l) Coming closer than three feet to the person
sollclted unless and untll the person sollclted lndicates that he
or she wlshes to make a donatlon;
(2) Blocking or lmpedlng the passage of the person
~
sollclted;
(3) Followlng the person soliclted by proceedlng behind,
ahead or alongslde of hlm or her after the person sollclted
decllnes to make a donatlon;
(4) Threatening the person sollcited wlth physlcal harm
by word or gesture;
(5) Abuslng the person sollcited with words WhlCh are
offenslve and inherently llkely to provoke an lmmediate vlolent
reactlon;
(6) Touchlng the sollcited person wlthout the soliclted
person's consent, or
(7) Engaglng ln Sollcltation actlvlty ln any of the
prohlblted places specified in Sectlon 4.54.030.
9
4 54 030 Locatlons Where Solicltatlon Is Prohlblted.
Sollcitat1on shall be prohib~ted when the person Sollc1ted 1S
In any of the follow1ng locat1ons:
(a) Bus stops;
(b) Public transportat1on veh1cles or racil1tles;
(c) A vehicle on public streets or alleyways;
(d) Public parking lots or structures;
(e) Outdoor d~ning areas of restaurants or other dlDlng
establ~shments serv~ng food for ~mmed~ate consumpt~on,
(~\
.L)
W~th~n 50 feet of an automated teller mach~ne, or
(g) A queue of f~ve or more persons wait~ng to galn adm~ss~on
to a place or veh~cle, or wa1t~ng to purchase an ~tem or adm~ss~on
t1cket.
4.54.040 Penaltles.
Any person who engages ~n abus~ve SollcJ.tatlon as deflned
hereln shall be gUllty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall
be fined an amount not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500) or be
lmprlsoned for a period not to exceed 5J.X months, or both.
SECTION 6. Chapter 2.69 is hereby added to Article 2 of the
Santa MonJ.ca MunlcJ.pal Code as follows:
CHAPTER 2.69
COORDINATED DELIVERY OF SERVICES TO THE HOMELESS
Sectlons:
2 69.010
Adoption of Coordlnated Plan.
2.69 020
Annual ReVlew
2.69.030
Publ1C Hearlngs.
10
2.69.010 Adoptlon of Coordlnated Plan
No later than April 30, 1995, the Clty Councll shall adopt a
plan for the coordlnation of serVlces provlded to the homeless by
the Clty and by soclal serVlce organlzatlons recelving Clty
fundlng. The primary goal of thlS plan shall be to maXlffilze the
efflcient and cost-effective dellvery of services to a reasonable
number of homeless reclplents taklng into account the Clty'S
Ilmlted flnanclal, geographlcal and soclal resources, all other
demands on these resources, and serv~ces provlded In nelghborlng
communltles. The plan shall be deslgned to.
(a) Effectively assist the homeless ln returnlng to a self-
sufflcienc _s~atus;
(b) Monltor the progress of indlvidual recipients,
(c) Ellminate unnecessary dupllcatlon of serVlceSi
.;
(d)
Emphaslze
long-term solutions
to
homelessness
by
combinlng housing, counsellng and job tralnlng;
(e) Provide non-houslng serVlces for approxlmately the same
number of homeless people as can be temporar~ly sheltered 10 the
Clty,
(f) Prevent an lncrease and, wherever feaslble, reduce,
overall City expenditures relatlng to homeless serVlceSi and
(g) Impose reasonable tlme Ilmlts on the provlsion of
serVlces to the same lndlvlduals.
2 69.020 Annual Review.
At least once during every twelve-month perlod after adoptlon
of the coordlnated plan reql.l.lred by Seetlon 2.69.010, the Clty
11
Councll shall assess the effectlveness of the plan ln accompllshlng
lts prlmary goal and varlOUS obJectlves, and shall evaluate the
effectiveness, efflclency and cost of serVlces to the homeless
provided by the City and each soclal serVlce agency recelvlng Clty
f~ndlng. To ald ~hlS annual review, the Clty Council may
commlSSlon an J.ndependent audlt of Clt- fundlng provided for
services to ~he homeless At the concluslon of the Clty Councll's
annual review, the Clty Councll shall make such changes ln the plan
as are approprlate lTI order to most effectl vely lmplement the
plan's primary goal and objectlves and shall make related flndlngs.
2.69.030 PubllC HearlnqR.
In connection wlth the annual reVlew requlred by Sectlon
2 69.020, the Clty Council shall hold one or more publlc hearlngs
regarding:
(a) the lmpact of the Clty'S homeless populatlon on other
resldents of the Clty,
(b) the effectiveness of the delivery of serVlces to the
homeless by the CJ.ty and varlOUS soclal serVlce agencles,
(c) the cost of those servlces, and
(d) the changes which should be made in the plan ln order to
carry out ltS prlmary goal and ltS obJectives as required under
Sectlon 2.69 010.
SECTION 7 The Clty Councll, and those actlng under their
directlon and control, shall take all steps reasonably necessary to
provlde the Santa Monlca Pollce Department with the support,
resources and personnel requlred to fully and falrly enforce thlS
'"
12
O~dinance and other legal measures deslgned to protect the publlc
safecy of Santa Monlca's resldents and vlsltors, lncludlng
California Penal Code Sectlon 647(i) and Callfornla BUSlness and
Professions Code Sectlon 22435.2.
SECTION 8. Except as speclfically referenced hereln, no
prOVlSlon of thlS measure shall be amended by the Clty Council
except upon the afflrmatlve vote of at least three quarters of the
Clty Councll.
SECTION 9 No later than December 31, 1995, and at least once
every three months thereafter, the Santa Monlca City Attorney shall
provlde the City COUDC1I wlth a wrltten report summarlzlng the
d~Sposlclon of all cases initlated as a result of arrests for
violatlon of this Ordlnanee, California Penal Code Section 647(1)
and Callfornla BUSlness and Professlons Code Section 22435 2. The
Clty Attorney's Offlce shall work ln cooperatlon with the Santa
Monlca Pollce Department In complling these statlstlCS. The report
shall include statistles on the number of arrests for vlolatlng
this Ordlnance, Callfornia Penal Code Seetlon 647(1) or California
BUSlness and Professlons Code Sectlon 22435.2 WhlCh dld not result
ln the flllng of a crlmlnal action agalnst the arrested person.
SECTION 10. No later than July I, 1996, and no less
frequently than each 12 months thereafter, the Clty Council shall
hold a publlc hearlng for the purpose of sollciting input from
members of the public concerning the effectlveness of thlS measure
In achievlng lts stated purposes. As part of thlS perlodic review,
the Clty Council shall conslder any relevant lnformatlon offered by
13
the Chlef of Police concernlng whether the Santa Monlca Pollce
Department has sufflclent resources and personnel to fully and
falrly enforce thlS Ordinance and other legal measures aeslgned to
protect the publlC safety of Santa Monlca's resldents and Vlsltors.
SECTION 11. If any sectlon, subsectlon, sentence, clause,
phrase or portlon of thlS Ordlnance, or appllcatlon thereof to any
person or clrcumstance, is for any reason held to be lnvalid or
unconstltutlonal by the declslon of any court of competent
]urisdlctlon, such declslon shall not affect the valldlty of the
remalnlng portlons of this Ordlnance which can be given effect
wlthout the lnvalld provlslon or application, and to thlS end the
provislons a! thlS Ordinance are declared to be severable. The
Clty Councll of the City of Santa Monlca hereby declares that they
would have adopted this Ordlnance and each sectlon, subsection,
sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof, irrespectlve of the
fact that anyone or more sectlon, subsectlon, sentence, clause,
phrase or portlon, or the application thereof, may be declared
lnvalld or unconstltutlonal. ThlS Ordlnance shall be llberally
construed to achleve the purposes of thlS Ordlnance and to preserve
lts valldlty.
SECTION 12. If this Ordlnance and any other lnconslstent,
alternative, or confllcting ordlnance are both passed by ma]Orltles
votlng thereon at the same tlme on the same ballot, then the one
wlth the most votes shall prevall. The one with the lesser votes
shall be deemed to be lnconsistent and In conflict wlth this
Ordlnance wlthin the meaning of Sectlon 10, Subdivlslon (b) of
~
14
.
Article II of the Callfornla Conscltution
SECTION 13
The Mayor shall sign and the Clty Clerk shall
attest to the passage of thlS Ordinance.
The City Clerk shall
cause the same to be published once In the offlcial newspaper
wlthln flfteen (15) days after lts adoptlon. ThlS Ordinance shall
become effective upon adoptlon.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
/I,... /\)
//{~V{~ b--- 1U1A'~
MARSHA JONE~ MOUTRIE
Clty Attorney
15
.
Adopted and approved thIS 13th of September, 1994
~.&~
Mavor
"'
I hereby certIfy that the foregoIng OrdInance No 1768 (CCS) was duly adopted at a
meetIng of the Clty Councll held on the 13th of September, 1994 by the folloWIng vore
Ayes CouncIlmembers
Genser, Greenberg, Holbrook. Olsen, RosensteIn,
Noes' CouncIlmembers
Abdo, Vazquez
AbstaIn CouncIlmembers.
None
Absent' Councilmembers'
None
ATTEST
/~~~.~ h,J!~
(
.....---
CIty Clerk