SR 12-12-2023 5N
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: December 12, 2023
Agenda Item: 5.N
1 of 1
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Douglas Sloan, City Attorney, City Attorney's Office, Administration
Subject: Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance of the City Council of the City
of Santa Monica Amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 4.04.390
Pertaining to the Feeding of Birds and Other Animals in the City Public Right
of Way
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached Ordinance.
Executive Summary
At its meeting on November 14, 2023, the City Council introduced for first reading an
Ordinance amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 4.04.390 pertaining to the
feeding of birds and other animals in the City public right of way. The ordinance is now
presented to the City Council for adoption.
Prepared By: Bradley Michaud, Principal Legal Analyst
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. ORD-SMMC 4.04.390 Feeding Animals
5.N
Packet Pg. 404
1
City Council Meeting: December 12, 2023 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 4.04.390
PERTAINING TO THE FEEDING OF BIRDS AND OTHER ANIMALS IN THE CITY
PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica (“City”) aims to provide its residents with an
opportunity to use public space with their animal companions; and
WHEREAS, distributing food to animals in beaches, and the Municipal and
Newcomb Piers presents significant risk to health, safety, and welfare and can lead to
unsanitary conditions; and
WHEREAS, disbursing food to animals in public places can lead to the
transmission of airborne diseases; and
WHEREAS, disbursing food to animals in public places leads to an increase in bird
droppings; and
WHEREAS, the increase in bird droppings has resulted in elevated bacteria level
around Municipal Pier exceeding state standards; and
WHEREAS, disbursing food can also be harmful to the wildlife, causing unnatural
population gathering, interspecies aggression, and other risks which directly affect their
ability to survive; and
WHEREAS, in order to address these issues, City Council now wishes to clarify
and expand the prohibitions in Section 4.04.390 to include the City’s public beaches, the
Municipal and Newcomb Piers.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
5.N.a
Packet Pg. 405 Attachment: ORD-SMMC 4.04.390 Feeding Animals (6167 : Prohibition Against Feeding Birds - Second Reading)
2
SECTION 1. Chapter 4.04.390 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby
amended as follows:
4.04.390 Restrictions upon feeding of animals and birds in specified areas.
(a) No person shall feed any animal or bird in or on the area described in
Section 3.36.150 of this Code, the Municipal and Newcomb Piers, the public
beach, or in any designated off-leash area of a public park, without authorization
from the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee.
(b) No person shall permit any food or other matter edible by animals or birds to
remain on the ground after dispersing or dropping it in or on any park, designated
off-leash area, the Municipal and Newcomb Piers, the public beach, or public
street or sidewalk, without authorization from the City Manager or the City
Manager’s designee.
(c) Any person violating any of the provisions of this Section shall be guilty of an
infraction. Any person convicted of an infraction under the provisions of this
Section shall be punishable by a fine of not less than five dollars and not more than
twenty-five dollars. Each such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each
and every commission of any violation of any provision of this Section and shall be
punished accordingly.
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, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to
effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
5.N.a
Packet Pg. 406 Attachment: ORD-SMMC 4.04.390 Feeding Animals (6167 : Prohibition Against Feeding Birds - Second Reading)
3
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 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 thirty
days after adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
DOUGLAS SLOAN
City Attorney
5.N.a
Packet Pg. 407 Attachment: ORD-SMMC 4.04.390 Feeding Animals (6167 : Prohibition Against Feeding Birds - Second Reading)