Whoever remains standing, lying or sitting down on any of the sidewalks, streets, alleys or public places in such a manner as to obstruct or impede the free passage of pedestrians or public travel, after being requested to immediately move on by any police officer, City Clerk Licensing Enforcement Officer, or Code Enforcement Officer or any police officer, or who wilfully remains on the sidewalk in front of any dwelling house or place of business which abuts on any of the sidewalks in this City, in such manner as to obstruct the free passage of any other person into or out of such dwelling house or place of business, without the consent or against the will of the proprietor, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; provided, that this section shall not prohibit the operation of a sidewalk cafe pursuant to a permit issued by the City Clerk or licensed under title 3, chapter 3 or 4 of this Code. (1952 Code § 9-10-01)
A. Prohibitions: It shall be unlawful for any person to use any of the streets, sidewalks, parks or public places as a camping place at any time, or to cause or permit any vehicle to remain in any of said places to the detriment of public travel; or to cause or permit any livestock of any description to be herded into any of said places during any hours of the day or night; provided, that this section shall not prohibit the operation of a sidewalk café pursuant to a permit issued by the City Clerk.
1. The term "camp" or "camping" shall mean the use of public property as a temporary or permanent place of dwelling, lodging or residence, or as a living accommodation at any time between sunset and sunrise.
2. Indicia of camping may include, but are not limited to, storage of personal belongings, using tents or other temporary structures for sleeping or storage of personal belongings, carrying on cooking activities or making any fire in an unauthorized area, or any of these activities in combination with one another or in combination with either sleeping or making preparations to sleep (including the laying down of bedding for the purpose of sleeping).
B. Enforcement: Law enforcement officers shall not enforce this camping section when the individual is on public property and there is no available overnight shelter.
1. The term "available overnight shelter" is a public or private shelter, with an available overnight space, for an individual experiencing homelessness, at no charge, as defined in subsection B.2.
2. The term "available overnight shelter" shall not include the following:
a. Shelter space where an individual cannot stay because the individual has exceeded a shelter's maximum stay rule or because shelter is unavailable due to the individual's sex or sexual orientation.
b. Shelter space that cannot reasonably accommodate the individual's mental or physical needs or disabilities.
c. Shelter space that does not permit a minor child to be housed in the same facility with at least one parent or legal guardian.
d. Shelter space for which an individual is required to attend or participate in religious activities or programs as a condition of utilizing the shelter space.
3. Police or their designee shall initiate contact with the shelters after eleven o'clock (11.00) P.M. daily to determine whether the shelters have available space and, if so, the number of available sleeping spaces. Prior to issuing any citation, a police officer shall also confirm that a shelter has available space that can be utilized by that particular individual. No police officer shall issue a citation to a homeless person sleeping, lying, sitting, or camping outdoors unless the officer first confirms the shelter has available space that can be utilized by the individual.
Any person violating the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, subject to penalty as provided in section 1-4-1 of this Code and, in addition, such persons shall be liable for damages to such street or streets by reason of violation of the provisions of this article, such damages to be recovered by the City before any court of competent jurisdiction. (1952 Code § 9-10-20; amd. 2019 Code)
For the purposes of this article, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivation shall have the meanings given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present include the future, words in the plural number include the singular, and words in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
ENCROACH: The use, intrusion, enclosure or occupation of a street, sidewalk, parkway or the unused portion of a street.
OBSTRUCTION: Any obstacle or thing impeding, or inconveniencing or rendering dangerous, public travel upon and along a street, alley or sidewalk.
PARKWAY: That portion of public right-of-way situated between the curb line of any street and the property line of property abutting and adjoining any street. In the absence of a curb, the curb line of a street shall be deemed to be the edge of that portion of public right-of-way maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.
PERSON: Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.
SIDEWALK: The portion of the parkway of a street set aside and intended for the use of pedestrians.
STREET: Highways, roads, alleys and bridges dedicated, purchased or otherwise acquired for the public, including the unimproved or unused portion thereof, maintained and open to use by the public. (1952 Code § 9-24-01)
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