Section
Camping on Public Property
131.01 Definitions
131.02 Camping on certain public property prohibited
131.03 Protections in the event of a finding of risk and the need for relocation
131.04 Personal property storage
Graffiti
131.10 Definitions
131.11 Sale of items commonly used for graffiti
131.12 Illegal activities
131.13 Enforcement
131.14 Abatement
131.16 Penalties
131.17 Appeals
Littering
131.20 Definitions
131.21 Civil enforcement
131.22 Unlawful practices
131.23 Penalties
131.24 Enforcement
131.98 Severability
CAMPING ON PUBLIC PROPERTY
CAMP. Means public property where one or more persons are camping.
CAMPING. Means the use of public property for temporary living accommodation purposes by the occupation or habitation of an area through the use of temporary shelters, and/or recreational vehicles and/or camping paraphernalia.
CAMPING PARAPHERNALIA. Means equipment or supplies that are used by a person or persons to facilitate camping, which includes but is not limited to grills, outdoor cookers, lanterns, latrines, temporary shelters of whatever kind, or other similar type equipment or supplies.
EMERGENCY. Means situations when a failure to act immediately could lead to serious harm to public health or safety.
PERSONAL ITEMS. Means any item that is reasonably recognizable as belonging to a person and has apparent utility and does not include items that
have no apparent utility or in an unsanitary condition, including, but not limited to, identification documents, birth certificates, and other personal documents and effects.
PUBLIC PROPERTY. Means any real property owned by, or leased to Metro Government located within the boundaries of Jefferson County, which includes but is not limited to green spaces, open spaces, right-of-ways, public sidewalks, cross-walks, streets, curbs, public alleyways, public passageways, publicly owned commercial lots, publicly owned residential lots, publicly owned vacant lots, or publicly owned cleared lots, but does not include the public parks owned, leased to, or managed by the Louisville Metro Parks Department; property owned, leased to, or managed by the Waterfront Development Corporation; property owned, leased to, or managed by the Parking Authority of the River City (“PARC”); property leased by Metro and managed by the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts; or property owned, leased, or managed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky or its agencies.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE. Means a motor vehicle, trailer or hybrid trailer that is equipped with amenities and features intended for the owner or others to use for the purposes of leisure activities, camping and/or sleeping, including but not limited to, motor homes, travel trailers, camper vans, truck campers, pop-up campers, teardrop trailers, fifth-wheels, toy haulers or motor homes.
STORE. Means to put aside or accumulate for use when needed, or to put, place, or leave in a location for safekeeping or future use.
TEMPORARY SHELTER. Means a non- permanent accommodation that is intended to be used by a person or persons for protection from the various weather elements while camping which includes, but is not limited to, tents, huts, cots, beds, sleeping bags, bedrolls, knapsacks, hammocks, tarpaulins, canvases, lean-to’s or other similar types of equipment or structure.
(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 131-2012, approved 7-31-2012; Lou. Metro Am. Ord. No. 21-2018, approved 2-14-2018; Lou. Metro Am. Ord. No. 199-2022, approved 12-15-2022)
(A) General provisions.
(1) Camping on public property for more than 12 consecutive hours, or between sundown and sunrise, without a written permit issued by a Metro Government department is unlawful.
(2) Camping may be permitted on public property larger than three acres in size by making application for a camping permit to the Director of the Department of Public Works and Assets (the Director). Application for a camping permit shall be made on a form provided by the Director. Each application for a camping permit shall be signed by the individual or authorized representative of the organization that seeks to camp on public property, shall identify each person by name and address who will be subject to the camping permit, the address or location of the public property proposed to be used, the requested date(s) for camping which may not exceed five consecutive days, and such other information as required by the application form. Each application shall be accompanied by an application fee in the amount of $25 for five campers or less, $50 for six to ten campers, and for more than ten campers, $5 for each camper named in the application. If the application is denied, all application fees will be refunded. In no event shall any person, individual whether as an individual application or as a member of a group of individuals application, or group of individuals identified in an application tendered by an organization, be permitted to camp for more than five consecutive days in a single calendar month at the same location or a total of 21 days on public property in a calendar year.
(3) The Director shall have the discretion to implement such regulations for the issuance of camping permits the Director deems necessary to prevent the misuse or abuse of public properties and insure the public health, welfare, and safety of Metro citizens. All such regulations and any amendments thereto shall be approved by the Mayor before they become effective. The County attorney shall approve all such regulations as to form and legality prior to submission to the Mayor.
(B) Exceptions. This section shall not apply to camping within Metro Parks, which is governed by § 42.31.
(C) Enforcement and penalties. Any violation of this section shall be classified as a civil offense and shall be enforced through the Code Enforcement Board as provided in §§ 32.275 et seq. or as it may be amended. The civil penalty for any violation of this section shall be as follows: any person that violates ay provision of this section shall be liable for a civil fine in an amount of not less than $50 nor more than $200 for each violation. Each day a violation continues shall be a separate violation of this section.
(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 199-2022, approved 12-15-2022)
(A) Except as provided in subsection (B) of this section, no department or employee of Louisville Metro Government may relocate a person from a camp that has existed continuously in that area for 72 hours or longer, excluding holidays and weekends until Louisville Metro, through the Office of Resilience and Community Services in collaboration with the Department of Public Health and Wellness, the Coalition for the Homeless or a like organization, Louisville Metro Police Department, and the Department of Public Works, or any successor agencies, has assessed the individual(s) in the camp and the camp’s relationship to its neighbors using a consistent methodology to determine the risk to public health or safety and the intensity of service provision that will be offered and given appropriate notice, but no less than 21 days' notice, to the persons living in the camp and to the Coalition for the Homeless or a like organization. A preliminary risk assessment shall be conducted within ten business days of the Office of Resilience and Community Services or a successor agency receiving initial notification of an encampment. The relocation must take place by Louisville Metro within 21 days from the date of the Notice expiring, otherwise a new 21-day Notice must be given for the relocation. Notice to the persons in the camp shall consist of signs posted in a conspicuous place at the camp giving the earliest date on which personal property may be removed. The signage shall include a visual symbol or symbols as well as text. Notice to the Coalition for the Homeless or a like organization should be given through a phone call or email requesting verification that it has been received.
(B) Louisville Metro shall provide whatever notice of relocation is reasonable under the circumstances to both the person(s) in the camp and to the Coalition for the Homeless or a like organization, with organizational notice given through a phone call or email requesting verification that it has been received, when Louisville Metro makes a written determination, after conducting the risk assessment called for in subsection (A) of this section, that an emergency exists.
(C) If a risk assessment has been conducted for a camp in accordance with subsection (A) of this section, and the determination has been made to relocate the persons in the camp, the Office of Resilience and Community Services or a successor agency shall make demonstrated efforts to communicate the findings from the risk assessment, and the specific number of days required for action, to the Office's community contacts in the affected neighborhood. These community contacts shall include, but shall not be limited to, the Metro Council member for the district(s) in which a camp is located, neighborhood associations, and active community groups directly impacted by the posting of notice of relocation.
(D) Upon receiving the notice described in subsection (A), the Coalition for the Homeless or a like organization may notify participating service providers, faith-based organizations, street ministries and volunteers to offer the persons to be relocated available assistance, including any available assistance with transitional or permanent housing, and other services.
(E) The Coalition for the Homeless or a like organization shall be provided at least three days' notice of the actual date and time when a person is to be relocated so that participating service providers, faith-based organizations, street ministries and volunteers are on site at the time of the relocation to offer assistance.
(F) The protections of this section shall not apply to locations where:
(1) Permanent, conspicuous notices are posted that camps are not allowed based on the results of the risk assessment conducted in accordance with subsection (A) of this section, and that personal items are subject to be removed immediately and where removal of such items occurs on a regular basis; or
(2) A camp has existed for fewer than 72 continuous hours, excluding holidays and weekends. Once a camp which has been in existence for fewer than 72 hours has been identified, before a person may be relocated from that camp, a minimum of 48 hours’ advance notice shall be given unless either subsection (F)(1) applies or the camp presents an imminent safety risk to the persons in the camp or to others, in which case no notice is required. The 48 hours’ advance notice of removal shall be given:
(a) To the affected person. Posting of a written notice in the area will satisfy the 48 hours’ in advance notice requirement, but all reasonable efforts should be made to provide individualized verbal notice as well;
(b) To any entity designated by the Coalition for the Homeless or a like organization; and
(c) To street outreach teams designated by the Office of Resilience and Community Services or any successor agencies.
(G) Any Louisville Metro employee found to be in violation of this subsection may be disciplined and shall attend a training session regarding the implementation of this section to be conducted by the Office of Resilience and Community Services or its successor agency.
(H) The Office of Resilience and Community Services or a successor agency shall submit an annual written summary of anonymized risk assessment data to the Metro Council. In order to conduct a special committee discussion on the topic, Metro Council shall assign the summary to a committee for review.
(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 21-2018, approved 2-14-2018; Lou. Metro Am. Ord. No. 171-2021, approved 11-16-2021; Lou. Metro Am. Ord. No. 199-2022, approved 12-15-2022)
(A) If a person is relocated from a camp with fewer than 21 days' notice under the emergency provision in § 131.03(B), Louisville Metro must maintain any of the person's personal items found at the camp that have apparent utility and are not unsanitary, including but not limited to, identification documents, birth certificates, and other personal documents and effects, in a safe and secure place for a minimum of 30 days. Animals found with personal items will be transported to Louisville Metro Animal Services ("MAS") for impoundment in compliance with LMCO Chapter 91 and state law. The MAS Director will promulgate regulations regarding treatment and release of animals impounded under this section, which shall include a waiver of fees and penalties allowable under the law. The MAS Director is encouraged to consult with a local organization which assists persons and their companion animals in promulgating said regulations.
(B) Notice shall be posted at the site of the camp, providing a telephone number to call to arrange an appointment to pick up personal property. The notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the general vicinity, but not more than 30 feet from the location where the property was removed, and shall be laminated or otherwise made to be weather resistant. After 30 days, Louisville Metro may dispose of any unclaimed personal items and remove the notice regarding personal property.
(C) This protections of this section shall not apply to locations where:
(1) Permanent, conspicuous notices are posted that camps are not allowed based on the results of the risk assessment conducted in accordance with § 131.03(A), and that personal items are subject to be removed immediately, and where removal of such items occurs on a regular basis; or
(2) A camp has existed for fewer than 72 continuous hours, excluding holidays and weekends.
(D) Any Louisville Metro employee found to be in violation of this subsection may be disciplined and shall attend a training session regarding the implementation of this section to be conducted by the Office of Resilience and Community Services or its successor agency.
(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 21-2018, approved 2-14-2018; Lou. Metro Am. Ord. No. 171-2021, approved 11-16-2021; Lou. Metro Am. Ord. No. 199-2022, approved 12-15-2022)
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