(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to sleep in a vehicle whatsoever for habitation when the number of available beds in shelters is greater than the number of homeless individuals in the City:
1. Between the hours of nine o’clock (9:00) P.M. and six o’clock (6:00) A.M. on any public or private street, parking lot, or unimproved or vacant lot within the City of Taft; or
2. At any time within a one block radius of any edge of a lot containing a park or a licensed school, pre-school, or daycare facility within the City of Taft.
The foregoing shall not apply to a private parking lot or unimproved lot in which the property owner has obtained a conditional use permit from the City to allow for sleeping in the parking lot or unimproved lot. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit camping in public campgrounds pursuant to a permit or license authorized under Federal, State, or local statute or ordinance. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the allowable parking and sleeping in recreational vehicles described in sections 6-12-19, 6-12-20, and 6-12-21 of title VI of the Taft Municipal Code if all legal requirements therein are met. Nothing herein precludes the enforcement of any other related laws that the City of Taft is authorized to enforce.
(B) Violations of this section may be punished only as an infraction or as an administrative violation and in no event shall any fine be issued. No citation for a violation of this section shall be issued unless, at the time in question, the enforcement officer, in his or her reasonable discretion, is able to make an affirmative determination that there is an available bed in a shelter in the City, which includes a temporary shelter for individuals who do not have permanent housing, based on the information known to the enforcement officer at the time. In determining whether there is an available bed in a shelter, the enforcement officer shall consider all the circumstances and the policies and requirements of an available bed in a shelter, and whether it is practicable for the person to seek shelter there or elsewhere.
(C) If any portion, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this section is for any reason held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such a decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this section. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each portion or subsection, sentence, clause and phrase herein, irrespective of the fact that any one or more portions, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid.
(D) This section may be enforced by Peace Officers of the City of Taft and by the City of Taft employees specified in section 1-1-12 of title I.
(E) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect, supersede, or otherwise prevent enforcement of provisions under other provisions of the Taft Municipal Code, California State Law, or other law enforceable by the City or to prevent the City from commencing administrative, civil, or criminal proceedings for nuisance abatement, injunctive relief, or other methods of enforcement available under law. (Ord. 852-23, 7-18-2023)