(a) Purpose/Findings.
(1) Public streets, sidewalks and walkways are created and maintained for the primary purposes of enabling pedestrians and vehicles to safely and efficiently move about from place to place, facilitating deliveries of goods and services, and providing all potential customers and visitors with convenient access to goods and services, as well as a place to recreate and engage in free public speech in shared civic space;
(2) Except as provided for in this Section, sitting or lying on public streets, sidewalks or walkways interferes with the primary purposes of the public street, sidewalk or walkway, threatens public safety and damages the public welfare;
(3) Pedestrians, particularly the elderly, disabled, and vision-impaired, are put at increased risk when they must see and navigate around individuals sitting or lying upon the public sidewalk;
(4) In some circumstances, people sitting or lying on sidewalks deter many members of the public from frequenting those areas. This, in turn, contributes to an erosion of the essential economic viability of those areas. Business failures and relocations can cause vacant storefronts contributing to a spiral of deterioration and blight which harms the public health, safety and welfare;
(5) There are numerous other places within the City where sitting can be accommodated without unduly interfering with the safe flow of pedestrian traffic, impairing commercial activity, threatening public safety or harming the public welfare. These other places include city parks, numerous public benches and other seating facilities, plazas, portions of sidewalks not intensively used by pedestrians, common areas open to the public, and private property with the permission of the property owner;
(6) The City recognizes that there is a fundamental need to sleep and desires to accommodate that need while also satisfying the needs of the general public to travel freely and safely throughout the City.
(7) The limited regulation of sitting or lying down on sidewalks in is both reasonably necessary and appropriately balances the public interest and individual rights.
(8) Designated Open Space contains ecologically sensitive habitats, including many protected plant and wildlife species as well as fresh water supplies. Except as provided for in this Section, human presence in Open Space other than on designated trails can seriously damage or destroy these habitats as well as increase the risk of wildfire danger and possible injuries from threatened wildlife.
(b) Definitions.
(1) “Obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic” means to walk, stand, place an object, sit or lie in such a manner as to block passage by another person or a vehicle, or to require another person or a driver of a vehicle to take evasive action to avoid physical contact.
(2) “Public place” means public property, including, but is not limited to, publicly owned parking lots and driveways, highways, streets, bridges, alleys, sidewalks, walkways, and City owned areas generally accessible to the public.
(c) Prohibitions. Except as provided in this Section:
(1) No person shall sit or lie down upon a public place or in doorways or entrances to buildings in such a way as to impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
(2) No person shall place any chair, stool, or other object upon any public place or in doorways or entrances to buildings except as provided for in this Code or permit issued by the City.
(3) No person shall be permitted to sleep in a public place between the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
(4) No person shall be permitted to sleep in a public place between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. unless there are no sleeping spaces practically available in any shelter or if there does not exist any viable alternative to sleeping in a public place.
(5) No person shall be permitted to sleep in Open Space as defined in Section 5-8.08(b)(4) at any time.
(d) Exceptions. The prohibitions in subsection (c) of this section shall not apply in the following cases and to the following persons:
(1) Persons operating or patronizing a commercial establishment conducted on the public sidewalk pursuant to an applicable, valid permit; or a person participating in or attending a parade, festival, performance, rally, demonstration, meeting or similar event conducted in a public place;
(2) Any conduct which is in conformity with the terms of any permit granted pursuant to this Code; and
(3) Persons patronizing dining establishments with seating areas in the public right of way which have been permitted pursuant to this Code.
(e) Picketing or protesting. It is not the intent of this section to prohibit protesting, picketing, demonstrating, signature gathering, voter registration, leafleting, or any other lawful activity permitted under the laws of the United States of America, State of California, or by the National Labor Relations Act in connection with a labor dispute.
(§ 1, Ord. 1300-NS, eff. October 23, 1997, as amended by § 1, Ord. 1663-NS, eff. July 12, 2019)