HomeMy WebLinkAboutNS-2926 - Amending Section 10-551 and Adding New Sections 10-552, 10-553ORDINANCE NO. NS -2926
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SANTA ANA AMENDING SECTION 10-551 AND
ADDING NEW SECTIONS 10-552, 10-553 AND 10-554 TO
THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATED TO
STORAGE OF PROPERTY, VEHICLE ACCESS AND
VOLUNTEER SERVICES IN THE CIVIC CENTER AREA
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines
and declares as follows:
A. On December 20, 1993, the City Council approved Ordinance No. NS -2210
adding Sections 10-550 and 10-551 to Chapter 10 of the Santa Ana Municipal
Code for the purpose of regulating camping and storage of property in the Civic
Center Area.
B. For three decades now, homeless individuals have increasingly gathered on a
daily basis in the Civic Center Area where they can receive services and food
provided by local non -profits and volunteers. Over the past year alone, the
homeless population has dramatically increased.
C. The homeless individuals in the Civic Center have erected shade structures
and tents and more recently have begun to accumulate various large or bulky
household items, including mattresses, dressers, propane stoves, sofas, desks,
and hazardous items, including but not limited to propane and acetylene tanks,
gasoline, hazardous chemicals, and related items susceptible to combustion or
fire due to the severe amount of flammable materials within the Civic Center.
D. In the past year, the City has received numerous written and verbal
complaints about the conditions in the Civic Center Area from 1) citizens coming
to the area to conduct business; 2) employees of the City and the County of
Orange coming to and going from work; 3) state and federal representatives
charged with managing the nearby buildings; and 4) the Chief Executive Officer
and Jury Commissioner of the Orange County Superior Court.
E. The complaints have identified significant health, safety and welfare
concerns, including but not limited to:
1) Employees having to walk over human waste and through make -shift
encampments filled with litter and used hypodermic needles;
2) Homeless individuals tossing buckets of urine over rails and onto
pathways where individuals are splashed with the waste;
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3) Potential jurors asking for their jury service location to be transferred from
the Central Justice Center to another location;
4) An increase in large rats and insects in the area;
5) An increase in vandalism and damage to City property and buildings
within the Civic Center area;
6) An increase in narcotics use and sales and physical and sexual assaults
occurring within the encampment areas which are not visible or easily
accessible to law enforcement officers due to the shade structures, tents,
and excessive crowding;
7) Used and discarded hypodermic needles found in the Civic Center
including the Library, which reported, as of August 2017, finding 101
needles since January 2017 placing its employees and patrons, including
children and unaccompanied minors, at risk of disease or injury;
8) An accumulation of discarded and broken household items;
9) Increased incidents of individuals or employees being attacked and bitten
by dogs; and
10)Portable shower structures without proper plumbing, allowing waste water
runoff to spill into public walkways and ultimately into storm drains which is
a violation of the City's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
permit.
F. On a recent walkthrough of the Civic Center Area, City staff observed the
following: individuals using hypodermic needle disposal bins and buckets as
portable toilets; tents and areas in unsanitary conditions filled with wet and soiled
clothing and broken items; people cooking on propane stoves; generators
connected to television sets; large number of bicycle frames and parts;
unrestrained dogs that had recently had large litters of puppies; excessive
accumulation of personal property; and a woman walking around warning others
of an outbreak of hepatitis A.
G. The City has learned of recent media reports of hepatitis A outbreaks in San
Diego and Los Angeles Counties largely attributed to homeless individuals sitting
and sleeping on unclean sidewalks and streets and preparing food without proper
sanitation procedures.
H. On October 6, 2016, the County of Orange announced the opening of a year-
round transitional center designated to benefit and serve homeless individuals
congregated in the Santa Ana Civic Center. Located at the former Santa Ana
Transit Terminal and renamed "The Courtyard", it has emergency shelter beds
and enhanced services for those without permanent housing.
I. The City has closely examined the homeless conditions and on September 6,
2016, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2016-073 and declared a public
health and safety homeless crisis in the Civic Center Area. Conditions have
since deteriorated significantly such that the City Council has determined that it
must take further and immediate action to address the crisis.
J. The City Council has determined based on the recitals and the information
contained in the Request for Council Action presented to the City Council that it
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must immediately adopt new regulations to address the ongoing health and
safety concerns regarding unsanitary conditions, an infestation of insects and
rodents, and hazardous items that place employees, the general public and
individuals temporarily living in the Civic Center Area at risk of injury or disease.
Section 2. Section 10-551 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended
and new Sections 10-552, 10-553 and 10-554 are hereby added to read as follows:
ARTICLE X. CIVIC CENTER REGULATION
Sec. 10-551. — Storage of Property Prohibited in Civic Center
(a) Within the Civic Center, possession and/or use of the following items or
engagement in the following activities are prohibited:
(1) Placement of any item in a manner that impedes pedestrian access to/
through the public walkways or general right-of-way.
(2) Placement or use of an upright structure or materials to form a wall or
barrier, but not including umbrellas, canopies, or other shade
structures so long as they do not create enclosed spaces on Civic
Center public property.
(3) Construction and landscaping materials including but not limited to,
lumber, pallets, plywood, paint, drywall, nails, screws, hammers,
screwdrivers, small hand tools, or cutting tools.
(4) Compressed gas containers, except for in -use medical purposes.
(5) Weapons.
(6) Generators, solar panels, or motorized vehicle batteries or accessories.
(7) Machinery, including but not limited to, power tools or construction
equipment.
(8) Amplifiers.
(9) Hazardous chemicals or materials.
(10) Barbecues or grills.
(11) Propane tanks.
(12) Gasoline or other similar combustible or flammable liquids, gases or
solid fuels.
(13) Shopping carts (See also S.A.M.C. Section 33-215).
(14) Furniture, including but not limited to, recliner chairs, mattresses,
sofas, coffee tables, desks, chests of drawers, and bookcases.
(15) Athletic equipment such as baseball bats, boxing apparatus, weights,
hockey sticks, golf clubs or similar items.
(16) Any structure or apparatus that can be described or used as an
outdoor shower.
(17) Any items used as temporary toilets for human waste.
(18) Storage of non-functioning bicycles or bicycle parts.
(19) Storage, dismantling and sorting of any discarded recyclable materials
such as newspapers, metals, cans, or bottles.
(20) Area rugs or carpets.
(21) Running or stringing any utility cord or line into, upon, or across the
Civic Center Area.
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(22) Conducting, advertising, announcing, or calling the public attention to
the purchase, barter or sale of any article, good or service for sale or
hire, unless by any regularly licensed business or concessionaire
acting by and under the authority and regulation of the City.
(23) Possession or storage of any uncapped hypodermic needles, unless
within a medically approved and sealed container.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, a public agency, a non-profit
entity or an individual shall not be in violation of this section if they have a permit or
written permission from the City Manager, or his or her designee, to possess the
prohibited items or engage in the identified activities in connection with an approved
contract for work, event or celebration.
(c) Subsection (a)(2) above shall not be enforced while it is raining.
Sec. 10-552. — Limitation of Animals in the Civic Center
No person shall own, keep or harbor more than three animals in the Civic Center,
except for service dogs as defined by law.
Sec. 10-553. — No Vehicles in Pedestrian Areas in the Civic Center
No person shall operate or park a motorized vehicle in the Civic Center, except
on a vehicular road designated for that purpose in the Civic Center, without the written
permission from the City Manager, or his or her designee, provided however, that this
section shall not apply to motorized personal assistive devices or law enforcement
vehicles, maintenance vehicles or contractor vehicles on Civic Center plazas, walkways
or other areas intended for pedestrians where the drivers of these vehicles are on the
property to fulfill their professional responsibilities.
Sec. 10-554. — Permit Required to Provide Organized Services in the Civic
Center
(a) No person, entity, organization or business shall provide organized food,
medical or social services or events in the Civic Center without first obtaining an event
permit in accordance with policies adopted by the City Manager, or his or her designee,
and any applicable licenses or permits required to provide such services or access to
Civic Center property. The purpose of this section is to ensure that all services are
provided in an organized manner by those who have the proper experience and/or
credentials needed to provide the service and who have submitted a set-up and clean-
up plan to the City.
(b) This section shall not apply to City, County, State or Federal employees
conducting official business or those who are contracted by these agencies to provide
services related to that official business.
Section 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this
ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any
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court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby declares that it
would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase
or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections,
sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 4. Violations of this Ordinance may be cited as an infraction or
misdemeanor at the discretion of the City officer.
ADOPTED this 171h day of October, 2017.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
By:_kw�
Sonia R. Carvalho
City Attorney
AYES: Councilmembers: Benavides, Martinez, Pulido, Sarmiento, Solorio,
Tinaiero, Villegas (7)
NOES: Councilmembers: None (0)
ABSTAIN: Councilmembers: None (0)
ABSENT: Councilmembers:
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CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY
I, MARIA D. HUIZAR, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify that the
attached Ordinance No. NS -2926 to be the original ordinance adopted by the City
Council of the City of Santa Ana on October 17, 2017, and that said ordinance was
published in accordance with the Charter of the City of Santa Ana.
Date: /0 /7
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�.D �&�
Maria D. Huizar
Clerk of the Council
City of Santa Ana