REPORT TO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Introduce an Ordinance to Add Chapter 9.63 (Camping and Storage of Property in Public Areas) to Chapter 9 (Public Peace, Safety or Welfare) of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code
Report
BACKGROUND
Parks, public areas, and city owned properties in Sunnyvale are not intended to be used for camping or the storage of personal property. In recent years, the City has received a growing number of complaints from residents about camping and storage of property on public property, particularly in Fair Oaks Park and under the north side of the Fair Oaks Bridge Overpass near Kifer Road. The proposed ordinance will provide a tool to help the City maintain public areas in a clean and accessible condition for use by all City residents.
The City Council is scheduled to consider this item on August 11, 2015.
EXISTING POLICY
Sunnyvale Municipal Code Section 9.62.090 "Loitering Prohibited During Certain Hours. No person shall remain, stay or loiter in any public park, between the hours of nine p.m. and six a.m. of the following day without approval from the director.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
NA
DISCUSSION
New Code and Enforcement
The purpose of the new code (see Attachment 1) is to provide a tool to assist the City's ability to balance the needs and rights of all users of city parks and rights-of-way to ensure that both people and the environment are protected from damage. The ordinance will allow maintenance of public property in a clean, sanitary, safe, attractive and accessible condition, protect the health, safety, environment and general welfare of the community, and address conditions on public property that diminish the public's ability to use and enjoy those facilities.
Cities are authorized to regulate public behavior that may create substantial health and safety hazards, and, to that end, courts have upheld ordinances prohibiting camping and storage of personal property on public property. Advers...
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