City of Escondido, CA IN GENERAL

No person shall consume any alcoholic beverage or possess an open container of any alcoholic beverage on any street, alley, highway, court, public parking lot, any recreational area, or in any automobile in any public place in this city. Beer and wine may be allowed in a public park or recreational area pursuant to the provisions of section 18-102 of this code.

No person shall drink any alcoholic beverage on posted premises, including, but not limited to, a private parking lot, driveway or other property which is open and accessible to the public, without the written permission of the owner, occupant or other person in control of such property.

This section shall not apply to any sales or use of alcoholic beverages in connection with any restaurant or other establishment which:

Complies with the provisions of the downtown specific plan or successor regulations governing uses in the downtown area;

Receives an encroachment permit for such use; and

Receives all required permits from the alcoholic beverage commission.

Cross reference—Use and sale of alcoholic beverages, § 18-102.

(Code 1957, § 4023; Ord. No. 79-29, § 1, 8-15-79; Ord. No. 86-18, § 5, 2-19-86; Ord. No. 94-14, § 1, 5-18-94; Ord. No. 2003-02, § 2, 2-5-03)

§ 17-3 Bonfires in streets.

No person shall make, build or light bonfires in any public street in the city.

(Code 1957, § 4211)

§ 17-4 Operating aircraft in the city.

For the purpose of this section, "aircraft" shall mean any contrivance or apparatus used or designed for navigation of or flight in the air. This description shall include, but not be limited to, airplanes, helicopters, balloons, hydroplanes, hang gliders and motor-powered gliders.

Unless authorized by the chief of police, no person shall land or take off in an aircraft in the City of Escondido.

This section shall not apply to aircraft operated by public safety agencies, the military, accredited news media or medical personnel in the performance of their duties.

(Ord. No. 81-34, § 1, 6-17-81; Ord. No. 83-40, § 1, 7-13-83)

§ 17-5 Use of streets, sidewalks, public places.

It is unlawful for any person to sit, lie, recline, kneel or otherwise restrict or obstruct the free use of any public sidewalk, walkway, passageway, or any public place, or for any number of persons to congregate in such manner as to obstruct or interfere with the free movement and passage of persons or vehicles in any public street or any other public place within the city.

It is unlawful for any person to engage in abusive solicitation, as defined in section 18-107, on any public sidewalk, walkway or passageway in any public street or any other public place within the city.

It is unlawful for any person to stop or remain in a painted or raised traffic island or median except to wait to cross the roadway at the next pedestrian signal or, in the absence of a pedestrian signal, when traffic has cleared or yielded. Subsection (c) shall not apply to those persons occupying a median while conducting activities related to maintenance, surveying, construction, landscape maintenance, landscape improvements, law enforcement, responding to an emergency, or as otherwise permitted by law.

A violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor.

(Code 1957, § 4480; Ord. No. 2015-15, § 1, 8-5-15)

§ 17-6 Obstructing entrance to public building.

No person shall stand, sit or in any way use any crosswalk or any public street or other property opened or dedicated to public use or to which the public is invited, so as in any manner to obstruct the entrance of any public building.

§ 17-7 Camping defined.

"Camp"

shall mean to reside in or use a recreational area, park, or other public property for living accommodation purposes, as exemplified by remaining for prolonged or repetitious periods of time not associated with ordinary recreational use of a park with one's personal property (including, but not limited to, clothing, sleeping bags, bedrolls, blankets, sheets, tents, tarpaulins, luggage, backpacks, kitchen utensils, cookware, and similar material), sleeping or making preparations to sleep, regularly cooking or consuming meals, or living in a parked vehicle. These activities constitute camping when it reasonably appears, in light of all the circumstances, that the participants, in conducting these activities, are in fact using the area as a living accommodation regardless of the intent of the participants or the nature of any other activities in which they may also be engaging.

(Ord. No. 2003-02, § 4, 2-5-03)

§ 17-8.1 Encampments on public property.

Purpose. The city council of the City of Escondido finds that the city is committed to protecting the life, health, and safety of all people in the city and finds that certain public lands within the geographical boundaries of the city pose significant health and safety hazards to the people who make shelter or stay overnight in these areas. Additionally, the city council finds that some of these public lands are environmentally sensitive and may be significantly damaged by unregulated human activity. The city council is committed to protecting the rights of individuals related to their personal property and to treating such property with respect and consideration. It is the purpose of this section to set standards for the preservation and protection of human life, health, and safety; to further the preservation and protection of sensitive public lands to prevent destruction of these assets; and to establish a process for the collection, storage, disposal, recycling, or reuse of personal property found in encampments on public property.

(Ord. No. 2024-06, 7/10/2024)

§ 17-8.2 Definitions.

For purposes of this chapter, the following words, terms, and phrases shall be defined as follows:

"Abatement"

means the process of documenting and collecting eligible items for storage, and removing and disposing of, recycling, or reusing of waste at an encampment.

"Camp paraphernalia"

means personal property used to facilitate occupancy of an area and includes personal property typically associated with camping such as tarps, cots, beds, sleeping bags, hammocks, bedding, camp stoves, cooking equipment, buckets, and similar equipment, mattresses, couches, dressers, or other furniture.

"Camp"

shall have the same meaning as provided for in Section 17-7 and shall not be construed to prohibit camping in public campgrounds under a permit authorized by other provisions of law or ordinance.

"City manager"

as used herein shall mean the appointed city manager for the City of Escondido and all persons designated and authorized by the city manager to perform the activities required under this section including, but not limited to, all law enforcement and public works personnel.

"Encampment"

means one or more temporary, makeshift, or hand-built structures not intended for long-term continuous occupancy, including tents, that are used to shelter one or more persons or their belongings and that are not authorized by the property owner. Encampment includes any camp paraphernalia and personal property associated with or located in or around the structures or tents.

"Open space"

means any undeveloped public property either primarily in its natural state, including canyons and unimproved waterways, or that is held out by the city or used by the public for passive recreational purposes, conservation, habitat preservation, or that maintains or enhances the conservation of natural or scenic resources.

"Park"

means any public property, whether developed or undeveloped, held out by the city or used by the public for active or passive park and recreation uses, including adjacent buffer lands and natural areas and any adjacent parking lots and perimeter sidewalks. The definition of park includes open space.

"Shelter"

means any facility where individuals or families experiencing homelessness can access beds and other services or an area designated by the city manager for use by individuals or families experiencing homelessness.

"Waterway"

means all or portions of the Escondido Creek, Kit Carson Creek, their tributaries and headwaters, and any other drainage channel or improved or unimproved watercourses, found on public property, within the boundaries of the City of Escondido.

(Ord. No. 2024-06, 7/10/2024)

§ 17-8.3 Protection of waterways.

It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:

Build or erect a structure of any type within or along the banks of any waterway, or using or affixing any object to trees or other natural area vegetation for the purpose of building an encampment or any other structure, or to affix an object to any tree or other natural vegetation;

Move boulders, large rocks, or otherwise reconfigure the natural landscape or destroy vegetation, paved roads or paths created by the city in the waters of or along the banks of a waterway;

Drive, park, or bring any shopping cart or wheeled vehicle along the banks of a waterway, except in places specifically provided and designated for such use;

Dig into or on the banks of a waterway; or

(e)

Discharge or store waste, including garbage, refuse, or human or animal waste, along the banks or into the waters of a waterway;

(f)

Nothing in this Section 17-8.3 is intended to prohibit the activities of an owner of private property or other lawful user of private property that are normally associated with and incidental to the lawful and authorized use of private property; and nothing is intended to prohibit the activities of a lawful user if such activities are expressly authorized by the city manager or by any law, regulation, permit, order or other directive from a regulatory authority.

(Ord. No. 2024-06, 7/10/2024)

§ 17-8.4 Unauthorized encampments on public property.

It is unlawful for any person to camp or to maintain an encampment in or upon any public property, including in any street, sidewalk, park, open space, waterway, and banks of a waterway, unless specifically authorized by the city manager.

It is unlawful for any person to camp or to maintain an encampment where such activity poses:

An immediate threat or an unreasonable risk of harm to any natural person;

An immediate threat or an unreasonable risk of harm to public health or safety; or

Disruption to vital government services.

At all times, regardless of the availability of shelter space or beds, it is unlawful for any person to camp or to maintain an encampment in the following locations:

Within 500 feet of a school that offers instruction on those courses of study required by the California Education Code or that is maintained pursuant to standards set by the State Board of Education provided that signs are posted prohibiting camping that are clearly visible to pedestrians. School for purposes of this provision does not include a vocational or professional institution of higher education, including a community or junior college, college, or university;

Within 500 feet of any shelter provided that signs are posted prohibiting camping that are clearly visible to pedestrians;

In any open space, waterway, or banks of a waterway;

Within any transit hub, on any trolley platform, or along any trolley tracks provided that signs are posted prohibiting camping that are clearly visible to pedestrians; and

(5)

In any park or open space where the city manager determines there is a substantial public health and safety risk and provided that signs are posted prohibiting camping that are clearly visible to pedestrians.

(Ord. No. 2024-06, 7/10/2024)

§ 17-8.5 Enforcement.

Violations of this article may be prosecuted as misdemeanors subject to the fines and custody provisions in Escondido Municipal Code.

Violations of Section 17-8.4(b) are enforceable at all times regardless of shelter availability.

(Ord. No. 2024-06, 7/10/2024)

§ 17-8.6 Abatement of encampments, generally.

The city manager may remove personal property, camp paraphernalia, and all other property, contraband, litter, and waste found at an encampment or at a location where a person is engaged in unlawful camping in compliance with the following procedures:

Written Notice Required Prior to Abatement.

A written Notice of Clean-Up will be posted on each tent or structure and in any other distinct areas of the encampment providing notice of the date of clean-up and giving a minimum of 24 hours for persons to remove their personal property. The written notice shall also include the following statement, which may be updated by the city manager to provide accurate and relevant information:

You must remove your belongings from the site within 24 hours. You should not leave behind any belongings you want to keep. All belongings left behind will be removed by the city. The city will post an Impound Notice if belongings are stored during the clean-up process.

If you wish to minimize the risk of losing valued belongings, you should keep those belongings on your person at all times, in a storage facility, or in visible, sanitary, and safely accessible bags or bins.

If you think your belongings were stored, you can claim them by following the directions on the Impound Notice after the clean-up is complete. Information about how to claim your belongings is also available on the city's website.

Twenty-four hours after Notice has been posted, the city manager may conduct the abatement of the site on the date posted on the Notice of Clean-Up. If abatement is delayed or rescheduled, the city manager may conduct abatement within 48 hours of the posted Notice of Clean-Up without reposting a new Notice of Clean-Up. If abatement is delayed longer, the city manager shall repost a Notice of Clean-Up with a new date.

The city manager shall follow these additional procedures when persons are present at an encampment during abatement:

When shelter is available, the city manager shall provide any person at an encampment with shelter and service information and direct them to remove their belongings from the site. The city manager shall evaluate reasonable requests for additional time or assistance to remove items and may accommodate those requests to the extent practicable and consistent with state and federal law.

Any person who returns to an encampment during abatement shall be allowed to remove their personal property from the site in a reasonable time period. Personal property left behind will be deemed abandoned.

Any person arrested for a criminal offense or an outstanding warrant shall not be required to abandon personal property they identify as their own. Unless the person requests the personal property be discarded or entrusted to another, all personal property of apparent value will be taken to the Escondido Police Department for impoundment in accordance with existing policy and procedure. Where the owner of the items cannot be readily identified or discovered, the city manager shall follow the abatement process in this division.

Abatement Documentation. The city manager shall document the abatement process by:

Photographing the site or encampment area before any abatement begins;

If reasonably possible, and subject to health and safety considerations, open backpacks, purses, suitcases, and other small storage containers to determine whether they contain items eligible for storage;

If reasonably possible, document the items contained in bags or suitcases;

Document all items to be stored; and

(5)

Document the site after abatement has concluded.

Unclaimed items found in abatement shall be eligible for storage if:

Circumstances indicate that the item belongs to a person;

The item has apparent utility in its current condition and circumstances; and

The item can be safely retrieved from the site.

(e)

An eligible item found during an abatement shall be put into storage, unless it meets one of the following disqualifying conditions:

Hazardous, including items contaminated with human waste, animal waste, or bugs, explosives, weapons, liquids, drug paraphernalia, or mold;

Likely to become hazardous in storage, including perishables, wet materials that might become moldy, and items covered in mud;

Practically un-storable, due to large size, weight, or other similar characteristic,

Contraband or stolen; or

(5)

Is on the city manager's current list, published on the city's website, of common types of items that, in the experience of city staff, individuals regularly abandon during abatement, and there is no contrary indication as to the specific item.

(f)

The city manager shall record each eligible item to be stored, including the location it was found and the date of storage. Any stored items shall be kept in storage at least 60 calendar days and then may be disposed of, recycled, or reused.

(g)

After abatement has concluded and when eligible items are collected and will be placed in storage, the city manager shall post notices at the location of the abatement that includes information how a person can claim stored items. Information about retrieval of stored items shall also be available on the city's website. A person may retrieve stored items based on a description with sufficient specificity to demonstrate ownership.

(Ord. No. 2024-06, 7/10/2024)

§ 17-8.7 Expedited abatement.

In an expedited abatement, the city manager shall follow the same abatement and storage procedures in Section 17-8.6, but shall post a Notice of Clean-Up giving a minimum of three hours for all persons to remove their personal property and may initiate such expedited abatement immediately after the expiration of the three-hour Notice.

The city manager shall prioritize and expedite the removal of an encampment if:

The city receives direction from County of San Diego or other governmental authority that abatement of the encampment is necessary to preserve public health or safety, including to address known or suspected outbreaks of diseases; or

The city manager observes or reasonably suspects the encampment creates a condition that presents a significant risk of property damage, bodily injury or death.

(Ord. No. 2024-06, 7/10/2024)

§ 17-9 Camping on private property prohibited.

No person shall camp or lodge in or on any private property without written permission of the owner or lessee of such property.

(Ord. No. 86-18, § 8, 2-19-86; Ord. No. 2003-02, § 6, 2-5-03)

§ 17-10 Accumulation of ashes, trash, combustible material on public property.

No person shall permit ashes or trash to accumulate, nor shall any person erect or place any ashes, trash or combustible or flammable material of any kind, upon any street or upon any public property other than as authorized by Chapter 14 of this code without first obtaining written permission from the council.

(Code 1957, § 4221)

§ 17-11 Throwing litter into flood control channel.

No person shall dump or throw any refuse, rocks, rubbish, rubble, waste or litter into any flood control channel located within the corporate limits of the city.

(Code 1957, § 7142)

§ 17-12 Dumping, sweeping, rubbish, waste in streets, sidewalks, public places.

No person shall dump any rubbish, papers, sweepings or any other refuse or waste on any of the public streets, sidewalks, parks or other public places of the city, nor shall any person sweep any sweepings, waste or other refuse into any streets or onto any sidewalks, parks or other public places in the city.

(Code 1957, § 7141)

§ 17-13 Painting, affixing signs, advertisements on streets, sidewalks.

No person shall paint, place, post, nail or fasten any sign or advertisement of any kind or nature whatever upon any of the sidewalks or streets in the city, provided, however, that this section shall not apply to the painting of building numbers on curbs in accordance with section 23-38.

(Code 1957, § 8031; Ord. No. 79-54, § 1, 11-14-79)

§ 17-14 Keeping of bees.

No person in this city shall keep any bees, bee stand or bee house where bees may accumulate or harbor to the annoyance or damage of any of the inhabitants of this city, or prejudicial to their comfort.

(Code 1957, § 4041)

§ 17-15 Notice to remove bees.

It shall be the duty of the chief of police, upon his or her own information or the information of others of any bees kept or harbored in this city, to notify, either by oral or written notice, the person so keeping or harboring such bees to remove the same within five days from the date of said notice from the city.

(Code 1957, § 4042)

§ 17-16 Breeding places of mosquitoes a nuisance.

In the incorporated territory of the city, any breeding place of mosquitoes is a public nuisance.

(Code 1957, § 3600)

§ 17-17 Authority to abate breeding places of mosquitoes.

A nuisance described in section 17-16 may be abated by the county health officer in any manner permitted by law, or by any proceeding or remedy provided by law.

(Code 1957, § 3602)

§ 17-18 Effect of abatement order on prosecution.

The issuance of an order to abate a nuisance as authorized by section 17-17 shall not be a prerequisite to, nor shall the fact that such order of abatement has been issued preclude or stay, any prosecution for creating a nuisance described in section 17-16.

(Code 1957, § 3603)

§ 17-19 Adoption of county disease control regulations.

Chapter 1 of Division 4 of Title 6 of the San Diego County Code and such secondary codes as are incorporated in that primary code are hereby adopted by reference by the city, for the purpose of prescribing rules and regulations for the protection of the public safety and welfare regulations governing the duties of the county health officer in controlling nuisances. Not less than three copies of which have been and are now filed in the office of the city clerk.

(Ord. No. 83-19, § 3, 4-13-83; Ord. No. 84-58, § 3, 9-5-84)

§ 17-20 Prohibiting interference with dogs and horses utilized by the police department.

It is unlawful for any person to willfully feed, touch without permission, tease, taunt, torment, strike, kick, mutilate, disable, or otherwise injure, or kill, or to interfere or meddle with any dog or horse while such animal is being utilized by the police department, or any officer, reserve officer, or any employee thereof, in the performance of any function or duty of the department or of such officer, reserve officer or employee.

(Ord. No. 84-52, § 1, 7-25-84)

§ 17-21 Urinating in public.

It is an infraction for any person to urinate, or defecate in any public place or private place open to public view, except at a designated private or public restroom.

(Ord. No. 86-18, § 15, 2-19-86)

§ 17-22 Signs in the public right-of-way.

It is unlawful to place or direct the placement of any sign in the public right-of-way in the City of Escondido.

For the purposes of this article, the term "sign" shall mean any device designed to inform or attract the attention of persons who may reasonably be expected to observe the sign, except the following:

Devices not exceeding one square foot in area and bearing only property number, post box numbers, names of occupants of premises, or other identification of premises not indicating the nature of products, accommodations, services or activities provided on the premises.

Flags and insignia of any government except when displayed for purposes of commercial promotion.

Legal notices, identification, informational or directional devices erected or required by governmental bodies.

Integral decorative or architectural features of buildings, except letters, trademarks, moving parts or moving lights.

Real estate kiosk signs shall be exempt from subsection (a) of this section subject to the provisions stated in section 33-1396(c) of the Escondido Zoning Code and other applicable provisions of the laws of the City of Escondido.

Signs placed within the public right-of-way for which there is a valid encroachment-removal agreement shall be exempt from subsection (a) of this section, subject to the provisions stated in section 33-1396(j) of the Escondido Zoning Code and other applicable provisions of the laws of the City of Escondido.