The public streets, private property, and areas within the City should be readily accessible and available to residents, the public at large, property owners, or lawful tenants, as may be applicable, and maintained in a clean, safe and attractive condition that promotes the quality of life of the citizens. The use of these areas for camping purposes or storage of personal property interferes with such purposes and the rights of owners, lawful tenants, or others, as may be applicable, to use the areas for which they were intended. The provisions of this chapter shall not be implemented in any way to infringe upon the constitutional rights of any person. The purpose of this chapter is to maintain public streets, private property, and areas within the City in a clean and accessible condition.
(Prior code § 90B.01; Ord. 600 2-21-17; Ord. 701 12-3-19; Ord. 809, 3/18/2025; Ord. 810, 4/1/2025)
Unless the particular provisions or the context otherwise requires, the definitions contained in this section shall govern the construction, meaning, and application of words and phrases used in this chapter.
"Camp"
means to pitch or occupy camp facilities; to use camp paraphernalia or both; for the purpose of, or in a way that facilitates outdoor sheltering for living accommodation purposes or for remaining outdoors overnight.
"Camp facilities"
means and includes, but is not limited to, tents, huts, or temporary shelters.
"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.
"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.
"Habitable"
shall refer to a dwelling that has not been declared unfit for habitation by the City or other agency with jurisdiction thereover.
"Nonresidential"
is intended to refer to property, or any portion thereof, that is not improved with a habitable dwelling unit.
"Open space"
means any undeveloped public property either primarily in its natural state, including canyons, bluffs, 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 park or recreation or playground area or building or facility thereon within the City, owned and maintained by the City as a public park or recreation or playground area, whether or not such areas have been formally dedicated to such purpose.
"Public property"
means any property owned or managed by any government entity.
"Publicly accessible area"
means that portion of any privately owned, nonresidential property that is not enclosed by a City-approved structure, including, but not limited to, vacant land or the exterior of commercial or business establishments.
"Store"
means to put aside or accumulate for use when needed; to put for safekeeping; to place or leave in a location.
"Street"
means and includes all highways, avenues, lanes, alleys, courts, places, squares, sidewalks, parkways, curbs, or other public ways in this City that have been or may hereafter be dedicated and open to public use, or such other public property so designated in any law of this state.
"Waste"
means any rubbish, solid waste, liquid waste, infectious waste, or medical waste. Waste does not include compost piles, composting or recyclable material properly contained and disposed of in a timely fashion.
"Waterway"
means all the portions of the Mission Creek, Big Morongo Wash, or any flood control channel located within the boundaries of the City of Desert Hot Springs.
(Prior code § 90B.02; Ord. 600 2-21-17; Ord. 701 12-3-19; Ord. 809, 3/18/2025; Ord. 810, 4/1/2025)
A. 
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.
B. 
No person may sleep on public sidewalk, street, alleyway, median, parkway or right-of-way, or in any pedestrian or vehicular entrance to public or private property abutting a public sidewalk, at any time as a matter of individual and public safety.
C. 
At all times, it is unlawful for any person to camp, maintain an encampment, or sleep, where such activity poses:
1. 
An immediate threat or an unreasonable risk of harm to any natural person.
2. 
An immediate threat or an unreasonable risk of harm to public health or safety, or
3. 
Disruption to any business, store, religious institution, educational facility, or government services.
D. 
At all times it is unlawful for any person to camp or maintain an encampment upon any private property.
E. 
Exceptions. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the following:
1. 
In the event of a declared state of emergency.
2. 
Nor to events sponsored and conducted by and under the direction and control of the City.
3. 
Any persons participating in an event subject to a permit issued in conformity with this Code.
4. 
Camping in public accommodations that are properly zoned, legally established, and designated for camping purposes.
5. 
Camping which is normally associated with and incidental to the lawful and authorized use of private property for residential or other purposes. Nothing is intended to prohibit or make unlawful activities of a property owner or other lawful user if such activities are expressly authorized by any State, Federal and local laws, rules, regulation, or policies.
(Ord. 809, 3/18/2025; Ord. 810, 4/1/2025)
The City Manager or designee may remove personal property, camping 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:
A. 
Written Notice Required Prior to Abatement. The City shall provide not less than 48 hours notice prior to clean up.
B. 
The City Manager shall develop additional procedures to conduct the abatement. The procedures shall include, but are not limited to, steps to take when persons are present at an encampment during abatement, guidance on determining whether personal property is hazardous or can be stored, and to develop a process to retrieve stored personal property.
C. 
Expedited Abatement. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Chapter, the City Manager or designee may give a minimum of three hours for all persons to remove their personal property under the following circumstances:
1. 
The City receives direction from the County of Riverside 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
2. 
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. 809, 3/18/2025; Ord. 810, 4/1/2025)
A. 
It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
1. 
Build or erect a structure of any type along the banks of any waterway, or drive a nail or other object into any tree 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;
2. 
Move boulders or large rocks, destroy vegetation, paved roads or paths created by the City, or otherwise reconfigure the natural landscape in the waters of or along the banks of a waterway;
3. 
Drive, park, or bring any vehicle along the banks of a waterway, except in places specifically provided and designated for vehicular use;
4. 
Dig on the banks of a waterway; or
5. 
Discharge or store waste, including garbage, refuse, or human or animal waste, along the banks or into the waters of a waterway.
B. 
Nothing in this section 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. 809, 3/18/2025; Ord. 810, 4/1/2025)
A. 
It is unlawful and a public nuisance for any person or entity to violate, fail to comply with, or cause, permit, aid, abet, suffer, or conceal a violation of any provisions or requirements of this chapter, or any condition or regulation adopted pursuant to it.
B. 
A separate offense occurs for each day any violation of, or failure to comply with, any provision of this chapter is committed, continued, maintained, or allowed to be continued.
C. 
The costs incurred by the City in the abatement of a violation or nuisance may be placed against any privately owned and affected property as either a special assessment using the procedures in Section 4.24.410 of this Code and California Government Code Section 38771 et seq., as amended from time to time, or a lien using the procedures in Section 4.24.420 of this Code and California Government Code Section 54988, as amended from time to time.
D. 
Cumulative Remedies. The remedies provided herein are not exclusive, and in the event of any violation of this chapter, the City may pursue any and all administrative, civil, and criminal remedies, as provided by law or equity, including all remedies under Title 4 of this Code.
(Ord. 809, 3/18/2025; Ord. 810, 4/1/2025)