9.06.010 Findings.

It is the purpose of this chapter to address:

(1)    Adverse Public Impacts of Camping and Outside Habitation. People camping and habitating outside on public property and on public right-of-way create a public health and safety hazard due to the lack of proper food storage, cooking, electrical and/or sanitary facilities. People without proper sanitary facilities have openly urinated, defecated, and littered on private and public property and on the public right-of-way. Use of public property for purposes of camping, outside habitation, or storage of personal property interferes with the rights of others to use the areas for the purposes for which they were intended and creates public health and safety dangers to the county’s sensitive ecological areas, including the county’s water sources, through illegal dumping and improper disposal of human waste. People cooking with open flames while camping or habitating outside endanger the lives and property of those nearby through uncontrolled fire. There is an increased risk of a dangerous wildfire event in certain natural areas along county rivers and streams due to the existence of one (1) or more of the following characteristics: steep slopes, typical afternoon onshore winds, heavy vegetation, limited vehicle access, limited water supply, and the presence of nearby residences.

(2)    Adverse Impacts of Camping and Outside Habitation on the Poor and Infirm. Many persons who habitate outside on public property do so not by choice but due to a lack of financial means to afford adequate shelter. These persons are also adversely mentally and physically impacted by being unsheltered. Single females who habitate outside experience a disproportionately high incidence of violent crime as compared to other people. Families with children who habitate outside as a result of a lack of adequate shelter are also disproportionately adversely impacted through risk of physical danger and impediments to childhood education.

(3)    Constitutional Limitations on Available Remedies. The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment”; the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has interpreted this prohibition to forbid communities from criminalizing camping and outside habitation in all places, at all times, by those who lack the financial means to pay for adequate shelter unless adequate shelter is available to such person free of charge. (Sec. 2 of Ord. 2023-11-02)