HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd. 20689. " D " ITf . I • ~ll':ID
@ ~ I ~t:1m 'l
SJ)Dl A • l 1 1 1 IE 'ND ' . 1
41 .f31l6, 4\.1 A 3 5 OIIF 1F-HHE .
Rlrffifrffi[lFl:ll!i>:
ORDINANCE NO. 20689
AN ORDINANCE CONCERNING PROHIBITED CAMPING, PERMITTED
OVERNIGHT SLEEPING, AND PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES ON STREETS,
SIDEWALKS AND SHARED-USE PATHS, AND AMENDING SECTIONS 4.815,
4.816, 4.860, 4.990, AND 5.135 OF THE EUGENE CODE, 1971.
THE CITY OF EUGENE DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 4.815 of the Eugene Code, 1971, is amended to provide as follows:
4.815 Prohibited Camping.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "To camp" means to set up or to remain in or at a campsite.
(b) "Campsite" means any place established or maintained for the purpose of
maintaining a temporary place to live that incorporates the use of any tent, tarp, lean-to,
shack, wooden pallet, or any other structure, or any vehicle or part thereof.
(2) It is found and declared that:
(a) From time to time persons establish campsites on sidewalks, public rights-of-way,
under bridges, and so forth;
(b) Such persons, by such actions create unsafe and unsanitary living conditions which
pose a threat to the peace, health and safety of themselves and the community;
(c) Camping on or immediately adjacent to property intended primarily for use by motor
vehicles poses an immediate safety risk to the person camping and, in certain
circumstances, to the vehicular drivers;
(d) The City's sidewalks, accessways and shared-use paths must be accessible to
everyone, including people with disabilities; this accessibility depends on sidewalks,
accessways, and shared-use paths having a minimum clear width. Campsites that
encroach into the necessary clear width prevent people with disabilities from having full
access to these transportation systems;
(e) State and federal laws require the City to protect and improve the physical integrity
and water quality of the Willamette River, including all tributaries to the river. All City
waterways are tributaries to the Willamette River. Establishing campsites near a
waterway in an area not intended for that use degrades the waterway's physical integrity
and water quality, and, when contaminants from campsites enter the waterway, poses
an immediate risk to public health and safety; and,
(f) The enactment of this provision is necessary to protect the peace, accessibility,
health, and safety of the city and its inhabitants.
(3) No person shall camp in or upon the following publicly owned property:
Ordinance -Page 1 of 4
(a) Property that is primarily intended for and used by motor vehicles, including but not
limited to, the portion of the street between the curbs;
(b) Publicly owned parking lots and on-street parking spaces;
(c) Property that is intended to provide a buffer between lanes of vehicular traffic or
between vehicular traffic and pedestrians, including but not limited to traffic islands and
parking strips, if there is not a minimum of 60 inches (5 feet) between the campsite and
vehicular traffic;
(d) Sidewalks, accessways, and shared-use paths when the minimum width established
by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) cannot be maintained. For purposes of this section, sidewalks must have a
minimum clear width of 48 inches (4 feet), and accessways and shared-use paths must
have a minimum clear width of 120 inches (10 feet);
(e) Property adjacent to a building if the campsite blocks access to the building's
entrance, exit, access ramp, or stairs;
(f) For the Willamette River and all other open waterways, property located within 100
feet of top of high bank; and property within 5 feet of ditches, wetlands, and vegetative
stormwater quality facilities. For purposes of this section, "top of high bank" means the
highest point at which the bank meets the grade of the surrounding topography,
characterized by an abrupt or noticeable change from a steeper grade to a less steep
grade, and "open waterway" means a natural or human-made creek, stream, pond, or
open channel; and,
(g) Property within 1000 feet of an educational facility. For purposes of this section,
"educational facility" means a public library or a building owned, leased or under the
control of a public or private school system, college, university, or licensed daycare or
preschool.
(4) Upon finding it to be in the public interest and consistent with council goals and policies,
the council may, by motion, exempt a special event or specific activity from the prohibitions of
this section. The motion shall specify the period of time and location covered by the exemption.
Section 2. Section 4.816 of the Eugene Code, 1971, is amended to add a new
subsection ( 11) that provides as follows:
4.816 Permitted Overnight Sleeping.
(11) Permitted Overnight Sleeping Dusk to Dawn Program. The City Manager is authorized
to permit persons to sleep overnight at designated sites, between the hours of 4:30 p.m. and
7:30 a.m., under the following conditions:
(a) The City Manager shall recommend to the City Council proposed sites for the Dusk
to Dawn program. Any such site may not be located in a residential area or close to a
school, and must be owned or leased by the City of Eugene, another governmental
Ordinance -Page 2 of 4
entity, a religious institution, a non-profit organization, or a business if the business is
located on property zoned commercial or industrial.
(b) Before a proposed site may be used, the site must be approved by the City Council
by motion and the City Manager must adopt an administrative rule governing use of the
site.
(c) The City Manager may close a site at any time upon determining that allowing
camping at a site would create dangerous conditions or a health threat to the public.
(d) In determining the hours that the City Manager permits persons to sleep overnight at
designated sites, the City Manager shall consider, among other things, the seasonal
sunset.
(e) If, as an addition to the permitted overnight sleeping program authorized by this
subsection (11 ), daytime support services are available at or near the site, the Dusk to
Dawn site may be referred to as a Dawn to Dawn site.
Section 3. Section 4.860 of the Eugene Code, 1971, is amended to provide as follows:
4.860 Certain Activities on Streets, Sidewalks, Accessways, and Shared-Use Paths
Prohibited.
Unless otherwise authorized in this code or by revocable permit, no person shall:
(a) Cut or split wood on a street or sidewalk.
(b) Carry, haul, deposit, or discard any rubbish, garbage, debris, human waste, or other refuse
upon any street, sidewalk, accessway, or shared-use path exposed so as to be offensive to
pedestrians.
(c) Give a show, exhibition or performance on a street or sidewalk.
( d) Set up or operate a vehicle, stand or place for the display or sale of merchandise, or sell,
vend, or display for sale an article in the streets or on the sidewalks or in doorways or stairways
of business houses, or in any other place where such activity causes congregation and
congestion of people or vehicles on the streets or sidewalks.
(e) Place or maintain gasoline pumps or similar devices for vending volatile oils on a street or
alley except under a revocable permit from the city manager.
(f) Place personal property on a sidewalk, accessway, or shared-use path if the minimum width
established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) is not maintained. For purposes of this section, sidewalks must have a minimum clear
width of 48 inches (4 feet), and accessways and shared-use paths must have minimum clear
width of 120 inches (10 feet).
(g) Drain, or cause or permit to be drained, sewage, graywater, or the drainage from a
cesspool, septic tank, recreational or camping vehicle waste holding tank or other contaminated
source, upon any street, sidewalk, accessway, or shared-use path, the associated stormwater
drainage system, or adjacent wetlands. A violation of this section is deemed an immediate risk
Ordinance -Page 3 of 4
to public health and safety and, in addition to the issuance of a citation for the violation, a
recreational or camping vehicle is subject to immediate impoundment in accordance with EC
5 .693-5 .980 and the administrative rules adopted pursuant thereto.
Section 4 . Subsection (8) of Section 4.990 of the Eugene Code, 1971, is amended to
provide as follows :
4.990 Penalties -Specific.
(8) A willful violation of section 4 .815 is punishable by a fine not to exceed $500 or confinement
in jail for a period not to exceed ten days, or both. As used in this subsection, "willful violation"
means a violation that occurs after the person has received, within 30 days preceding the
current violation , a citation for violating section 4.815 or a written warning from a peace officer or
other person authorized by the city manager to issue such warnings, that the person was
violating section 4 .815 . In addition to the foregoing penalties, a vehicle used in a willful violation
of section 4.815 may be immobilized or impounded pursuant to sections 5.693 through 5.705 of
this code .
Section 5. Subsection (2) of Section 5.135 of the Eugene Code, 1971, is amended to
provide as follows:
5.135 Storage of Vehicles on Streets.
(2) No person shall store or permit to be stored a vehicle on a street or other public property if
the vehicle's registration sticker has expired or if the vehicle has no license plate or registration
sticker.
Section 6. The City Recorder, at the request of, or with the consent of the City Attorney,
is authorized to administratively correct any reference errors contained herein, or in other
provisions of the Eugene Code, 1971, to the provisions added, amended, or repealed herein.
Passed by the City Council this
24th day of May, 2023
Ordinance -Page 4 of 4
Approved by the Mayor this
,).5 day of ~2n-'4~~---• 2023
Mayor