Two Nasty Ordinances Heading for Passage at City Council Tuesday

TRIPLED PENALTIES FOR MINOR OFFENSES

Item #31 on the Afternoon Agenda ORDINANCE NO. 2006-07

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SANTA CRUZ ADDING CHAPTER 9.02 TO THE SANTA CRUZ MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DATE-SPECIFIC SAFETY ENHANCEMENT ZONES AND THE INCREASE IN FINES FOR MUNICIPAL CODE VIOLATIONS COMMITTED IN SAFETY ENHANCEMENT ZONES

BE IT ORDAINED By The City Of Santa Cruz As Follows:

Section 1. Chapter 9.02 is hereby added to the Santa Cruz Municipal Code to read as follows:

“Chapter 9.02 SAFETY ENHANCEMENT ZONES


9.02.010 Designation process.
The City Council may by resolution upon determining that there is a need to take action to protect the public health, safety and welfare, designate a specific geographical area as a “Safety Enhancement Zone” and specify the date and/or time that the designation is effective. Any such designation shall be predicated upon a City Council finding that the designated geographical area is subject to unique conditions and circumstances during a specific period of time that create the potential for a significant threat to public health and safety and that the threat would be reduced by enhanced penalties for violations of provisions of the Santa Cruz Municipal Code. The resolution establishing a Safety Enhancement Zone shall contain the following provisions: (a) a description of the geographical area comprising the Safety Enhancement Zone, and (b) the date and time or other specific description of the time period during which the Safety Enhancement Zone designation is applicable to the geographical area.

9.02.020 Safety enhancement zone penalties and violations.
Any violation of the following designated provisions of the Santa Cruz Municipal Code that is committed within an area that has been designated by the City Council as a Safety Enhancement Zone, and during the time that designation is effective, shall be subject to an enhanced fine. The enhanced fine will be three times the amount of the fine assessed per the City of Santa Cruz bail schedule for the violation had the violation not been committed in a Safety Enhancement Zone. Safety Enhancement Zone fines shall be assessed for violations of the following Santa Cruz Municipal Code ordinances: Chapter 6.12 (Solid Waste); Chapter 6.75 (Graffiti); Chapter 9.12 (Possession of open containers or consumption of alcoholic beverages in public places); Chapter 9.20 (Defacing sidewalks); Chapter 9.28 (Discharge of firearms); Chapter 9.36 (Noise control); Chapter 9.50 (Conduct on public property); 9.60 (Trespassing); 9.62 (Trespass – public transit facilities); 10.12 (Traffic regulation obedience); 10.16 (Traffic control device obedience); and 10.40 (Vehicle parking, standing and stopping). A separate offense shall be deemed to have been committed whenever a person repeats the act that constitutes the violation.

Section 2. This ordinance shall be in force and take effect thirty (30) days after its final adoption.

(Passed a First Reading by the following votes:)
AYES: Vice Mayor Reilly; Councilmembers Rotkin, Fitzmaurice, Porter, Coonerty; Mayor Mathews.
NOES: Councilmember Madrigal.



EXPANSION OF POLICE POWERS IN PARKS & OTHER AREAS:

Item #33 on the 2 PM Agenda

PARKS AND RECREATION

SUBJECT: INTRODUCTION FOR PUBLICATION OF ORDINANCE AMENDING MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 13.04.011 HOURS OF OPERATION

RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council introduce for publication an ordinance amending Chapter 13.04 of the Santa Cruz Municipal Code by amending Section 13.04.011 pertaining to park and open space hours of operation, and, by motion, direct staff to establish a permitting system for educational and recreational access for any park area that may be closed.

BACKGROUND: At the Special City Council meeting of April 4, 2006, City Council discussed the declining public safety and environmental conditions in City parks, waterways, and greenspace areas. Staff reported that these issues stem from an increase in the frequency of illegal activities such as drug use and trade, camping, and trash dumping, and a decrease in the number of City maintenance and enforcement personnel, which has had a compounding effect.

At the conclusion of the meeting, staff presented City Council with four strategies to combat some of the public safety and environmental issues in the City’s parklands and open spaces. Two of the strategies are already in motion: the conversion of two parks maintenance workers to park rangers in order to augment the work of the City’s sole ranger; and, an increase in the allocation for clean-ups to bring the City’s parklands to a clean and safe standard. A third strategy is manifested in the attached ordinance: expansion of the park areas subject to hours of operation set by the Parks and Recreation Director. Other recommendations aimed at promoting interagency cooperation to address countywide issues will be pursued in future months.

Santa Cruz Municipal Code (SCMC) Section 13.04.011 currently allows the Parks and Recreation Director to:

“…establish hours during which any park, park road, park trail, grounds, building or facility is open to the general public. Said hours shall be established for the purpose of protecting park properties, park roads, park trails, and other areas from acts of vandalism and to prohibit the general public from engaging in unlawful activities. These provisions shall be applicable to all park properties, park roads, park trails and other areas under the jurisdiction and control of the parks and recreation director.”

Setting park hours is important as it delineates appropriate times for recreation and provides a useful enforcement tool for the Police Department. Police officers cannot remove individuals from public property for illegal activities unless they are seen by the officer or a witness engaging in illegal behavior. However, if an individual is in a park or open space after its posted hours of operation, an officer can ask the trespasser to leave. Specific park hours reduce loitering, camping, and the availability of parks as locations for illegal activities.

According to SCMC Section 13.04.011, with the approval of the Parks and Recreation Commission the Parks and Recreation Director may also order closure of park areas. To date, the Parks and Recreation Director has applied the ordinance in this manner only twice, to close two portions of the inner levee system of the San Lorenzo River. The motivation behind the closure was the persistence of illegal activities, including drug use, prostitution, camping, and environmental damage to the sensitive riparian ecosystem. According to the Police Department, these closures have been effective in reducing the amount of unlawful activities near the river.

DISCUSSION: The attached amendment expands the scope of the existing Section 13.04.011 to include specific parks, park facilities, and stretches of waterways within City limits such as the inner banks of the San Lorenzo River, the Branciforte and Carbonera Creeks, and the Jessie Street Marsh. The inclusion of waterways is particularly important because it allows the Parks and Recreation Director to set hours of operation and effect closures there, if necessary for public safety or environmental reasons. There has been interest for additional closed portions along the San Lorenzo River as the existing closures have been successful in reducing illegal activity.

The proposed ordinance also removes the requirement of prior Parks and Recreation Commission approval, substituting it for solicitation of input from the Parks and Recreation Commission and if appropriate, the San Lorenzo River Committee. This step is felt to be important to streamline the process and promote flexibility.

At its June 26, 2006 meeting, the Parks and Recreation Commission voted to recommend that Council adopt the revisions to SCMC Section 13.04.011.

Staff recommends that a permitting process be established in the event of any parkland or open space closure to ensure that access is available for legitimate recreational and educational uses. At the direction of the City Council, staff will develop an appropriate system to accomplish this goal.

FISCAL IMPACT: None.

Submitted by: N Dannettee Shoemaker Parks and Recreation Director
Approved by: Richard C. Wilson City Manager\
Attachment: Proposed Ordinance




MY 0FF-THE-CUFF COMMENTARY

On increasing the powers of Czarina Shoemaker:

Note that we don't have on-line access to the actual law being proposed to expand Shoemaker's powers to close off different areas around the city and so criminalize those who walk through them (or--shudder--sleep in them). You can read the law, presumably if you visit the library or city hall. It should, of course, be on line.

The Parks and Recreation Commission is removed as a vetoing agency here--eliminating the voice of the public except in an "advisory" capacity.

This gives eager Park Rangers like Ranger Wallace extended harassment powers at a drop of Shoemaker's hat. The April 4th hearing had hysterical homeless campsite horror stories with nary a mention of the fact that homeless shelter tonight provides for 42 people on a walk-in basis out of a nightly city homeless population estimated at 1500-2000.

As with the Parking Garage Paranoia Law (the 15-minute trespass law, in force as of 6-23, but only enforced so far against the homeless in Parking Lot #9 on Elm St.), this is general "no loitering" law that begins by criminalizing "problems" like homeless people, drug dealers, gang members, and ends up criminalizing everyone, leaving selective enforcement to the SCPD.

Since this increases enforcement requirements, the "zero" fiscal effect is misleading and unlikely. It will obviously take more police time and resources to patrol greater areas. Homeless folks fined will not be paying the city money.


On the Triple Fines Folly:
This is another SCPD-generated measure, which has numerous provisions that specifically target the poor. "Conduct on public property", for instance, is a law repeatedly used to criminalize anything that "looks inappropriate" to an SCPDer or 'host". The Open Container law infantalizes as well as criminalizes the homeless by suggesting that they have no legal right to drink unless they pay for a room, or cough up cash for wine at a sidewalk cafe that's stolen the public space.

Councilmember Madrigal surprisingly came out against this law (the first time after my fine speech at City Council). City staff responded by broadening it (and making it worse). I've invited him to speak on my Free Radio show (Sundays 9:30 AM-1 PM; Thursdays 6-8 PM). Call him at 420-5028 and commend him for his lone dissenting vote. Not that it makes up for voting to criminalize us all in garages, keep the homeless in fear at night under the Sleeping Ban, or maintain silence on the police surveillance scandal (after a brief attempt to press for an investigation in January).

Though the Council's afternoon session starts at 2 PM, it's not clear when they'll reach these two items.

On other council matters:
Lots of money is being thrown at the Redevelopment Agency and others on the "Consent Agenda". Under the Rotkin-Porter rules, you can't talk on many of these items (total of 5 minutes cumulatively), even though they are arguably the most important items on the agenda.

For those who want to dump the Hosts, oppose Consent agenda item #12, which continues their funding.
For those interested in ending CSO Pam Bachtel's Reign of Pety Terror, you can urge the council to cut off her funding on item #13.

Most interesting of all Consent agenda item #26, funding city attorney Barisone has neigher a staff report nor a contract available for public scrutiny on line. EVERY OTHER CONSENT AGENDA ITEM HAS SOME KIND OF STAFF REPORT OR DOCUMENTATION ATTACHED. JOHN BARISONE'S BLANK CHECK FOR 2006-7 DOES NOT.

Council will receive e-mail regarding items on the agenda during the meeting at viewpoint [at] ci.santa-cruz.ca.us. E-mail may be sent to the Council at all other times to citycouncil [at] ci.santa-cruz.ca.us Stories in the media, protest demonstrations, lawsuits, and occupation of the relevant city offices are much more likely to stop "fascist creep" as well as fascist creeps.