The presence of litter, vandalism, debris, urination/defecation on buildings and entrances, and similar conditions is a growing public health, safety, and welfare concern for the City, as well as community members. These incidents cost City resources and employee time to address, and can present sanitary risks for those having to perform the cleanup. Community members (adults, youth, and small children) who come to the downtown area are exposed to these conditions as well.
The proposed Ordinance prohibits sitting or lying in an entrance to a building within the boundaries “Downtown,” defined as the west side of Pennsylvania Avenue, the south side of Missouri Street, the east side of Jefferson Street, and the north side of Empire Street, as shown below. These boundaries were coordinated with the Fairfield Main Street Association.
The proposed Ordinance only prohibits sitting or lying in doorways in the downtown area if the owner, tenant, or resident of the building has posted a sign at the entrance of the building giving notice that such conduct is prohibited. The sign must have letters not less than one half (1/2) inch in height, refer to Section 12.21 of the Fairfield Municipal Code, and be in a form approved by the City. A not-to-scale example is shown below.
To address the City’s public health, safety, and welfare concerns, the proposed Ordinance prohibits sitting or lying in downtown doorways between the limited hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., when businesses and properties are generally closed and not open to the public. This timeframe was selected to address the unsanitary conditions that are discovered in the morning, indicating the problems occur overnight when property owners, tenants and/or residents are not present. If these issues arise during the day or during hours not covered by the Ordinance, the City and property owners, tenants, and/or residents have other means of addressing these issues, including state trespass laws and Fairfield’s business premises trespass provisions (Fairfield Mun. Code §§ 12.15, 12.15.1). The Ordinance includes an exemption for individuals who need to sit or lie down due to a medical emergency.
The proposed Ordinance is modeled off a similar ordinance adopted by the City of Santa Monica, CA in 2002. Fairfield Police Department staff recently met with Santa Monica Police and City staff and learned of their city ordinance and how it has worked for them. Based on Santa Monica’s experience, staff believes that the proposed Ordinance will help to reduce the amount of unlawful activities taking place in the Downtown.
The Ordinance was drafted in coordination with the City Attorney’s Office and the Solano County District Attorney’s Office. The City Attorney’s Office reviewed the Ordinance in light of the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Martin v. City of Boise, which held that a city ban on camping on public property is unconstitutional when enforced against an individual who has no access to shelter. This Ordinance is distinguishable from Martin because it will primarily apply to private property. In addition, Martin does not prohibit bans on sleeping outside at particular times or in particular locations.
The Solano County District Attorney’s Office suggested that the ordinance be progressive in severity, starting as an infraction and elevating to a misdemeanor upon the fourth offense. This process is important as it will show and indicate the offense is from a habitual offender when it reaches a misdemeanor level.