HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-2024-011 Repealing Secs 17.1617.15 and17-12.1 Relating to CampingORDINANCE NO. 2024-ill
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DANIA
BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTERS 17, ENTITLED "OFFENSES -
MISCELLANEOUS " IN ORDER TO AMEND THE CITY'S EXISTING
PROHIBITION ON CAMPING TO ENSURE THAT THE PROHIBITION
AND ENFORCEMENT MEASURES CONTAINED IN THE CODE
COMPLY WITH CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCH
ORDINANCES AS SET FORTH BY THE UNITED STATES COURT OF
APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT IN JOEL V. CITY OF
ORLANDO, 232 F.3D 1353 (11 TH CIR. 2000); AND UPDATING THE CODE
VIOLATIONS RELATING TO CAMPING; REPEALING SECTIONS 17.16
"ARREST AND TRIAL," 17.15 "VAGRANTS ", AND 17-12.1 , "SAME -
PROHIBITED GENERALLY", RELATING TO LOITERING PROVIDING
FOR CONFLICTS ; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR
SEVERABILITY; FURTHER, PROVIDING FORAN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, it is the policy of the City of Dania Beach that public property,
including, but not limited to , public sidewalks, streets, alleyways, parks, beaches, beach
access areas, walkways, pathways, garages, buildings, promenades, and pedestrian malls
should be readily accessible and available for use by residents, visitors and the public at large
for their safe enjoyment; and
WHEREAS, the use of public areas by individuals for camping interferes with the
rights ofresidents, visitors and the public to freely use public spaces for the purpose for which
they were intended; and
WHEREAS, the prohibition on camping in public places in the City furthers the
legitimate governmental interest in protecting the public health and the safety of all persons
within the City; and
WHEREAS, the prohibition on camping in public places in the City furthers the
legitimate governmental interest in maintaining sanitation in these areas; and
WHEREAS, the prohibition on camping in public places in the City furthers the
legitimate governmental interest in protecting the aesthetic nature of these areas; and
WHEREAS, the City's beach is its most valuable natural asset; and
WHEREAS, the City's beach is are intended to be used solely for recreational
purposes and is not intended to be used for sleeping or camping during nighttime hours when
the beach and park is closed to the public; and
WHEREAS, the City's economic well-being is substantially dependent upon tourism
which is, in turn, dependent upon maintaining attractive and inviting beach and pier, and
permitting persons to sleep or camp upon the City's beach, pier, or parks during nighttime
hours will negatively affect the appearance of the City's beach, pier and park; and
WHEREAS, persons asleep or camping on City beach, pier or parks during nighttime
hours are exposed to the risk of harm from others or from the elements; and
WHEREAS, prohibiting persons from sleeping or camping upon the City's beach, pier
or parks during nighttime hours will promote the public health, safety and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the prohibition on camping in public places in the City furthers other
legitimate governmental interests that have been recognized by the state and federal courts;
and
WHEREAS, this amendment to the City's existing camping prohibition ensures that
the prohibition and enforcement measures contained herein comply with constitutional
requirements for such ordinances as set forth by the United States Court of Appeals for the
Eleventh Circuit in Joel v. City of Orlando, 232 F.3d 1353 (11th Cir. 2000).
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA:
Section 1. That the preceding "WHEREAS" clauses are ratified and incorporated as a
record of the legislative intent of this Ordinance.
Section 2. That Chapter 17, entitled "Offenses -Miscellaneous" of the City's Code of
Ordinances, at Article I, "In General", is amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 17
OFFENSES-MISCELLANEOUS
ARTICLE 1. IN GENERAL
Sec. 17-11.3 ReseF,;ed. Camping prohibited: indicia ofcampin2,
ill For the pllll)oses of this section, "camping" is defined as:
(a) Sleeping or otherwise being in a temporary shelter out-of-doors:
Sleeping out-of-doors: and/or
Cooking over an open flame or fire out-of-doors .
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!2) Camping is prohibited on all public property, except as may be specifically authorized
by the appropriate governmental authority .
.Q1 Camping is prohibited on all private property in the City used for residential purposes:
provided, however, that camping is permitted on such property with the permission and
consent of the property owner.
ill Indicia of camping. Local court rulings have held that in order to "camp", the suspect
must cbmore than simply fall asleep on City property. There must be some indication of actual
camping. One or more of the following should exist before an arrest under this section is
appropriate:
.(.e.l the property must be private or public property, including but not
limited to highway ovemasses and parking lots:
!.b,l the suspect is inside a tent or sleeping bag, or the suspect is asleep
atop and/or covered by materials (i.e. bedroll, cardboard, newspapers), or
inside some form of temporary shelter (except that an individual on a
public beach during operational hours shall not be charged under this
ordinance unless the officer identifies evidence that the beach is being
used as a living space rather than for its intended pumose):
M the suspect has built a campfire: or
@ the suspect is asleep and when awakened volunteers that he has no
other place to live. If a law enforcement officer or other authorized
official encounters a person engaged in camping who volunteers that he
or she has no borne or other permanent shelter, he or she must be given
an opportunity to voluntarily enter a homeless shelter or similar facility
within Broward, if available to that person, or to accept other available
government assistance for which the person is eligible that would result
in housing, including, but not limited to, mutually consensual
reunification with family or friends in any location, or consensual
placement in any other appropriate facility that provides housing within
Broward County. If no homeless shelter or other facility, or government
assistance, that would result in immediate housing, is available for which
the person is eligible, an arrest may not be made.
~ Upon arrest, evidence of camping (sleeping bags, bedroll,
cardboard, newspapers, etc.), should not be destroyed, but should be
seized and placed in the Police Department's Property andEvidence
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rooms for safekeeping, Other personal property of the Defendant,
which is not evidence, should be taken to the appropri ate Broward
County jail with the Defendant.
(5) Violation of this section shall be punished in accordance with section 1-8 of the City
Code.
* * *
Sec. 17-12.1. Same Prohibited generally.
(a) Purpesc. This measure is adopted by the City commission in response to an increasing
permanent population of loiterers 1.vithio certain areas of the City, 1which loiterers are causing fear
and danger to Dania tourists and residents . The City commission, based on information from law
enforcement officers and citizens, finds that there is within the City a population of loiterers who
persist in obstructing pedestrian traffic, engaging in rude and offensive language, drururnnness and
drug abuse, and that the presence of such persons prevents the police department from
investigating and solving crimes within the City.
(b) Stcilcmcnt &fauthetity. The commission of the City of Dania enacts the following measu re
to protect life and property, pursuant to Chapter 166, Florida Statutes 1979 ("The Municipal Home
Rule Pov;ers Act"), and Part 1, Article 3 of the Charter of the City of Dania.
(c) Prehihitim~s. No person shall prowl, sleep , loiter, stand, 1.vander or congregate on the
streets, sidev,alks, beaches, parks, thoroughfares, piers , places of public amusement, or other
public places, or in public entrances to private establishments, 1.vithin the City of Dania, Florida:
(1) 80 as to obstruct or impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic in a
marmer endangering public safety or threatening a breach of the peace;
(2) In a mafHler 1.van-anting reasonable concern for the safety or security
of persons or property in the vicinity;
(3) After being reasonab ly requested by a police officer to disperse or
move, when the failure to so comply reasonably threatens public safety or
convenience;
(4) Without apparent reason and refuse to identify himself or herself or
account for his or her conduct when requested to do so by a police officer,
under circumstances giving rise to reasonable suspicion that the person is
engaged in or planning a crime or constitutes a threat to public peace or the
personal safety or property of others ; provided, hov;ever, that a mere refusal
to identify himself or herself or account for his or her conduct shall not be
sufficient grnunds for arrest.
(d) Enforeemc,~t . This section shall be enforced by, and the term "police officer" shall in this
section mean and include, any sworn member of the police department of this municipality. No
person shall be convicted under subsection (c)(4) of this section if the person reasonab ly attempted
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to identify himself or to explain his conduct or to dispel any concern for the safety and security of
persons and property in the vicinity.
(e) Penalties. Every person who is convicted for a violation of this section shall be punished
by imprisonment for up to sixty (60) days or by a fine of up to five hundred dollars ($500.00), or
eetlr.
Editor's note(s) Ord. No. 271, §§ 1 5, enacted July 28, 1981, was nonamendatory of the Code;
hence, codification as § 17 12.1 has been at the editor's discretion.
Cross reference(s) Loiterers and suspicious persons, § 17 5(c); vagrants, § 17 5(d).
* * *
Sec. 17-15. Reserved. Vegroets Defined.
Rogues and vagabonds; idle or dissolute persons who go about begging; common gamblers;
persons \Vho use juggling or unlawful games or plays; common pipers and fiddlers; common
drunkards; common nightwalkers; thie11es and pilferers; traders in stolen property; lewd, wantoa
and lascivious persons in speech or behavior; keepers of gambling places; brawlers ; persons who
neglect their calling or employment, and misspend what they earn and do not provide for
themselves or for the support of their families; persons wandering from plaee to place, who are
able to work and who are without means, and who neglect to earn their support and live by pilfering
and begging; idle and disorderly persons, including therein those who neglect all lawful business
and habitually spend their time frequenting houses of ill fame, gambling houses or tippling shops;
persons who are able to work but who are habitually idle and live upon the earnings of their wives
or minor children; and all able bodied ma le persons 0 11er eighteen ( 18) years of age ·uho are
without means of support, and whose parents or guardians are unable to support them, and who
are not usually in attendance upon school or educational institution, but who l ive in habitual
idleness, are declared to be vagrants, and shall be punished as provided in this Code.
Note(s) As to probable invalidity of this section, see annotation to section 17 6 and the case there
eited:-
Sec. 17-16. Reserved. Some Arrest eed trial.
Upon proper information made upon oath before an officer authorized to act in such eases he shall
issue his warrant for the arrest of any person therein named or described who is charged therei:a.
with being a vagrant under the provisions of section 17 15, and such warrant shall be executed by
any police officer duly authorized thereto by the officer issuing sueh '+¥arrant. Any police officer
may arrest any vagrant described in section 17 15 without a warrant in ease delay in procuring one
would probably enable sueh alleged 11agrant to escape arrest. Any person so arrested by virtue of
a wanant or without a wa1Tant shall be given a speedy trial, and upon conviction shall be punished
as provided in section 1 8 of this Code.
* * *
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Section 3. That if any section, clause, sentence, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any
reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall not
affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance.
Section 4. That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of
this Ordinance are repealed to the extent of such conflict.
Section 5 . That it is the intention of the Mayor and City Commission of the City
of Dania Beach, and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this ordinance shall become
and be made a part of the Code of the City of Dania Beach, Florida. The sections of this
ordinance may be renumbered or re-lettered to accomplish such intention, and the word
"ordinance" may be changed to "section," "article," or other appropriate word.
Section 6.
reading.
That this Ordinance shall be effective 10 days after pas sa ge on second
PASSED on fust reading on Mar ( h 12.. , 2024.
PASSED AND ADOPTED on second reading on k:{a Y' (,h L\P 2024.
First Readinn
Motion by:"QJrnm1S$iO'le r ~rQR., S
Secondby:✓1c-l ~ LlWclLef>
Second Reading:
Motionby: Viet HCUfY LflAJel~
Second by :Cbmmi.ssl{)1R£ ill v,s
FINAL VOTE ON ADOPTION:
Commissioner Joyce L. Davis
Commissioner Tamara James
Commissioner Marco Salvino
Vice Mayor Lori Lewellen
Mayor Archibald J . Ryan IV
Unanimous /
Yes No
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AITES
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS:
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