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2013: A Nasty Year Heavy With New Anti-Homeless Laws

by Robert Norse
Some years back, I collected and condensed a bunch of the Santa Cruz conduct ordinances which especially impacted homeless people, street people, performers, and political activists. The last version can be found at https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/08/29/18657087.php under the heading "Deadly Downtown Ordinances - Updated". That version got some updating in the comments that follow this older posting, but some enterprising person has to make suitable modifications & additions given the recent amendments. In the hope that someone (perhaps me at a later time) will take on that task, here is an update, which, when combined with the "Deadly Downtown Ordinances" and the comments that follow there, contain most of the harassment laws used by the SCPD and Rangers downtown.
VENDOR LICENSING LAW MC 5.04.080 & MC 5.04.090 (This ordinance is not new but its imposition is)
CSO Barnett has taken the lead in reanimating the "Business License" requirement for occasional crafts vending downtown under MC 5.04.090. You have to buy a business license if you vend more than 6 times in a fiscal year so I'm told.

As I understand it, this does not apply to art or writing--where you are displaying or selling your own creations--even with a price tag. City Attorney Barisone has refused to confirm my request that he reaffirm what he told Robin, an artist selling downtown who cited the civil rights requirements of City of Sparks v. White, which established this right throughout the 9th Federal District. Councilmember Micah Posner has refused to request a clear public ruling on the issue from Barisone.


PUBLIC ASSEMBLY CONSTRICTION LAW MC 10.64 and 10.65
The new iteration of the law regulating protests, impacts homeless protests, and requires permits for groups of more than 50, and extensive costs for parades that "spill" into or "take" the street, as such parades usually do. The law has not been enforced and is supposed to be modified more liberally at a "study session", but that has not happened.

An earlier version of the law was last used--most notoriously--against Wes Modes--for "walking" in the DIY New Year's Parade in 2009 or 2010 "without a permit". City attorney spent taxpayer money to take him to court with Mayor Rotkin backing him up. Modes was found guilty (while hundreds of others who walked--including this writer--were not charged).


SHRINKING SIDEWALK LAW MC 5.43
Most famous recently for driving The Great Morgani off the streets, the law reduces the total area anyone with an open guitar case, table, cup, or other "display device" to 12 square feet (i.e. three of the squares on the sidewalk).

It bans spreading out a blanket as a display device. An all other flat floppy "lay-down" items that aren't "free-standing" display devices.

It increases forbidden zones in which you can't set up devices to 14' from buildings, street corners, intersections, kiosks, drinking fountains, public telephones, public benches, public trash containers, directory signs, sculptures or artwork, ATM-style machines, outside street cafes, vending carts, and fences. This is an increase from the previous 10' forbidden zones. Additionally, "trash containers" have been added as "protected" objects forbidden to set up a table or sit near.

Along with the Move-Along-every-hour-at-least-100'-and-don't-come-back-for-24-hours, the law has denuded the sidewalks of legal performers (though newbies and some old-timers continue to play illegally at times when police and hosts aren't around).


NO "LOITERING" ON THE MEDIANS OR ROUND-ABOUTS (MC 10.36.040)
This prohibits lingering on the medians or roundabouts anywhere in Santa Cruz--specifically impacting the median on Mission/Water St. next to the Town Clock and the medians dividing Pacific Avenue beyond Cathcart. It's already illegal to sit or stand "on the grass". But this would prohibit you from standing on the edges.
It particularly impacts activists holding up signs or distributing flyers on medians. It was pushed as a "panhandler removal" measure.


"DISORDERLY CONDUCT" IN "PARKS" (MC 13.08.090)
"(a) Any person who willfully harasses or interferes with a City of Santa Cruz employee in the performance of his or her duties in a City park or beach, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Any person who by his or her conduct, or by threatening or profane language annoys, willfully molests or unreasonably interferes with the use of a City park or beach by any other person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."

These are rare ordinances creating a misdemeanor penalty for the first offense--something unusual if not unique in the city code. I can't think of any other Downtown Ordinance under which an initial citation can be pushed with up to $1000 fine and a year in jail.


24 HOUR STAY-AWAY ORDERS ON ANY PARKS AND RECREATION MAINTAINED PROPERTY WITHOUT A COURT APPEARANCE (MC 13.08.100)
"Any person who receives a citation or is arrested on City park or beach property or any property maintained by the Parks and Recreation department, for a violation of the Santa Cruz Municipal Code or state law may be directed by the citing/arresting City officer at the time of the citation/arrest to vacate that park or beach property and not to re-enter said property again for a 24-hour period from the time of the arrest/citation. Any person who violates such an order from a City officer shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."

This is the first ordinance in Santa Cruz to my knowledge that allows police and parapolice agencies to "ban" people from areas without a court order prior to any charge being filed, hearing held, trial completed, or sentence imposed.

This ordinance becomes all the more powerful when you consider the property "maintained" by P&R. According to MC 13.04.011, this includes "all city parks and greenbelts, all city park trails and roads, all city park facilities and buildings, including Lighthouse Field State Beach, DeLaveaga Golf Course, Main Beach, Cowell’s Beach, Steamer Lane, Harvey West Pool, the Beach Flats Community Center, the Louden Nelson Community Center, the Teen Center, the Civic Auditorium, City Hall Courtyard, Mission Plaza, the Town Clock, the Natural History Museum, the Surfing Museum, Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, Pacific Avenue, West Cliff Drive (Pelton Street to Swanton Boulevard), the San Lorenzo River Levee and bike path, the San Lorenzo Benchlands, the inner banks of the San Lorenzo River within the City limits, the Branciforte and Cabonera Creeks within the city limits, Jessie Street Marsh, plus any other facilities or areas assigned to the parks and recreation department by the city manager."

The unilateral designation of areas "closed to the public" either at night or entirely is done entirely at the discretion of Dannettee Shoemaker, the P & R Empress, who is supposed to advise the P&R Commission what she's doing. But didn't in the case of closing off the politically important City Hall grounds and library at night in illegitimate response to peaceful homeless protest by the Peace Camp 2010 protesters 3 1/2 years ago.


I would encourage some ambitious archivist or activist to add these sections as well as a few other updates (such as the "dogs on pacific ave. okay during the day as long as you're not panhandling" and the "no smoking on Pacific Ave. or sidestreets" modifications mentioned in the Comments section here to the "Deadly Downtown Ordinance" flyer that can be found at https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/08/29/18657087.php .
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Comments (Hide Comments)
by Razer Ray
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DUDE! The police and literally legally ignorant rangers get to issue an 'order to vacate' based on their irrelevant legal opinion of your actions and a few stroke of a pen in their citation pad? A VERY GOOD REASON not to sign the ticket wouldn't you say?

Better still... Take the misdemeanor! Get a lawyer. Jam this up their asses then sue them for false imprisonment and abuse of authority under color of law. The city CANNOT issue what is essentially a universally reusable John Doe 'restraining order'. Not even a judge can do that without nasty legal repercussions.

This is what "Emergency Orders" are issued for, and the city of Santa Cruz has not declared an 'emergency', nor has the grounds to do so.

Now about their 'scofflaw ordinance' making a misdemeanor out of having three citations you said would be so problematic the other day

THEY DO NOT HAVE THE MANPOWER OR JAIL SPACE TO EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENT THIS LAW WITHOUT BEING "SELECTIVE". Hence, it's so much garbage of a law. Again. Make it a missydemeanor. I get a lawyer! Unlike you Robert, I've had NO PROBLEM getting the results I want in court using local public defenders.

As I've said before, the city seems to create a LOT of 'ordinances' with no grounding in state or federal law. It's NOT a "Nasty Year" It's A GREAT YEAR to violate their so-called laws with impunity. As some native American said a century or more ago: "The have us sign a lot of papers that don't mean anything." The city's ordinances I've discussed above "Don't mean anything"


24 HOUR STAY-AWAY ORDERS ON ANY PARKS AND RECREATION MAINTAINED PROPERTY WITHOUT A COURT APPEARANCE (MC 13.08.100)

"Any person who receives a citation or is arrested on City park or beach property or any property maintained by the Parks and Recreation department, for a violation of the Santa Cruz Municipal Code or state law may be directed by the citing/arresting City officer at the time of the citation/arrest to vacate that park or beach property and not to re-enter said property again for a 24-hour period from the time of the arrest/citation. Any person who violates such an order from a City officer shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."
When people take tickets, they are belittled, unless the 'right position' at the moment is to use not taking tickets as a criticism against someone other than themself.

I suppose this will generate another censorship request (by the censorship 'victim') because it might be seen as a witheringly accurate 'critique' of an intellectual poser.

Anyway, I look forward to said critic winning in court, instead of having yet another ticket 'magically disappear'.
by Concerned Citizen
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