To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: JOY A. FORD, CITY ATTORNEY
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ADOPT BY TITLE ONLY ORDINANCE NO. 3293-25, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 34 TO TITLE 4 REGARDING UNLAWFUL CAMPING, FOR SECOND READING AND ADOPTION
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On April 1, 2025, the Mayor and City Council addressed a strategic plan objective: Objective 11 of Goal 6 Enhance the Delivery of City Services - "Anti-camping regulations: Evaluate recent anti-camping court decisions and report to the City Council on any recommended corresponding modifications to the Redondo Beach Municipal Code." The proposed ordinance as amended by the City Council on April 1 reflect the overruling of Martin v. Boise and adds a prohibition to utilize a bus stop site for any purpose other than boarding, disembarking, or waiting for a bus. The Ordinance was introduced at the April 1, 2025 City Council meeting and is now ready for second reading and adoption.
BACKGROUND
On April 1, 2019, in the Martin v. City of Boise, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that enforcing local laws that prohibit camping and sleeping in public "when no sleeping space is practically available in any shelter" violates the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. In December of 2020, in response to the Martin v. City of Boise decision, the Mayor and City Council amended the City's Municipal Code to be consistent with the Martin v. City of Boise decision, which allowed camp facilities to be erected only between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. per footnote 8 of the decision.
Following Martin v. City of Boise, judicial injunctions barring local governments from enforcing public camping laws against people experiencing homelessness were common in the Ninth Circuit when those cities did not have available shelter beds. Grants Pass in Oregon was one such city. Grants Pass had several laws restricting campi...
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