HomeMy WebLinkAboutA020 - Discussion on proposed ordinance prohibiting public campingTo:Mayor & City Council
From:Mark O. Lambert, City Attorney
Date:February 24, 2025
Subject:Proposed ordinance prohibiting public camping
Item No. 22
MEMO
Attached are supplemental materials for discussion on a proposed ordinance prohibiting
public camping for your review.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Discussion of Ordinance Prohibiting Public Camping.pdf
Waukee Ordinance 3105.pdf
Ankeny Ordinance 49.pdf
DM Campling Ordinance.pdf
City Clerk's Office 515.239.5105 main
515.239.5142 fax
515 Clark Ave. P.O. Box 811
Ames, IA 50010
www.CityofAmes.org
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Legal Department
MEMO
Legal Department
To: Mayor Haila, Ames City Council
From: Mark O. Lambert, City Attorney
Date: February 24, 2025
Subject: Discussion of ordinance prohibiting public camping
At the February 11, 2025, Ames City Council meeting, the Council adopted a
motion to place on a future agenda a discussion of an ordinance to prohibit
camping on public property. The Council was provided with copies of
ordinances from the City of Waukee and the City of Des Moines on this topic,
which are attached here as well. In addition, the City of Ankeny has such an
ordinance, and it is also attached.
In order to facilitate this discussion, here are some key issues that the Council
will need to decide:
1. The threshold question is: does the Council wish to prohibit
camping on public property?
2. Does the Council also wish to prohibit sleeping on public property?
Choices here seem to be:
a. Prohibit sleeping on any public property. This may be overly broad
and would also prohibit people from sleeping or napping in their cars
or taking a quick nap on a park bench.
b. Prohibit sleeping on sidewalks, streets, alleys or doorways. The Des
Moines ordinance does this. However, the Council may or may not
wish to consider an exception for people sleeping in their vehicles.
The Ankeny and Waukee ordinances do not address sleeping on
public property.
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3. Does the Council also wish to prohibit storage of personal items on
public property?
Court decisions have indicated that local governments cannot simply
dispose of such items and must store them for a period of time to allow the
person to reclaim the items. The Des Moines ordinance requires the city to
store items for up to 30 days and allows immediate disposal of items that are
unsanitary or seemingly without value. The Ankeny ordinance provides a
waiting period of 72 hours to claim seized property. Obviously, this will
require some resources to be dedicated – a facility for storage, staff, a
system for documenting where the property came from, a system for
claiming items, etc. The Waukee ordinance prohibits storage of personal
items on public property, but doesn’t address allowing people to claim those
items.
4. Does the Council wish to include a provision concerning removal of
a campsite where multiple people have established a camp
together?
The Des Moines ordinance provides for a 24-hour notice for a campsite,
and removal of the items after 24 hours. The Ankeny and Waukee ordinances
do not address encampments of multiple tents, etc. This is likely because that
primarily has been an issue in Des Moines.
5. What should the penalty be?
a. The Des Moines ordinance contains a fine of $15. The ordinance
provides that the police officer shall offer a one-time transport to a
shelter and, if accepted, the ticket would not be issued. It also
provides that an affirmative defense to the charge will be the
unavailability or impracticability of going to a shelter. Not having
the means to pay the fine is also an affirmative defense.
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b. The Waukee ordinance sets the fine at $105 (which is the
minimum fine for a simple misdemeanor). If the person is unable
to pay the fine, the alternative punishment shall be community
service. The ordinance also allows a police officer to transport
the person to a shelter.
c. The Ankeny ordinance sets the fine as the Iowa Code default for
simple misdemeanors, which is a minimum fine of $105 and a
maximum fine of $855. This ordinance also allows the person to
be sentenced to perform community service in lieu of a fine.
6. Should the ordinance be a simple misdemeanor or a municipal
infraction?
The Waukee, Des Moines and Ankeny ordinances all state that a
violation is a simple misdemeanor. An alternative would be to make it a
municipal infraction. A municipal infraction is a civil penalty, as opposed to
being a criminal penalty. With a municipal infraction, the Iowa Code appears to
allow alternatives to a fine.
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APPENDIX C - ELECTRIC FRANCHISE
APPENDIX D - GAS FRANCHISE
APPENDIX E - TAX INCREMENT ORDINANCES
APPENDIX F - HOTEL AND MOTEL TAX
APPENDIX G - SEWER DISTRICTS
APPENDIX H - CABLE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT
APPENDIX I - IOWA REINVESTMENT DISTRICTS
CODE COMPARATIVE TABLE - 1991 CODE
CODE COMPARATIVE TABLE - ORDINANCES
STATE LAW REFERENCE TABLE
Secs. 102-380—102-405. - Reserved.
ARTICLE VII. - USE OF STREETS AND SIDEWALKS FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES
ARTICLE VI. - PROHIBITED CAMPING
Footnotes:
--- (3) ---
Editor's note— Prior to reenactment by Ord. No. 16,382, Ord. No. 16,005, § 1, adopted April 19, 2021, repealed Art. VI,
§§ 102-406—102-430, which pertained to benches and derived from Code 1942, §§ 88-27—88-29, 88-32—88-35, 88-38
—88-42; Code 1954, §§ 54-199, 54-201, 54-208, 54-211; Code 1962, §§ 54-194—54-212, 54-212.01—54-212.03, 54-
212.05, 54-212.06; Code 1975; Code 1979; Code 1985, §§ 23-175, 23-184, 23-185, 23-187, 23-189, 23-194; Code
1991, §§ 23-175—23-199; Ord. No. 4976; Ord. No. 5650; Ord. No. 8454; Ord. No. 8558; Ord. No. 11,406; Ord. No.
11,548; Ord. No. 11,583; Ord. No. 12,048; Ord. No. 14,095; Ord. No. 14,174; Ord. No. 14,935.
Sec. 102-406. - Definitions.
Unless the context requires otherwise the following definitions apply to this article:
Campsite means any place where bedding, sleeping bag, or other material used for bedding
purposes, or any stove or fire is placed, established, or maintained for the purpose of maintaining a
temporary place to live, whether or not such place incorporates the use of any tent, lean-to, shack, or
any other structure, or any vehicle or part thereof.
[3]
Des Moines, IA
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(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
(b)
(c)
Local agency means an organization skilled and experienced in services to the homeless and
associated human services. The city is not restricted to working with one local agency.
Personal property means any item reasonably recognizable as belonging to a person and having
apparent utility or monetary value.
To camp means to set up or to remain in or at a campsite.
(O.16,382)
Sec. 102-407. - Sleeping on sidewalks, streets, alleys or doorways
prohibited.
No person may sleep on public sidewalks, streets, alleys, doorways at any time as a matter of
individual and public safety.
No person may sleep in any pedestrian or vehicular entrance to public or private property
abutting a public sidewalk.
In addition to any other remedy provided by law, any person found in non-compliance of this
section may be immediately removed from the premises.
(O.16,382)
Sec. 102-408. - Camping prohibited.
No person may occupy a campsite in or upon any sidewalk, street, alley, lane, public right of way,
park, bench, or any other publicly owned property or under any bridge or viaduct, unless authorized by
the city manager or their designee or otherwise specifically authorized by section 74-101.
(O.16,382)
Sec. 102-409. - Removal of campsite on public property.
Upon discovery of a campsite on public property, removal of the campsite by the city may occur
under the following circumstances:
Prior to removing the campsite, the city shall post a notice at the campsite. The notice
shall state the name, address and telephone number of the department director; that the
campsite is in violation of the requirements of this article; that the owner or user is
ordered to cause immediate removal from the public property, which date of removal
shall be no less than 24-hours after the date the notice was posted.
At the time a 24-hour notice is posted, the city shall inform a local agency of the location
of the campsite.
After the 24-hour notice period has passed, the city is authorized to remove the campsite
and all personal property related thereto.
Des Moines, IA
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(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(O.16,382)
Sec. 102-410. - Offense and fine.
It is the city council's intent that this article shall be utilized for compliance purposes to
discourage non-compliant behavior and not as a general enforcement mechanism.
A person who is not a minor and who fails to comply with sections 102-407 or 102-408
commits a simple misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $15.00 and specifically excludes
imprisonment.
For any criminal offense under sections 102-407 or 102-408, it shall be an affirmative defense
if space is unavailable or impracticable in a shelter within the City of Des Moines or the person
cannot afford the fine.
For any person who fails to comply with sections 102-407 or 102-408, prior to carrying out
those sections, a police officer shall offer a one-time transport as time allows to the shelter
location or provide directions to the shelter location. A person who refuses to accept the
shelter space offered and fails to comply with this article shall be deemed to be in non-
compliance of sections 102-407 or 102-408 as applicable.
(O.16,382)
Sec. 102-411. - Disposition and release of personal property.
At the time of removal, items having no apparent utility or monetary value and items in an
unsanitary condition may be immediately discarded. Weapons, drug paraphernalia, items
appearing to be stolen, and evidence of a crime may be retained as evidence by the city until
an alternate disposition is determined.
All personal property removed from the campsite which is not disposed of, or retained as
evidence pursuant to subsection (a) above, shall be stored by the city for no less than 30 days
in accordance with city policy.
The owner of personal property which is not disposed of or retained as evidence pursuant to
subsection (a) above, may request return of the property in accordance with city policy. The
owner of personal property may appeal a decision by the city not to return property stored
pursuant to subsection (b) above pursuant to the administrative appeal process set forth in
chapter 3 of this Code by filing a written notice of appeal with the city clerk within 30 days
commencing on the date of posting the notice of removal of the personal property. Failure to
timely file a written notice of appeal shall constitute a waiver of any right to contest such
decision. The administrative hearing officer's authority on appeal shall be limited to ordering
personal property that is stored pursuant to subsection (b) above to be provided to the
appellant.
Des Moines, IA
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Secs. 102-380—102-405. - Reserved.
ARTICLE VII. - USE OF STREETS AND SIDEWALKS FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES
(O.16,382)
Secs. 102-412—102-455. - Reserved.
Des Moines, IA
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