Ord 1592 - AMENDING CHAPTER 16 Or THE TOWN CODE TO PROHIBIT SLEEPING IN CARSORDINANCE NO. 1592
ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 16 Or THE TOWN CODE
TO PROHIBIT SLEEPING IN CARS
The Town Council of Los Gatos ORDAINS:
SECTION ' l .
The Council hereby finds as follows:
1. Difficult economic times and other factors have led to an increase in
the number of people who, having no place of residence, sleep in their vehicles
on Town streets and parking lots.
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2. Sleeping in vehicles in public places causes health and safety problems
for the Town, including the following:
a. People who sleep in vehicles tend to frequent the same locations,
resulting in miniature mobile home camps.
b. The presence of people essentially living in vehicles parked in
public places causes other members of the public to be afraid for their safety,
thereby increasing police calls for service, and defeats important Town goals
such as the encouragement of resident- oriented commercial activity downtown, and
carpooling for employees of downtown businesses.
3. While the foregoing problems could be alleviated by prohibiting any
parking between certain hours, this would defeat other Town goals, such as en-
couraging persons not to drive when tired or when under the influence of alcohol.
4. The best way to balance the foregoing considerations is to allow a person
to sleep in a vehicle once during a 24 -hour period, and to make it unlawful to do
so again for a specified time after being warned in writing.
5. This ordinance is adopted as a local regulation of parking as permitted
by Vehicle Code §22507.
SECTION 2.
Section 16 -47 is added to the Town Code as follows:
" Sec. '16 =47 Sleeping in v ehicles 'a fter Ui' irig prohibited
(a) Any person who sleeps in a vehicle parked in a public place in the
Town for any time during a 24 -hour period shall be given a written warning, in-
cluding a copy of this ordinance.
(b) No person shall sleep in a vehicle parked in a public place in the Town
within a 30 -day period after having been given the warning prescribed in sub-
section (a) above."
SECTION ' 3 .
This ordinance takes effect 30 days after the date it is adopted. Within 15
days after this ordinance is adopted, the Town Clerk shall cause it to be published
once in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the Town.
This ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the Town Council
of the Town of Los Gatos on September 6, 1983 and adopted by the following
vote as an ordinance of the Town of Los Gatos at a regular meeting of the Town
Council on September 19 1953
AYES: COUNCILM HERS Joanne Benjamin, Terrence J. Daily,
Thomas _J. Ferrito and Mayor Brent N. _Ventura
NOES: COUNCI None
ABSTAIN: COUNCIIMEMBERS None
ABSENT: COUNCIUv MBERS None
SIGNED.`
..... ...............................
Mayor of the Town of Los Gatos
ATTEST:
--- Clerk of the Town of Los Gato
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