HomeMy WebLinkAbout4443ORDINANCE NO. 4443
AN ORDINANCE of the City Council of the
City of Kent, Washington, repealing Chapter 8.09 of
the Kent City Code, entitled "Camping", and
replacing it with a new Chapter 8.09, entitled
"Camping on Public Property", in order to prohibit
activities that cause environmental damage and
harm public property including unlawful camping,
storing of personal property and unlawful fires; to
set forth the procedures for removal of unlawful
camps on public property; and to set forth the
circumstances under which unlawful camping is
enforced.
RECITALS
A. Setting up camps and using them to camp, reside on, or occupy
public property that is not designated as a campground creates dangerous
public health and safety conditions and prevents these areas from being
used for the purposes for which they were intended.
B. The City has both the authority and responsibility to regulate
public property pursuant to Article XI, Section 11 of the Washington
Constitution and RCW 35A.11.020. As a steward of public property, the City
must wisely employ its limited resources to not only invest in the
development and maintenance of public property and spaces, but also to
establish reasonable rules to help ensure the public can safely use these
spaces for their intended purpose and that environmentally sensitive areas
1 Repeal and Replace KCC 8.09 -
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and natural features within these spaces are protected and preserved, and
function as they are intended.
C. The City has prohibited camping on public property outside of
designated areas since 2000. Although this ordinance repeals and replaces
the provisions within chapter 8.09 of the Kent City Code, it continues to
prohibit camping, as defined herein, on public property, and identifies areas
and locations on which unlawful camping is destructive to the environment
and disruptive to the property's intended purpose.
D. Specifically, erecting temporary or permanent places of
residence —"camping" —in environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands,
streams, fish and wildlife habitat, and steep slopes —causes significant
damage to the purpose and functionality of these areas. This damage
includes the destruction of foliage and trees, the accumulation of litter, and
the discharge of pollutants such as human waste into waterways. This
damage negatively impacts the very purposes served by these properties —
to preserve habitat for wildlife, prevent erosion, maintain and improve water
quality for human consumption and endangered species, maintain foliage to
counter climate change, etc. These activities also create unsanitary and
dangerous conditions for the individuals camping and other users of these
surrounding areas. As one example of many, camps have been found in the
wetland area surrounding McSorley Creek, which is located between South
260th Street and South 272nd Street, east of Pacific Highway South, and West
of Interstate 5. This area, which is located within Washington's Water
Resource Area Inventory 9, is a wetland that constitutes the headwaters for
McSorley Creek which drains into the Puget Sound at Saltwater State Park.
The area of the creek that drains to the Puget Sound supports salmon and
forage fish habitat. King County and Washington State parks are currently
working on a project to improve the McSorley Creek drainage into Puget
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Sound to restore habitat for juvenile chinook salmon, an endangered
species, and improve the climate resiliency of the park infrastructure. See
httos://vour.kinocountv.00v/dnro/Iibrarv/water-and-land/habitat-
restoration/mcsorlev-shoreline-and-estuarv/2022-06-mcsorlev-creek-fact-
sheet.odf. The McSorley Creek wetlands area is currently listed by the
Rainier Audubon Society as an area of concern due to the impacts of camps.
https://rainieraudubon. ora/current-oroiects/mcsorlev-creek-restoration/.
This is one of many examples in the City.
E. Additionally, camping in public places and near public facilities
that have been improved and developed for a particular purpose hinders the
use of these facilities for their intended purpose. Examples of these locations
include recreational facilities such as play fields, facilities such as the Senior
Center, the Kent Commons, the accesso Showare Center, well pump
stations, sidewalks and roads, public parking lots, and urban forested trail
systems. As one of a number of examples, the City has, over the past five
years, spent $921,716 at the Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Park to clean up
the park and restore trails and facilities damaged by camping. A salmonid
stream courses through the length of this unique park which provides vital
tree canopy for the City. The park offers natural hiking trails within an urban
environment to community members who may not have the means to access
nature in places outside of the City. The fire department has responded to
fires on many occasions which threaten the tree canopy as well as the
surrounding neighborhood. In another recent circumstance, the City dealt
with an unlawful camp on 6th Avenue North between West Meeker Street
and West Saar Street. The camp was established across the entire width of
the sidewalk and shoulder of the roadway, completely blocking pedestrian
passage. The area is dense with assisted living facilities and this sidewalk is
a vital pedestrian pathway required to be open for passage under the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
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F. For these reasons, and others, it is critical that the City have
the authority to immediately remove unlawful camps from these public
places.
G. In 2019, and more recently, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
has held that the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
prohibits cities from prosecuting homeless individuals for sitting, lying, and
sleeping and taking the rudimentary precautions to protect themselves from
the elements in public when there is no available shelter. However, the law
does not prevent the City from enforcing an ordinance prohibiting camping
in certain locations, nor does it prevent the City from prohibiting harmful
actions associated with unlawful camping, such as using open flames in
unauthorized locations and littering.
H. This ordinance complies with existing law by not enforcing the
unlawful camping provisions when there is no available shelter, except in
specified areas including portions of parks that are designated for a specified
purpose, such as picnic shelters and play fields; City -owned buildings where
business is conducted and employees work; and environmentally sensitive
areas such as critical areas and properties that provide a source of municipal
water supply.
I. In instances in which these provisions are enforced, the City
will provide assistance to individuals to seek alternative shelter and to
temporarily store belongings. In the event criminal charges are filed, no
fines will be imposed and the City will agree to deferred sentences in all
cases where individuals in need of treatment services agree to comply with
a treatment provider's recommended treatment plan. Finally, the City will
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not object to a future request to vacate a prior conviction for violation of this
chapter.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENT,
WASHINGTON, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
ORDINANCE
SECTION 1. - Repeal. Chapter 8.09 of the Kent City Code, entitled
"Camping", is repealed in its entirety.
SECTION 2. - New Chanter. A new Chapter 8.09 of the Kent City
Code is enacted as follows.
Chapter 8.09
CAMPING ON PUBLIC PROPERTY
Sec. 8.09.010. Purpose. It is the purpose of this chapter to prevent
the harm to public property caused by the activities of unlawful camping;
unlawful storing of camp facilities; unlawful fires; littering; and altering or
damaging the natural environment such as diverting water, removing
vegetation, and excavation. Camping on public property —erecting and
occupying camp facilities for the purpose of facilitating occupation,
habitation, or residing in a location —that is not designated as an area for
camping creates dangerous public health and safety concerns for those
experiencing homelessness, the general public, city employees, and first
responders. These activities foster unsanitary conditions, damage the
natural environment and critical areas, and interfere with the rights of others
to use public property for the purposes for which they were intended.
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It is the purpose of this chapter to promote the public health, safety, general
welfare, environmental health, economic health, and well-being of the city
by keeping public streets, sidewalks, parks, and other public property within
the city safe and readily accessible to the public.
Sec. 8.09.020. Definitions. The following words, terms, and
phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meaning ascribed to them
in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different
meaning:
A. Available Overnight Shelter means a public or private shelter, with an
overnight space available and open to the individual experiencing
homelessness at no charge.
B. Camp means to pitch, erect, or occupy camp facilities for the purpose
of, or in such a way as will facilitate habitation, the occupation of, or residing
in a location.
C. Camp facilities include, but are not limited to, motor vehicles, trailers,
tents, huts, temporary shelters, or other structures that evidence an intent
to function as a temporary or permanent place of residence or to demarcate
public property under circumstances that evidence an intent to take or hold
possession or control of that public property as a person's residence or
tenancy, to the exclusion of others or other uses.
D. Critical area means an area that possesses important natural
functions and embodies a variety of important natural and community
values. Such areas include wetlands, streams, fish and wildlife habitat, steep
slopes, geologic hazard areas, critical aquifer recharge areas, and flood
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hazard areas as well as the buffers which serve to protect the
aforementioned areas.
E. Hazardous material means any material, including any substance,
waste, or combination thereof, which because of its quantity, concentration,
physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics, may cause or significantly
contribute to a present or potential hazard to human, health, safety,
property, or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported,
disposed of, or otherwise managed.
F. Litter is as defined in KCC 8.04.020 as now enacted or hereafter
amended or recodified.
G. Park means and includes all city parks, public squares, park drives,
parkways, boulevards, golf courses, park museums, zoos, bathing beaches,
gardens, lakes, rivers, ponds, and play and recreation grounds under the
jurisdiction of the city of Kent parks and recreation department.
H. Pollutant means and includes anything that may contaminate or
contribute to the contamination of any place, area, or location. Examples
include without limitation: hazardous materials; paints, varnishes, and
solvents; oil and other automotive or motor fluids; liquid and solid wastes,
human waste, food wastes, and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage,
litter, or other discarded or abandoned objects and accumulations;
floatables such as closed or open cell foam; plastics; pesticides, herbicides,
and fertilizers; sewage, fecal coliform and pathogens; dissolved and
particulate metals; animal wastes; wastes and residues that result from
constructing a building or structure; electronics; electric and combustion
engines and devices that use electric and combustion engines including parts
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thereof; hazardous cleaning liquids and materials; any drug as defined by
RCW 69.50.101; and any drug paraphernalia as defined in RCW 69.50.101.
I. Public Property means all property in which the City has a property
interest, including parcels, tracts, easements, and public rights -of -ways. The
term includes, without limitation, all parks, docks, piers, streets, sidewalks,
trails, forests, museums, pools, beaches, open spaces, public squares, the
grounds around the City including but not limited to parking lots and
structures, breezeways, entryways, planter areas, and storage areas, and
any other property in which the city has a property interest of any type.
J. Recreational vehicle means a travel trailer, motor home, truck
camper, or camping trailer that is primarily designed and used as temporary
living quarters, is either self-propelled or mounted on or drawn by another
vehicle, is transient, is not occupied as a primary residence, and is not
immobilized or permanently affixed to a mobile home lot.
K. Store or storage means to put aside, accumulate, or to place or leave
in a location, property associated with a camp.
L. Street means any highway, avenue, lane, road, street, drive, place,
boulevard, alley, right-of-way, and every way or place in the city of Kent
open as a matter of right for public vehicular travel.
M. Vegetation means trees, shrubs, grass, weeds, bushes, vines, turf,
flowers, seaweed, fungus, and other plant materials, including but not
limited to clippings, fallen leaves, fruit or branches.
Sec. 8.09.030. Unlawful camping on public property.
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A. Unlawful Camping. It shall be unlawful for any person to camp on
public property, except as allowed in KCC 4.01.090 of the Kent City Code.
B. Immediate Application to Public Property with Sensitive or
Incompatible Uses. . The prohibition on camping shall apply at all times on
public property with the uses listed in this subsection and may be enforced
at all times:
1. Portions of parks that are developed, improved, or maintained
for a specified purpose, such as but not limited to recreational structures,
picnic shelters, play fields, areas designated or maintained for spectators of
events, open fields or maintained grassy areas, designated off -leash dog
areas, restrooms, sidewalks, golf courses, designated trails, and parking
lots.
2. Critical areas and water supply properties that are owned by
the City for the purposes of producing, pumping, storing, treating, and
protecting domestic drinking water sources.
3. City -owned buildings, parking lots, and appurtenances used to
conduct the business of the city, including, but not limited to City Hall, the
Centennial Center, and the Annex Building located to the east of the
Centennial Center; Kent Police Station and police substations; Kent
Municipal Court, Kent Corrections Facility, and its Program Annex Building;
Kent Senior Center; Kent Commons; Riverbend Golf Complex; public works
and parks shops properties; the police and fire station and training center
located at 24611 116th Ave. SE, Kent, WA 98030; and the accesso Showare
Center.
4. Streets and sidewalks.
5. Properties owned by the city that are not open to the public
and which are posted with signs prohibiting trespass.
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C. Enforcement Suspended. The authority to arrest and file charges for
a violation of this section shall be suspended any time there is no available
overnight shelter for the individual camping; provided, any person camping
on any of the properties set forth in subsection B of this section shall be
required to immediately remove the camp and its associated camp facilities
upon request of a peace officer or other public officer.
Sec. 8.09.040. Unlawful storage of camp facilities on public
property.
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to store camp facilities on public
property.
B. The provisions of this chapter shall not prohibit any vehicle, including
a trailer, recreational vehicle, or camper not being used as a residence from
being parked within or on any park, in the right-of-way, or other public
property in accordance with parking regulations, unless otherwise prohibited
by law.
C. Enforcement of this section shall be suspended in the event a person
is camping at a location other than a location described in KCC 8.09.030(B)
and there is no available overnight shelter for the individual camping.
D. No citation shall be issued for a violation of this section if the person
identified as the owner of the camp facilities immediately removes the camp
facilities upon request.
Sec. 8.09.050. Unlawful use of fires. It shall be unlawful for any
person to build any fire or maintain open flames for any purpose on public
property except in designated areas in parks when parks are open.
10 Repeal and Replace KCC 8.09 -
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Sec. 8.09.060. Unlawful environmental damage to public
property. It shall be unlawful for any person to do the following on public
property, unless expressly permitted or otherwise authorized by the City:
1. Dump, throw, deposit or discharge any pollutant;
2. Deposit urine or feces into or onto a place other than a
receptacle intended for the deposit of urine or feces;
3. Destroy or alter vegetation through cutting, clearing, grading,
or harvesting;
4. Construct or create trails not expressly authorized by the City,
or damage existing City trails;
5. Remove or excavate soil, sand, gravel, minerals, or organic
matter of any kind; provided it shall not be unlawful to do so at a public park
in areas intended for digging as a form of recreation;
6. Drain or increase the water level of a body of water, river, creek
or stream, or divert or impede water flow of any river, creek or stream; or
7. Disturb wildlife dens, burrows, or nests.
Sec. 8.09.070. — Unlawful camp— Removal. Upon a
determination by the City that a camp has been established on public
property in violation of this chapter, camp facilities, and all other personal
property, contraband, and pollutants shall be removed subject to the
following provisions:
A. Immediate Removal of Unlawful Camp. If an unlawful camp is on
public property described in KCC 8.09.030(B), the City may immediately
remove any personal property, camp facilities, and all other property,
contraband, pollutants, and waste and store it or dispose of it as set forth in
KCC 8.09.070(C); provided, the owner shall be provided an opportunity to
11 Repeal and Replace KCC 8.09 -
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immediately remove the property if present or if they arrive during the
removal of the property.
B. Removal of Unlawful Camp Following Posted Notice. For all other
unlawful camps on public property, the following shall occur:
1. At least 48 hours before the removal of the camp facilities and
personal property, the City will post a notice to remove property containing:
a. The requirement to remove the camp facilities and
personal property within the designated time period.
b. Information on the process individuals camping or
storing personal property within the camp area may use to petition for a
reasonable amount of additional time to leave the camp area and remove
their property.
C. Information regarding the availability of assistance from
social services and available overnight shelter options.
2. If the camp facilities and personal property, contraband,
pollutants, and waste remain at the end of the notice period set forth in
subsection 1, it may be removed by the City; provided the owner shall be
provided an opportunity to immediately remove the property if they arrive
during the City's removal of the property and do not unreasonably delay the
City's removal of the property.
C. Storage of property associated with an unlawful camp.
1. In the event the City removes the camp facilities and personal
property in accordance with this section, the City will attempt to determine
the owner of any property of obvious value (e.g., items needed for survival
such as blankets and clothing, legal documents, personal papers,
government identification, labeled medications), will arrange for storage of
the property, and will attempt to provide notice to the owner of the property
as to how they may claim the property.
12 Repeal and Replace KCC 8.09 -
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2. The city will not store property that it has reasonable grounds
to believe is stolen or illegal to own or possess, nor shall the city be required
to store property that is hazardous to health or safety, perishable, or of no
apparent value.
Sec. 8.09.080. Penalties.
A. Except as otherwise provided, a violation of any of the provisions of
this chapter is a misdemeanor.
B. Fines shall not be imposed as a penalty for a violation of any of the
provisions of this chapter.
C. The City will not object to the entry of a deferred prosecution pursuant
to Ch. 10.05 RCW if eligible, nor will the City object to the court entering a
deferred sentence for violations of this chapter in all cases where: (1) a
licensed or certified medical professional or certified agency recommends
mental health or substance use disorder treatment; (2) the defendant
agrees to comply with, and the court orders the defendant to comply with,
the treatment plan recommended by the medical professional or certified
agency as a condition of the deferred sentence; and (3) the defendant
understands and agrees that the court will revoke any deferred sentence if
the offender fails to comply with any of the terms of the deferred sentence.
D. The City will also not object to a future request by an individual to
vacate a record of conviction for any conviction related to an offense
prosecuted under this chapter.
SECTION 3. - Severabilitv. If any one or more section, subsection,
or sentence of this ordinance is held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such
13 Repeal and Replace KCC 8.09 -
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decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this ordinance
and the same shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 4. - Savinas. The existing Chapter 8.09 of the Kent City
Code, which is repealed and replaced by this ordinance, shall remain in full
force and effect until the effective date of this ordinance.
SECTIONS. - Corrections by City Clerk or Code Reviser. Upon
approval of the city attorney, the city clerk and the code reviser are
authorized to make necessary corrections to this ordinance, including the
correction of clerical errors; ordinance, section, or subsection numbering; or
references to other local, state, or federal laws, codes, rules, or regulations.
SECTION 6. - Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect and be
in force thirty days from and after its passage, as provided by law.
ATTEST:
I 4TIYC
KIMBERLEY A. • • •
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
I/ TAT WHITE, CITY ATTORNEY
14
October 18, 2022
Date Approved
October 18, 2022
Date Adopted
October 21, 2.022_ ,
Date Publshe�
iw. aagtls
a
* a 0£ OBE
Repeal and Replace KCC 8.09 -
Re: Camping
STATE OF WASHINGTON, COUNTY OF KING }
AFFIDAVIT OF PUBLICATION
PUBLIC NOTICE
Rudi Alcott, being first duly sworn on oath that he is the
Vice President of Advertising for Sound Publishing,
which publishes the
Kent Reporter
a weekly newspaper, which newspaper is a legal newspaper of general
circulation and is now and has been for more than six months prior to the date
of publication hereinafter referred to, published in the English language
continuously as a weekly newspaper in King County, Washington. The
Kent- Covington Reporter has been approved as a Legal Newspaper by order of
the Superior Court of the State of Washington for King County.
The notice in the exact form annexed was published in regular issues of
the Kent- Covington Reporter (and not in supplement form) which was regularly
distributed to its subscribers during the below stated period. The annexed
notice, a:
Public Notice #KEN964474
was published on October 21, 2022
The full amount of the fee charged for said foregoing publication is the
sum of $96.65
z W -
Rudi Alcott
Vice President, Advertising
Subscribed and sworn to me this 21" day of October, 2022 .
J ifer Tri , Notary Public for the State of Washington, Residing in
rting, Washington
Classified Proof
CITY OF KENT
NOTICE OF ORDI-
NANCE
PASSED BY THE CITY
COUNCIL.
The following is the sum-
mary of an ordinance
passed by the Kent City
Council on October 18,
2022.
ORDINANCE NO. 4443
- AN ORDINANCE of the
City Council of the City
of Kent. Washington, re-
pealing Chapter 8.09 of
the Kent City Code. enti-
tled "Camping", and re-
placing it with a new
Chapter 8.09. entitled
"Camping on Public
Property", in order to
prohibit activities that
cause environmental
damage and harm public
property including un-
lawful camping, storing
of personal property, un-
lawful fires and use of
cooking facilities; to set
forth the procedures for
removal of unlawful en-
campments; and to set
forth the circumstances
under which unlawful
camping is enforced.
This ordinance shall take
effect and be in force
thirty days from and after
its passage, as provided
by law.
A copy of the complete
text of any ordinance will
be mailed upon request
of the City Clerk.
Kimberley A. Komoto.
City Clerk
Kkomoto@KentWA.gov
253.856-5725
#964474
10/21/22
ems
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