Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Legal Services

TO:	Mike Wildgen, City Manager
FROM:	David L. Corliss, Assistant City Manager & Director of Legal Services Scott J. Miller, Staff Attorney
Date:	December 28, 2005
RE:	Ordinance 7960 – Amendments to Illegal Camping Ordinance

At the request of members of the City Commission, I have drafted the attached amendment to Section 14-417 of the City Code, the City’s illegal camping ordinance.  The purpose of the amendment is to extend the scope of the ordinance to illegalize camping on the public right of way and public property located within the C-3 zoning district.

Pursuant to Section 20-704 of the City Code, the C-3 Central Commercial District zoning district is designed to be the central business district or the downtown shopping and employment center for the community and surrounding trade area.  The off-street parking and loading requirements that ordinarily apply to commercial uses do not apply in this district.  Also, the district is unique among commercial districts within the City because there are no front setback requirements between the public sidewalks and the front of the buildings in this district.  The map image below designates the boundaries of the C-3 district. 

The Illegal Camping ordinance makes it a public offense for a person to camp in certain areas.  As amended, the ordinance would apply to the public right of way and publicly owned areas within the C-3 zoning district, and private property throughout the City where the camping is done without the consent of the owner of the property.  The definition of camping used in the ordinance is modeled after a National Park Service regulation approved by the United States Supreme Court in Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence, 468 U.S. 288, 104 S. Ct. 3065 (1984).  Camping is defined as using an area to conduct one or more “specified activities” when it reasonably appears, in light of all the circumstances, that a person is using the area as living accommodations.

The specified activities consist of sleeping or making preparations to sleep, including laying down bedding; storing personal belongings in an area; making a fire for cooking or for warmth; or erecting a tent, lean-to or other similar structure.  The specified activities are not themselves illegal, unless they are illegalized by some other law or ordinance.  The specified activities merely trigger the inquiry concerning whether, based upon all the circumstances, it reasonably appears that the property is being used for living accommodations.  Therefore, an individual conducting one or more specified activities does not violate the ordinance unless the evidence reasonably demonstrates he or she is using the property as a living accommodation, as opposed to an incidental use.

If I can be of any further help in completing this project, please let me know.