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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-10-15 - AGENDA REPORTS - CURFEW TRUANCY (2)UNFINISHED BUSINESS DATE: SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT: RECOMMENDED ACTION CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT City Manager Item to be pre Kevin Tonoian October 15, 1997 CURFEW RESTRICTIONS - ORDINANCE 97-16 TRUANCY PROHIBITED - ORDINANCE 97-17 Planning and Building Services City Council adopt Ordinance Nos. 97-16 and 97-17. On September 23, 1997, the City Council waived first reading, and passed proposed Ordinances 97-16 and 97-17 to second reading on October 15, 1997. At this time staff believes it is appropriate for the City Council to waive further reading, and adopt these ordinances. The proposed actions currently being considered by the City Council represent amendments to the City's existing Curfew and Truancy Ordinances. These amendments represent non - substantive modifications, and in no way impact Sheriffs Deputies ability to enforce these measures. Staff is recommending that the City Council take this action as a result of a recent court decision that invalidated the Curfew Ordinances enforced by the City of San Diego. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS Other direction as determined by the City Council. FISCAL IMPACT None by this action. KMT sA\ \kmt\9716&17b.agn Adopted: Agenda Its. / q ORDINANCE 97-16 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AMENDING CHAPTER 11.56 OF THE SANTA CLARITA MUNICIPAL CODE TO PROHIBIT ANY PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF 18 FROM BEING OUT IN PUBLIC BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 10:00 P.M. AND 6:00 A.M. WITH CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS WHEREAS, the City Council finds that there has recently been a general increase in vandalism and crimes during the evening hours, committed by juveniles in the Southern California area, as well as throughout the nation. The City of Santa Clarita has been affected by such increase in juvenile vandalism and crimes, particularly with respect to gang -related activities by minors. Gang -related activities are increasing in Santa Clarita, and minors between the ages of 12 and 17 years of age have relatively high rates of arrests and calls for services regarding their activities; and WHEREAS, the City Council further finds that the increased juvenile vandalism and crime rate during the evening hours are partly attributable to minors who are observed to be out in public after 10:00 p.m. Therefore, the community has called upon both the City of Santa Clarita and the Sheriffs Department to use their limited resources to discourage the resultant gang and other criminal behavior of these youths during the evening hours; and WHEREAS, unsupervised minors may involve themselves in unsafe activities by being out in public after 10:00 p.m. in the evening; and WHEREAS, unsupervised minors may tend to engage in criminal activity after 10:00 p.m. in the evening to the detriment of the community; and WHEREAS, the intent of the Council in enacting this ordinance is to prohibit any minor, under the age of 18, from being out in public between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m, with certain exceptions as referenced within Chapter 11.56 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code; WHEREAS, it is further the intent of the Council to provide appropriate criminal sanctions against any minor who violates this ordinance by making a violation of this ordinance an infraction. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Chapter 11.56.010 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 11.56.010 Definitions. CURFEW HOURS means any time between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. during any day of the week. ORDINANCE 97-16 Page 2 EMERGENCY means an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The term includes, but is not limited to, a fire, a natural disaster, or automobile accident, or any situation requiring immediate action to present serious bodily injury or loss of life. ESTABLISHMENT means any privately owned place of business operated for a profit to which the public is invited, including, but not limited to, any place of amusement or entertainment. GUARDIAN means a person who, under court order, is the guardian of the person of a minor, or a public or private agency with whom a minor has been placed by a court. MINOR means any person under 18 years of age. OPERATOR means any individual, firm, association, partnership, or corporation operating, managing, or conducting any establishment. The term includes the members or partners of any association or partnership and the officers of a corporation. PARENT means natural parent, adoptive parent, or step-parent of another person; or a person at least 18 years of age, and authorized by a parent or guardian to have the care and custody of a minor. PUBLIC PLACE means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes, but is not limited to, streets, highways, and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities, and shops. REMAIN means to linger, stay,.loiter, idle, wander, stroll, or play upon public or private property, or to fail to leave premises when requested to do so by a police officer or the owner, operator, or other person in control of the premises. SERIOUS BODILY INJURY means bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ. SECTION 2. Chapter 11.56.020 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 11 .56.020 Curfew Restrictions for Minors. It is unlawful for any minor under the age of 18 years to remain upon any public street, avenue, highway, road, curb area, public building, place of amusement or eating place, vacant lot, or unsupervised place between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.; provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not apply when: A. The minor is accompanied by his or her parent or guardian having the legal care or custody of the minor, or by his or her spouse 18 years of age or older; B. The minor is upon an errand at the direction of the minor's parent or guardian having the legal care or custody of the minor, or by his or her spouse 18 years of age or older, without any detour or stop; ORDINANCE 97-16 Page 3 C. The minor is in a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel; D. The minor is engaged in an employment activity, or going to or returning home from an employment activity, without any detour or stop; E. The minor is involved in an emergency type situation; F. The minor is attending an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the City of Santa Clarita, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor, or going to or returning home from, without any detour or stop, an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the City of Santa Clarita, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor, SECTION 3. Chapter 11.56.030 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 11.56.030 Aiding Curfew Violations Prohibited Every parent, guardian, or other person having the legal care, custody, or control of any person under the age of 18 years who knowingly aids, abets, or encourages such person described in Section 11.56.020 to violate any provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor. SECTION 4. Chapter 11.56.040 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 11.56.040 Enforcement. Before taking any enforcement action under this section, a police officer shall ask the apparent offender's age and reason for being in the public place. The officer shall not issue a citation or make an arrest under this section unless the officer reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and that, based on any response and other circumstances, no defense is applicable under Section 11.56.020. ORDINANCE 97-16 Page 4 SECTION 5. Chapter 11.56.050 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 11.56.050 Penalties. A person who.violates a provision of this chapter is guilty of a separate offense for each day or part of a day during which the violation is committed, continued, or permitted. Each offense, upon conviction, is punishable by a fine not to exceed $250.00. SECTION 6. Chapter 11.56.060 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 11.56.060 Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Santa Clarita hereby declares it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions may be declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 7. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this ordinance and shall cause the same to be published as required by law. PASSED AND APPROVED this day of , 1997. MAYOR ATTEST: CITY CLERK ORDINANCE 97-16 Page 5 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) § CITY OF SANTA CLARITA ) I, Sharon Dawson, City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 97-16 was regularly introduced and placed upon the first reading at a regular meeting of the City Council on the day of , 1997. That thereafter, said Ordinance was duly adopted and passed at a regular meeting of the City Council on the day of , 1997 by. the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS NOES: COUNCILMEM 3ERS ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS CITY CLERK h Ymmcy'iurfew.ord ORDINANCE NO. 97-17 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AMENDING CHAPTER 11.57 OF THE SANTA CLARITA MUNICIPAL CODE TO PROHIBIT ANY PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF 18, AND SUBJECT TO COMPULSORY SCHOOL, FROM LOITERING BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 8:30 A.M. AND 1:30 P.M. WITH CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS WHEREAS, the City Council finds that there has recently been a general increase in crimes, including violent crimes, committed by juveniles in the Southern California area, as well as throughout the nation. The City of Santa Clarita has been affected by such increase in juvenile crines, particularly with respect to gang -related activities by minors. Gang -related activities are on an upswing in Santa Clarita, and minors between the ages of 12 and 17 years of age have relatively high rates of arrests and calls for services regarding their activities; and WHEREAS, the City Council further finds that the increased juvenile crime rate is partly attributable to the high truancy rate observed by our local schools. School authorities are not prepared to adequately address sophisticated criminal and highly violent behavior of some juveniles, particularly once they leave school grounds. Therefore, the community has called upon both the City of Santa Clarita and the Sheriffs Department to use their limited resources to discourage the resultant gang and other criminal behavior of these youths; and WHEREAS, at a July 1996 gathering of community leaders representing local municipal government, the Newhall Municipal Court, the County of Los Angeles Sheriff s Department, the District Attorney's Office and Probation Department, and the Williams S. Hart School District, it was agreed that the level of truancy observed in the City of Santa Clarita warranted the adoption of a Daytime Loitering Ordinance; and WHEREAS, students who are absent from school without a valid excuse are denied an education; and WHEREAS, unsupervised students may involve themselves in unsafe activities by loitering in residential neighborhoods, business districts, and malls; and WHEREAS, unsupervised students may engage in criminal activity to the detriment of the community; and WHEREAS, unsupervised students become a burden on law enforcement services personnel who must return them to school, wait for parents to pick them up, andinvestigateany and all criminal activity related to a student's truancy; and WHEREAS, the intent of the Council in enacting this ordinance is to prohibit any minor, under the age of 18, who is subject to compulsory education or to compulsory continuation education, subject to specific exceptions related herein, to remain in or upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds, or other public grounds between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on days when said student's school is in session; and ORDINANCE 97-17 Page 2 WHEREAS, it is further the intent of the Council to provide appropriate criminal sanctions against any minor who violates this ordinance by making a violation of this ordinance an infraction. THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Chapter 11.57.010 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 11.57.010 Definitions. TRUANCY means any person under the age of 18 who is subject to compulsory education or to compulsory continuation education and is found off school grounds, on any day that school is in session, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. without a valid excuse. EMERGENCY means an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The term includes, but is not limited to, a fire, a natural disaster, or automobile accident, or any situation requiring immediate action to present serious bodily injury or loss of life. ESTABLISHMENT means any privately owned place of business operated for a profit to which the public is invited, including, but not limited to, any place of amusement or entertainment. GUARDIAN means a person who, under court order, is the guardian of the person of a minor, or a public or private agency with whom a minor has been placed by a court. MINOR means any person under 18 years of age. OPERATOR means any individual, firm, association, partnership, or corporation operating, managing, or conducting any establishment. The term includes the members or partners of any association or partnership and the officers of a corporation. PARENT means a natural parent, adoptive parent, or step-parent of another person, or a person at least 18 years of age; and authorized by a parent or guardian to have the care and custody of a minor. PUBLIC PLACE means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes, but is not limited to, streets, highways, and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities, and shops. REMAIN means to linger, stay, loiter, idle, wander, stroll, or play upon public or private property, or to fail to leave premises when requested to do so by a police officer or the owner, operator, or other person in control of the premises. ORDINANCE 97-17 Page 3 VALID EXCUSE means any specific exception included within Section 11.57.30 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code. SECTION 2. Chapter 11.57.020 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 11.57.020 Prohibited Act. No minor under the age of eighteen (18), who is subject to compulsory education or to compulsory continuation education, shall, alone or in concert with others, remain upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds, or other public grounds, public places, public buildings, places of amusement and eating places, vacant lots, or any place open to the public between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. of the same day when said minor's school is in session. SECTION 3. Chapter 11.57.030 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 11.57.030 Valid Excuses. The provisions of Section 11.57.020 shall not apply when: A. The minor has in his or her possession w written excuse from the minor's parent(s), legal guardian(s), or other adult person(s) having the legal care or custody of said minor, which excuse provides a reasonable explanation, as determined by the court, for the minors absence from school; B. The minor is accompanied by his or her parent, guardian, or other adult person over the age of eighteen having the care and custody of the minor; C. The minor is on an emergency errand directed by his or her parent or guardian or other adult person having the care and custody of the minor; D. The minor is going to or coming directly from his or her place of gainful employment; E. The minor is going to or coming from a medical appointment; ORDINANCE 97-17 Page 4 F. The minor has permission to leave campus for lunch or a school -related activity and has in his or her possession a valid, school -issued, off -campus permit or is supervised by school personnel; G. The presence of such minor in said place or places is connected with or required with respect to a business, trade, profession, or occupation in which the minor is lawfully engaged. SECTION 4. Chapter 11:57.040 of the Santa Clarity Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 11.57.040 Penalty. Each violation of Section 11.57.020 shall constitute a separate offense and shall be an infraction, and the peace officer shall be authorized to issue a citation to appear in a juvenile traffic court of competent jurisdiction or to file a juvenile application for a petition to be filed under Section 601 or 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, at the discretion of the peace officer. A minor cited for an infraction under this chapter must attend a court hearing on the infraction and must be accompanied at the hearing by his or her parent(s), legal guardian(s), or other adult person(s) having the legal care or custody of said minor. If any such parental or custodial person(s) fails to attend the hearing with the minor, and unless the interests of justice would otherwise be served, the court shall continue the hearing and shall issue a citation to said parental or custodian person(s) directing said person(s) to appear at the continued hearing with the minor. Any person convicted of willfully violating this ordinance is guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding $100.00 for the first offense within a one-year period and not exceeding $250.00 for subsequent offenses within a one-year period and/or performance of community service for a total time not to exceed ten (10) hours over a period not to exceed thirty (30) days, during times other than his or her hours of school attendance or employment. The court may continue the imposition of the sentence described herein and if, after sixty (60) days, the minor has had no unexcused absences from school during that period, the minor's parents have attended a court -approved parenting class or classes, and the minor has performed sixteen (16) hours of court -approved community service, the court may cause the imposition of the fine imposed to be set aside. ORDINANCE 97-17 Page 5 SECTION 5. Chapter 11.57.050 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 11.57.050 Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Santa Clarity hereby declares it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions may be declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 6. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this ordinance and shall cause the same to be published as required by law. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this day of 1997. MAYOR ATTEST: CITY CLERK ORDINANCE 97-17 Page 6 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) § CITY OF SANTA CLARITA ) I, Sharon Dawson, City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 97-17 was regularly introduced and placed upon its first reading at a regular meeting of the City Council on the day of , 19 . That thereafter, said Ordinance was duly adopted and passed at a regular meeting of the City Council on the day of 19 by the following vote, to wit: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS CITY CLERK hAtmancy\tmu cy.2