HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-10-15 - ORDINANCES - TRUANCY PROHIBITION (4)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
crimes, 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 Sheriff s 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 Sheriffs 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, and investigate any 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 a 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 minor's 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 Clarita 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 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 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 15th day of October , 1997.
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 93rd day of GPp temhi r ,
19 97 . That thereafter, said Ordinance was duly adopted and passed at a regular meeting
of the City Council on the 15th day of o.Qt;aber 19 97 by the
following vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Heidt, Klajic, Boyer, Darcy, Smyth
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS- None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
CITY CLERK
hAtruancy\truancy.2