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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-03-11; City Council; 17102; Amending Chapter 8.04 of the Municipal CodeCITY OF CARLSBAD -AGENDA BILL aJ AB# 17,102 DEPT. HD. TITLE: ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 8.04 OF THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO PARENTAL VICTIMIZATION PREVENTION MTG. 3-11-03 CITY MGR. DEPT. POLICE CITY ATTY. RESPONSIBILITY AND JUVENILE CRIME AND RECOMMENDED ACTION: Introduce Ordinance No. NS-658 , amending Chapter 8.04 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code pertaining to Parental Responsibility and Juvenile Crime and Victimization Prevention. ITEM EXPLANATION: The Police Department is proposing two revisions to the City’s current curfew ordinance: (1) amending the nighttime curfew hours, and (2) expanding the list of exceptions to the ordinance. Each of these proposed revisions is discussed below. The Police Department had previously proposed these two revisions along with the addition of a daytime curfew. The prior proposal was introduced at the City Council meeting of February 4, 2003, and scheduled for final action at the City Council meeting of February 11, 2003. However, on February 11, 2003, the City Council decided not to take final action on the prior proposal. Instead, the City Council referred the proposal back to City staff, requesting that these two revisions be processed separately from the daytime curfew and that the need for the daytime curfew be studied in more detail before being brought back for the City Council’s consideration. Amending Nighttime Curfew Hours The City first enacted a juvenile nighttime curfew ordinance on June 19, 1956. Though the City never experienced any enforcement difficulties with the ordinance, on June IO, 1997, a virtually identical ordinance in the City of San Diego was invalidated by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for being vague and overbroad. In response, the City of San Diego, the City of Carlsbad, and other jurisdictions in the County revised their juvenile curfew ordinances to address the court‘s concerns. The City of Carlsbad enacted its revised ordinance on August 5, 1997, and, as before, has not experienced any enforcement difficulties with it. However, on May 8, 2002, the San Diego County Grand Jury released a report entitled, “Truancy & Curfew Practices - The Lack of Consistency and Uniformity and its Impact on San Diego County.’’ The report found, among other things, that nighttime curfew regulations were being inconsistently enforced among the various jurisdictions in the County. To address this problem, the report recommended that each of the eighteen incorporated cities in the County adopt uniform nighttime curfew hours of 11:OO p.m. to 500 a.m. In its response to the Grand Jury’s report, the City indicated that it would consider the recommendation. The City’s current nighttime curfew hours are from 1O:OO p.m. to one-half before sunrise of the following day. Upon receiving the Grand Jury’s report, the Police Department reviewed these curfew hours with its officers and concluded that the hours were generally effective and desirable. Nonetheless, the majority of jurisdictions in the County have nighttime curfew hours of 11 :00 p.m. to 5:OO a.m. and some officers have received complaints from parents I and juveniles about the disparity in curfew hours among the various jurisdictions. After considering this information, the Police Department believes that adjusting the City’s current nighttime curfew hours to those used by the majority of jurisdictions in the County will not reduce the effectiveness of the curfew hours. Instead, the Police Department believes that adjusting the curfew hours will. help both parents and juveniles with compliance by providing them with consistent standards to apply. Accordingly, the Police Department recommends the City Council amend the nighttime curfew hours to 11 :00 p.m. to 500 a.m. each day as suggested by the Grand Jury. Adding Exceptions to Curfew Ordinance When curfew ordinances are challenged, they are typically challenged by parents who are concerned about undue government interference with their parenting decisions. The courts have been largely sympathetic to this concern. However, from the very first time it enacted the curfew ordinance, the City Council of Carlsbad has continually affirmed its belief that parental supervision is the most effective means of protecting juveniles and preventing juvenile crimes, and reiterated its intent for the curfew ordinance to support rather than supplant parental supervision. To demonstrate this intent, the ordinance contains a number of exceptions that allow parents to direct and manage the activities of their children. For instance, the ordinance does not apply when the juvenile is accompanied by a parent, running an errand for a parent, or attending a school, religious, recreational, or civic function. The courts have been responsive to these exceptions and have generally upheld those ordinances that provide them. Since the City’s curfew ordinbnce was last revised in 1997, cases have been decided which suggest the need to add two new exceptions: one for juveniles who are engaged in interstate travel, and one for juveniles who are emancipated. Accordingly, the Police Department recommends the City Council amend the curfew ordinance to add these exceptions. FISCAL IMPACT: The Police Department enforces the City’s current curfew ordinance with its existing resources and does not anticipate the need for additional resources to enforce the proposed amendments to the ordinance. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The recommended action does not constitute a “project” under CEQA and, therefore, no environmental review is required. EXHIBITS: 1. Ordinance No. NS-658 2. Strike-Out Version of Proposed Revisions ORDINANCE NO. NS-658 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING CHAPTER 8.04 OF THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND JUVENILE CRIME AND VICTIMIZATION PREVENTION. WHEREAS, the City Council, pursuant to the police powers delegated to it by the California Constitution, has the authorii to enact laws which promote the health, safety and welfare of its citizens; and WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that juveniles, because of their lack of maturity and experience, are especially vulnerable to being victimized by older perpetrators of crime and to becoming participants in unlawful activities involving alcohol, drugs, graffiti, vandalism, theft, and gang-related crimes; and WHEREAS, it is the City Council’s conviction that the exercise of parental authority is the most effective means of protecting juveniles and preventing crimes by juveniles; however, in the absence of parental supervision, or to more forcefully support the exercise of parental supervision, the City Council has a duty to enact measures for the protection of juveniles and the general public. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad does ordain as follows: SECTION 1. That Section 8.04.010 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended to read as follows: “8.04.010 Title and purpose. fhs chapter shall be entitled the Parental Responsibili and Juvenile Crime and Victimization Prevention Law of the city of Carlsba ry. The purpose of this chapter is: (a) To promote the public health, safety, and welfare by reducing juvenile vlolence and crime within the city; and (b) To protect juveniles, whose lack of maturity and experience renders them especially vulnerable to bein victimized by older perpetrators of crime and to becoming participants in un 9 awful activities involving alcohol, drugs, fc) To foster and strengthen parental responsibility for juveniles.’’ SECTION 2. That Section 8.04.020 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is -. raffiti, vandalism, theft and gang-related crimes; and 3rdinance No. 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 amended to read as follows: “8.04.020 Definitions. (a 1 “Curfew hours” means the hours between 11:OO p.m. and 5:OO a.m. ti$h daz. mancipated” means a juvenile who is self-supporting and in ependent of parental control as a result of a court order or by marriage of the juvenile under California Famil Code section 302. (c) “Emergency” means the un Y oreseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The term includes, without limitation, a fire, a natural disaster, an automobile accident, or any situation requirin immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss of life. placed the subject juvenile. (8 “Parent” means a person who is a natural parent, adoptive parent, or stepparent of the subject juvenile. (9) “Public place’’ means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes, without limitation, sidewalks, streets, highways, arks, trails, beaches, vacant lots, and the common areas of schools, hospita P s, offices buildings, housing complexes, and shopping centers. (h) “Responsible adult” means a person at least eighteen years of age who is authorized by a parent or guardian to have temporary care, custody or control of the subject juvenile. nsk of death or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.” SECTION 3. That Section 8.04.030 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is (d) “guardian” means a person who, under court order, is the guardian of the subject juvenile, or a public or private agency with which a court has “Juvenile” means any person under the age of eighteen. <!I “Serious bodily injury” means bodily injury that creates a substantial amended to read as follows: “8.04.030 Prohibition- Juvenile. UO, it is unlawful for any juvenile to be present in any public place during curfew hours.” SECTION 4. That Section 8.04.040 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended to read as follows: “8.04.040 Prohibition- Adult. txcept as provided in Section 8.04.050, it is unlawful for a parent, guardian, or responslble adult to knowingly, or by insufficient control, permit a juvenile to be present in any public place during curfew hours.” SECTION 5. That Section 8.04.050 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended to read as follows: “8.04.050 Exceptions. Sections 8.04.030 and 8.04.040 do not amlv: (a) When the juvenile is accompanied bja parent, guardian, or responsible adult, or 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 (b) When the juvenile is on an errand without detour or stop that is directed by a parent, guardian, or responsible adult, or (c) When the juvenile is engaged In, or traveling without detour or stop to or from a school, religious, recreational, or civic function supervised by adults and sponsored by a school, religious, recreational, or civic organization taking responsibility for the juvenile, or (d) When the juvenile is traveling without detour or stop to or from the juvenile’s place of employment or is engaged in employment-related activities, or (e) When the juvenile is traveling without detour or stop to or from a medical appointment, or When the juvenile is in a motor vehicle enga ed in interstate travel, or &)) When the juvenile is on a sidewalk abutting t a e juvenile’s home, or the home of a guardian or responsible adult, or h) When the juvenile is involved in an emergency, or i) When the Juvenile is enga ed in “expressive activities” protected by the s eech, or the right of assembly, or (jy When the juvenile is emancipated.” SECTION 6. That Section 8.04.060 of the Cadsbad Municipal Code is or state constitutions, SUC a as the free exercise of religion, freedom of amended to read as follows: “8.04.060 Violations. Any juvenile, parent, guardian, or responsible adult who violates any rovision of this chapter is guilty of an infraction, except that the fourth and eac R additional violation of a provision within one shall be a misdemeanor. Penalties for a violation of this chapter shall designated in Section 1.08.010 of this Code.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE: This ordinance shall be effective thirty days after its adoption. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this ordinance and cause it to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Carlsbad within fifteen days after its adoption. SEVERABILITY: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or other portion of this ordinance, or its application to any person, is, for any reason, declared invalid, in whole or in part by any court or agency of competent jurisdiction, said decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions. /I I/ I/ I/ Ordinance No. NS-658 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, clauses, phrases, or parts be declared to be invalid or unconstitutional. INTRODUCED AND FIRST READ at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Carlsbad on the 11th day Of MARCH ,2003, and thereafter. PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Carlsbad on the day of ,2003, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: NOES: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: RONALD H. BALL CLAUDt A. LEWIS, MAYOR ATTEST: LORRAINE M. WOOD, CI I Y CLtRK (SEAL) 3rdinance No. NS-658 4 I PROPOSED REVISIONS TO CHAPTER 8.04 OF THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE - STRIKE-OUT VERSION 8.04.010 Title and Pprpose”e&. .. mtch 2 This chapter shall be entitled the Parental Responsibility and Juvenile Crime and Victimization Prevention Law of the city of Carlsbad. The purpose of this chapter is: [a) To promote the public health, safety, and welfare by reducing iuvenile violence and crime within the city; and [b) To protect juveniles, whose lack of maturity and experience renders them especially vulnerable to being victimized by older perpetrators of crime and to becoming participants in unlawful activities involving alcohol, drugs, .graffiti, vandalism, theft, and gang-related crimes; and IC) To foster and strengthen parental responsibility for juveniles. 8.04.020 Definitions. As used in this chapter: (a) “Curfew hours” means the hours between 1 1 :00 p.m. and 5:OO a.m. .. (b) “Emanicipated” means a iuvenile who is self-supporting and independent of parental control as a result of a court order or by marriape of the juvenile under California Family Code section 302. Proposed Revisions to CMC Chapter 8.04 Page 2 (C) "Emergency" - means the unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The term includes, without limitation, a fire, a natural disaster, an automobile accident, or any situation requiring, immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss of life. (d) "Guardian" means (1) a person who, under court order, is the guardian of the person of the subiect juvenile, or (2) a public or private agency with which the court has placed the subject juvenile. (e) "Juvenile" means any person under the ape of eighteen. (f) "Parent" means a person who is a natural parent, adoptive parent, or stepparent of the subject juvenile. (bg) "Public place" means any place to which -the public or a substantial group of the public has access] .. .. .. and includes, without limitation, sidewalks. streets, highways, parks, trails, beaches, vacant lots, -and the common areas of schools, hospitals, -ffice buildings, housing complexes, andshopping centers+mtha&s. (6) ''3: * 11 (&) "Responsible adult" means*.nrPllfgerson at least eighteen years of age who is authorized bv a parent or guardian to have . .. temporary care, custodya"contro1 of the subject juvenile. (i) "Serious bodily iniury" means bodily iniury 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. Proposed Revisions to CMC Chapter 8.04 Page 3 8.04.030 Prohibition--Juvenile. Except as provided in Section 8.04.050, it is unlawful for anvF3e-juvenileWmbe present in any public place during curfew hours. 8.04.040 Prohibition-Adult. I Except as provided in Section 8.04.050, it is unlawful for a parent, guardian, or responsible adult to ~knot-owingly-pemA, or by insufficient control, &Hw+pennit a juvenile to be present in any public place during curfew hours. 8.04.050 Exceptions. . .. isections 8.04.030 and 8.04.04U&not apply* (a) When the iuvenile is Agccompanied by kis-erkenz-a parent, wardian, or responsible adultta (b) When the juvenile is on an errand without detour or stop that is directed bv a parent, guardian, or responsible adult, or {c) When the iuvenile is engaged in, or traveling without detour or stop to or from, a school, religious, recreational, or civic function supervised by adults and sponsored by a school, religious, recreational, or civic organization taking responsibility for the juvenile, or (” When the juvenile is traveling without detour or stop to or from the juvenile’s place of employment or is Egngaged in 1 employment-related activities, 0% Proposed Revisions to CMC Chapter 8.04 Page 4 (e) When the iuvenile is traveling without detour or stop to or from a medical appointment, or (0 When the iuvenile is in a motor vehicle enpaned in interstate travel, or (E) When the iuvenile is on a sidewalk abutting the iuvenile’s home, or the home of a guardian or responsible adult, or (€€I) When the iuvenile isl+gaged involved in any emergency-Lr (i) When the juvenile is engaged in “expressive activities” protected bv the federal or state constitutions, such as the free exercise of religious, freedom of speech, or the right of assembly, or (i) When the iuvenile is emancipated. &” .. .. .. .. 8.04.060 Violations. Any juvenile, parent, nuardian, or responsible adult who violates any &&+provisions of this chapter is guilty of an infraction, except *wthe fourth e#‘& each additional violation of a provision within one year which shall be a misdemeanor. Penalties for a violation of this chapter shall be as designated in Section 1.08.010 of this Code.