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ANAHEIM, Calif. (Nov. 25, 2024) — New city laws take effect this week covering obstruction of public spaces, bike nuisances and an expansion of Anaheim’s smoking ban to parks and other places.
The laws — two additional ordinances and an amendment to an existing one — take effect Nov. 28, or 30 days after the City Council’s final approval of the changes on Oct. 29.
The new and expanded ordinances apply to everyone in Anaheim, including those living in homelessness.
The changes address life destroying drug use, loss of public spaces and other unsustainable issues at Anaheim parks, bus stops, along streets, freeways and railways and other public spaces.
As part of city or state laws, Anaheim already prohibits camping, bike theft and smoking in many places, with the new laws expanding on existing regulations.
Public spaces
One set of changes adds provisions to the Anaheim Municipal Code prohibiting abandoned property on sidewalks and other public spaces, lying on or otherwise obstructing sidewalks, staying in medians, parkways and other landscaped areas and using bus benches, park tables and other spaces for extended sleeping or lying down.
Public spaces covered include but are not limited to:
- Walkways
- Curbs
- Bus benches
- Other benches
- Tables
- Playground
- Crossings
- Intersections
- Roads
- Landscaping
- Medians
- Driveways
- Ramps
- Loading docks
- Fire hydrants and other connections
- Businesses
- Buildings
- ATMs
- Charging stations
- Restrooms
- Schools
- Day cares
Prohibited obstructions include but are not limited to:
- Sleeping
- Laying
- Sitting
- Unattended items
- Chairs
- Buckets
- Crates
- Public storing of items
The obstruction of public spaces ordinance is part of the Anaheim Municipal Code title 11 as chapter 11.11.
You can read the ordinance here.
Bike restrictions
Another added municipal code chapter addresses bike thefts and sales as part of what are known as “chop shops,” or makeshift bike disassembly and parts sales.
Anaheim sees about 250 reported stolen bikes each year with many disassembled for sale as parts.
The new law covers public spaces and prohibits assembling, disassembling, selling or distributing multiple bikes, having disassembled bike frames, bikes with missing parts and multiple bike parts.
Specifically, the law covers but is not limited to:
- Having three or more bikes in public
- Having inoperable bike frames in public
- Having two or more bikes with missing parts in public
- Having five or more bike parts in public
Public spaces include but are not limited to:
- Streets
- Alleys
- Parking lots
- Parks
- Sidewalks
- Walkways
- Roads
The bike restrictions are part of the Anaheim Municipal Code as chapter 11.13 within title 11.
You can read the ordinance here.
Smoking
An update of the municipal code extends the city’s smoking ban to parks and restrooms as well as near bus benches, schools and day care centers.
Smoking cannabis or other drugs, which is never allowed in parks, is also covered by the changes.
Specifically, the amended ordinance prohibits smoking or lighting cigars, cigarettes, pipes, electronic cigarettes or other smoking devices in designated public spaces.
Smoking of tobacco, nicotine, cannabis, other plant products or any “combustible substance in any form” is prohibited in designated public spaces.
The ordinance does not cover smoking in private homes (where that may be allowed in cases with a landlord or association).
Public areas covered by the amended ordinance include but are not limited to:
- Parks
- Park bathrooms
- Within 25 of schools
- Within 25 feet of day cares
- Within 25 of bus stops and other transit
The bike restrictions are part of an amended chapter 6.30 of the Anaheim Municipal Code within tile 6.
You can read the updated, redlined ordinance here.
Violations
Violations of the new and expanded ordinances are punishable as misdemeanors or infractions.
Anaheim Police and Code Enforcement will have discretion with citations or arrests with a goal of gaining voluntarily compliance.
Officers and the Anaheim city attorney’s office have the option of directing violators to shelter, mental health, substance abuse, housing or other services instead of citation or jail.
The laws apply to everyone in Anaheim, including vendors, businesses, residents, visitors and others.
A goal of the laws to address some extreme impacts on parks and other public spaces and to use regulations to encourage those resistant to help to accept assistance in breaking the cycle of homelessness.
Even with violations that end up before a judge, help will continue to be extended as part of the Access program, an innovative collaboration between Anaheim and the courts.
The Access program brings social workers and others to court to offer services and case management as an alternative to sentencing, with accountability and jail time possible if multiple offers of help are declined.
Since 2023, more than 300 people have been assessed as part of Access, with nearly half, 145, taking part in court-supervised plans.
Twenty-three have earned dismissals of cases by graduating from the program and stabilizing their lives.
Where warranted, those who decline the program’s help can be sentenced to extended jail time or have arrest warrants enforced or issued.
The new city laws follow stepped up outreach, enforcement and restoring of public spaces by the city of Anaheim.
Since September, we have cleared parks, sidewalks and freeways and installed high-visibility, monitored cameras throughout our city.
The cameras are a visual deterrent and allow for announcements warning people about being in parks afterhours or of other unpermitted or illegal activity.
Along railways, one of the most dangerous places for anyone to be, we are clearing encampments each week and working with Union Pacific Railroad to ensure people do not camp along rail lines.
The new laws and efforts follow June’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, which allows cities to address encampments and other homeless-related issues.
They also follow a July executive order from California Gov. Gavin Newsom directing state agencies and local governments to address homeless encampments.
The impacts of homelessness are a top concern we hear from residents and businesses about parks and other public spaces.
We are working to ensure that parks, sidewalks, bus benches, business spaces and other places are available to everyone for their intended uses, while always providing help to those in need.
Our focus is on providing shelter and services with enforcement as a resort when someone declines offers of help.
Anaheim does more than any other Orange County city to help people out of homelessness with daily social worker outreach, substance abuse recovery, mental health and other services, emergency shelter and long-term supportive housing.
You can see all we do to address homelessness at Anaheim.net/homelessness.
