HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-03-24 Ordinance 4404ORDINANCE NO. 4404
ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO
AMENDING CHAPTER 9.48 OF THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL
CODE RELATING TO OBSTRUCTING STR TS AND SIDEWALKS
TO ADD SECTION 9.48.025 PROHIBITING SITTING OR
LYING DOWN UPON THE PUBLIC SIDEWALK ON
UNIVERSITY AVENUE BETWEEN HIGH STREET AND COWPER
STREET
follows:
The Council of the City of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as
SFCTIQN 1. The City Council finds as follows:
(a) Sitting or lying down on the public sidewalk within
the unusually congested area of University Avenue between High
Street and Cowper Street during the hours of 11:00 a.m. to 11:00
p.m., when this street's sidewalks are heavily used by pedestrians,
distracts those pedestrians from their need to be alert for
potential tripping or slipping hazards in the sidewalk, to avoid
other pedestrians and sidewalk utility poles, fire hydrants, street
furniture, street trees and tree planter wells, news racks, and
:ther such obstacles and to be prepared to move along the sidewalk
and across the street at intersections without interruption; and,
(b) Sitting or lying down on the sidewalks of this
unusually busy street results in the delay and obstruction of the
public's free flow of travel, and results in congestion and blockage
of the sidewalks when pedestrians are required to constrict and
redirect their passage, often into the street, in order to avoid
persons sitting or lying down on the sidewalk; and,
(c) Distracted pedestrians are more prone to be involved
in accidents, and accidents on the public sidewalks constitute a
substantial safety problem which further impedes and prevents the
orderly flow of pedestrian traffic, is- unsafe not only for the
person sitting or lying down on the sidewalk but also for
pedestrian traffic sharing the same limited sidewalk space; and,
(d) The cumulative impact of this type of activity on the
city's sidewalks in this primary downtown corridor on a daily basis
has created a potential safety hazard, which poses a significant
and substantial risk to the interest of the public in the free flow
of travel in the city.
SECTION 2. Chapter 9.48 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code
entitled "Obstructing Streets and Sidewalks" is hereby amended to
add section 9.48.025 to read as follows:
"9.48.025 Sitting or lying down on University Avenue
public sidewalks prohibited.
(a) No person shall sit or lie down upon the public
sidewalk, or upon a blanket, chair, stool, or any other
object placed upon the public sidewalk adjacent to either
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side of University Avenue between the curb line of the
eastern side of High Street and the curb line of the
western side of Cowper Street during the hours between
11:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.
(b) The prohibition set forth above in this section
shall not apply to:
(1) any person sitting or lying down on the
sidewalk due to a medical emergency;
(2) any person who, as the result of a
disability, utilizes a wheelchair or similar device to move
about the public sidewalk;
(3) any child accompanied by an adult who is
seated in and using a stroller, or similar device, to move
about the public sidewalk;
(4) any person: sitting or lying down upon on a
chair, bench or planter box wall located on the public
sidewalk which is placed there by a public agency;
(5) any person sitting or lying down upon a
chair or bench located upon the public sidewalk which is
placed there by an abutting private property owner or
tenant pursuant to a Commercial Sidewalk Encroachment
Permit, Temporary Lease, or Temporary Street Closure
Permit;
(6) any person sitting or lying down while
conducting, attending, or participating in an activity or
event which is authorized by a lawfully -issued Temporary
Street Closure Permit or other permit issued by the City
which permits use of the public sidewalk;
(7) any person sitting or lying down at the
locations listed below in order to engage in speech or
expressive conduct protected under the First Amendment,
when sitting or lying down is necessary for conveyance of
the intended message of the speech or expressive conduct,
provided that no such person or group of persons shall sit
or lie down in a manner or location that restricts the
passable width of the sidewalk to less than six (6) feet:
(1) Along the University Avenue
sidewalk from the curb line at the northeastern corner
of the intersection of University Avenue and Emerson
Street across the full frontage of Lytton Plaza;
(c) No person shall be cited under this section
unless the person engages in conduct prohibited by this
section after having been notified by a law enforcement
officer that he or she is in violation of the prohibition
in this section.
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SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause
or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or
unconstitutional, the validity of the remaining portions of this
ordinance shall not be affected.
SECTION 4. The Council hereby finds and determines that
this ordinance is exempt from environmental review because it can
be seen with certainty that there is no possibility of any
significant effect on the environment.
SECTION 5. This ordinance shall be effective on the
commencement of the thirty-first day after the date of its
adoption.
INTRODUCED: MARCH 10, 1997
PASSED: MARCH 24, 1997
AYES: EAKINS, FAZZINO, HUBER, ROSE <EA ,"M, SCFti —r1tR, WHEELER
NOES: ANDERSEN, McCOWN
ABSTENTIONS:
ABSENT: K.NISS
ATTEST:
City C1e
APPROil
C y Attorney
MIS DOCUMENT IS CERTIFIED TO BE AN
ORDINANCE DULY PASSED BY THE COUNCIL.
OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND
THEREAT TER POSTED,"
CHAMBERS ON
DAYS OF ITS PASSA(
"T certify lot dire) wader penalty
perjury that the b tree
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