HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 16061
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ORDINANCE NO. 1606
ORDINANCE OF THE CTI Y OF BURLINGAME
ADOPTING AN URGENCY ORDINANCE
PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 36937
AMENDING CHAPTER 10.24 — CURFEW FOR MINORS
The CITY COUNCIL of the CITY OF BURI,INGAME does hereby ordain as follows:
Section 1.
A. The United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that the common
curfew laws in the State of California are no longer valid, and that they must be rewritten to allow
minors more rights to travel after the hour set by the community as a curfew for minors. This
ordinance is intended to address the objections made by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and
to narrowly provide a means for the City to provide protection to minors who may be left without
or outside of parental supervision.
B. The City's curfew law has served the City well. Juvenile cri
me and graffiti have been
minimizeA, and there is a strong sense of safety and securi
ty in the commercial and residential
districts of the City. However, the popularity of the Bayfront and the entertainment areas of
Burlingame Avenue and Broadway is attracting a rowdy and criminal element that requires law
enforcement involvement and poses significant danger to young people in the nighttime. Because
minors are prohibited from bars and taverns that provide most of the centers for gathering and
entertainment, they can instead be led into illegal consumption of alcohol, use of drugs, gang
activities, and vandalism. There are few reasons for a minor, particularly of the age of sixteen and
below, to be hanging out after ten p.m.
C. As with labor laws govern
ing employment of minors, this narrowly drafted ordinance
will allow minors to undertake necessary activities, while ensuri
ng they are safe.
D. This ordinance allows parents the right to appropriately superv
ise and guide their
children, while ensuring that the vast majority ofparents ' concern
s about their children's safety are
addressed by complementary government assistance. In addition, many homes have single par
ents
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or both parents working, making supervision more difficult. Law enforcement officers will be able
to verify that children have legitimate business in the middle of the night, and that they have the
permission of their parents or guardians to be out and about.
E. A curfew ordinance also provides an effective weapon in combating juvenile crime.
This ordinance establishes hours when minors are not expected to be present in residential and
commercial neighborhoods, and law enforcement can appropriately intervene when a group of
juveniles is found in a residential or commercial neighborhood at strange hours of the night.
F. Cities that abandoned enforcement of curfew ordinances or repealed curfew ordinances
have found that juvenile crime and associated problems increased, and across the country, cities
have begun to adopt or enforce curfew laws similar to the previous City curfew ordinance and the
one proposed below. Those cities have found that adoption and enforcement are effective tools
in reducing gang violence, juvenile crime and vandalism, and other juvenile difficulties.
G. Pursuant to Government Code § 36937(b), this ordinance shall take effect immediately
because it is important to the preservation of public peace and safety. The effect of the Ninth
Circuit decision is make enforcement of the existing City curfew for minors ordinance impossible,
meaning that there is no actual curfew ordinance in place. This places juveniles and the community
at risk as described above. The proposed ordinance reduces many of the limitations currently in
the ordinance, such as the number of hours, and provides a number of exemptions. The ordinance
brings the curfew limitations in line with current federal law regarding the issue. Therefore, to
avoid litigation regarding the existing provisions while continuing to provide a safe environment
for the community, particularly juveniles, this ordinance should take effect immediately.
Section 2. Chapter 10.24 is amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 10.24
CURFEW FOR MIN
10.24.010
Definitions.
10.24.020
Curfew hours.
10.24.030
Exemptions.
10.24.040
Enforcement procedures.
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10.24.010 Definitions.
The following definitions shall apply to this chapter:
(a) "Emergency" means an unforeseen circumstance or circumstances or the resulting
situation that calls for immediate action to prevent serious injury, loss of life, or serious property
damage. The term includes, but is not limited to, a fire, natural disaster, or vehicle accident.
minor.
(b) "Guardian" means:
(1) A person who is the guardian of the person of a minor pursuant to a court
order; or
(2) A public or private entity with whom a minor has been placed by a court order;
or
(3) A person who is at least eighteen (18) years of age and authorized by a parent
or guardian to have the care and custody of a minor.
(c) "Minor" means a person under the age of eighteen years.
(d) "Parent" means a person who is a natural parent, adoptive parent, or step-parent of a
(e) "Public place" means:
(1) Any out-of-door area to which the public or a substantial group of the public
has access, including, but not limited to, streets, highways, sidewalks, alleys, parks,
playgrounds, or other public grounds; and
(2) The out -of --doors common areas, such as entry ways and parking lots, of
businesses to which the public is invited, including but not limited to, any place of
amusement, entert
ainment, or recreation.
I 10.24.020 Curfew hours.
(a) It is unlawful for an
y minor under the age of sixteen (16) years to be in any public place
within the city between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., except as provided in Section
10.24.030 below.
(b) It is unlawful for any minor under the age of eighteen (18) years to be in any public
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place within the city between the hours of 11:30 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., except as provided in Section
10.24.030 below.
10.24.030 Exemptions.
A minor shall not be in violation of Section 10.24.020 if at the time that the minor was
detained by peace officer, the minor was:
(a) Accompanied by the minor's parent or guardian; or
(b) On an errand at the direction of the minor's parent or guardian, without unnecessary
detour or stop; or
(c) Driving or riding in a motor vehicle or publicly owned transportation; or
(d) Engaged in lawful volunteer or paid employment activity, or going to or returning home
from a lawful volunteer or paid employment activity, without unnecessary detour or stop; or
(e) Acting in response to an emergency; or
(f) On the sidewalk abutting the minor's residence or abutting the residence that is
immediateI
y adjacent to the minor's residence; or
(g) Attending or going to or return
ing home, without unnecessary detour or stop, from a
school, religious, cultural, sports, amusement, entert
ainment, or recreation activity, or any
organized rally, demonstration, meeting, or similar activity; or
(h) Waiting at a train or bus station or stop for transport
ation; or
(i) Emancipated in accordance with California law.
10.24.040 Enforcement procedures.
(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preclude minors from being in a public
place for the purpose of exercising the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United
States Constitution or by the California Constitution, including the free exercise of religion,
freedom of speech, right of assembly, freedom of association, right to petition, and right to privacy
as applied by decisional law to minors of a particular age.
(b) Before taking enforcement action under this chapter, a peace officer shall
ask the
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apparent offender's age and reason for being in the public place.
(c) A peace officer may take enforcement action under this chapter only when the peace
officer has probable cause to believe that neither subsection (a) above nor any exemption under
Section 10.24.030 applies to the offender's reasons for being present in the public place.
Section 3. This ordinance shall be published as required by law and take effect
immediately.
Mayor
I, JUDITH A. MALFATTI, City Clerk of the City of Burlingame, do hereby certify that
the foregoing ordinance was introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held
on the 20' day of January, 1999, by at least a four-fifths vote of the Council as follows:
AYES: COUNCILMEMEERS: GALLIGAN, 7ANNEY, KNIGHT, O'MAHONY, SPINELLI
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
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