HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-10-2012 B1 DietrickREC
1A 10 2012
CTY CLERK
i council M6M0RAn6u `
City Of san Luis oBispO, city attorneys aEpaatMent
AGENDA
DATE: July 10, 2012 CORA ! PONDENCE
Date l -item#
TO: Mayor & City Council
FROM: Christine Dietrick, City
SUBJECT: Supplemental Materials for Item B 1
Mayor and Council:
Attached for your consideration in connection with the proposed emergency ordinance before
you tonight are the Declarations of Lieutenant Keith Storton and Officer Larry Edwards of the
San Luis Obispo Police Department. The declarations are provided to give you some
information about historic enforcement practices related to San Luis Obispo Municipal Code
Section 17.16.015 from long time officers with the City's Police Department, which may be
helpful in informing your decision regarding the proposed emergency ordinance.
herd cry
email:
• COUNCIL
o CDDDIR
• CITY MGR
o FITDIR
• ASST CM
o FIRECHIEF
o ATTORNEY
o PW DIR
o CLERWORIG
o POLICE CHIEF
o PARKS k REC D1R
o UTILDIR
o HR D1R
o COUNCIL
!3 CITY MGR
o CLERK
G: \Litigation \Open Cases \SLO Homeless Alliance v City \Legislative Actions \CouncilMemo Declaratioi
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
BURKE, WILLIAMS &
SORENSEN, LLP
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
OAKLAND
DECLARATION OF KEITH STORTON
I, Keith Storton, hereby declare as follows:
1. I have personal knowledge of the facts stated in this declaration. I could and
would testify competently to these facts if called upon to do so.
2. I have been a police officer for the San Luis Obispo Police Department for 16
years and have supervised or managed patrol staff for 9 years.
3. I am aware that the Recreational Vehicle as a Dwelling Unit ordinance has been
enforced both on public streets and on private properties throughout the City. I am aware of
instances in which the ordinance has been enforced against both homeless individuals and against
residents or guests of housed individuals within the City.
4. It was my practice as an officer to advise and warn individuals who had not been
previously cited about the requirements of the ordinance before issuing citations and I am
informed and believe that is the regular practice of other officers in the Department.
5. Enforcement is generally complaint driven and the majority of complaints, in my
experience, have been related to visible and conspicuous conduct occurring in the public streets.
I declare under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of California, that the
foregoing is true and correct
Executed on this l I" day of July, 201 LatSan O ' n, C lifornia.
t'
OAK #4824 - 7225 -9087 v1
TON
-I-
DECLARATION OF LIEUTENANT KEITH STORTON
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
BURKE, WILLIAMS &
SORENSEN, LLP
ATTORNF.YS AT LAW
OAKLAND
DECLARATION OF LARRY EDWARDS
I, Larry Edwards, hereby declare as follows:
1. I have personal knowledge of the facts stated in this declaration. I could and
would testify competently to these facts if called upon to do so.
2. I have been a police officer for 13 years and have worked for the City of San Luis
Obispo for 7 years. I am aware of the city ordinance regarding using a vehicle as a dwelling and
have had to enforce the law on many occasions on private property and on public streets. As a
general rule in my enforcements contacts, I would check the SLOPD records system to see if the
person has been contacted in the past regarding a violation of section 17.16.015 of the municipal
code. If there were no documented contacts, I would typically give a verbal warning and
complete a field interview card to document the fact that they were warned. If there were prior
documented contacts, then I would either give a warning or issue a citation. On every contact, I
would ask the person to move the vehicle as soon as they were able to.
3. I have contacted people living out of their vehicles on private property as well as
city streets. Many of these contacts were as a result of a citizen complaint to the police
department. I have contacted travelers stopping to spend the night in parking lots at Home Depot
and Madonna Plaza, as well as people living out of their vehicles in the city on private property
and on city streets. I have also responded to reports of guests or residents having recreational
vehicles parked on the street in front of a residence with water and electrical lines attached from
the house, across the sidewalk, which is in violation of the ordinance. One was on 9/2/08 at 1390
Fairway, where the recreational vehicle was registered to that address with family members
staying in it. Some of my contacts were self - initiated if there was a growing problem with
multiple vehicles on the same street with people living out of them. Often, there was trash or
other miscellaneous items around these vehicles and I have seen several leaking sewage on city
OAK #4824 - 7225 -9087 vl
-I-
DECLARATION OF OFFICER LARRY EDWARDS
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
BURKE, WILLIAMS &
SORENSEN, LLP
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
MOUNTAIN VIEW
streets, and in one instance the Trader Joe's parking lot at 3977 South Higuera. I also responded
to an RN trailer that caught fire on 12/23/11 at Empleo and Bonetti at 11:00 p.m., which was
owned by a man who was living out of it there.
4. In the last 7 years, I have issued many more warnings than citations for violations
of the ordinance, and I have seen violations both on public and private properties, usually without
the consent or permission of the property owner.
I declare under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of California, that the
foregoing is true and correct
Executed on this ,4(2-th day of July, 2012 at San Luis Obispo, California.
LARIYEDWARDS
OAK #4824 - 7225 -9087 v1 _ 2 _
DECLARATION OF OFFICER LARRY EDWARDS