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Ordinance 1899 - Prohibits Excess Personal Property Storage in ParksORDINANCE NO. 1899 AN ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE STORAGE, PLACEMENT, AND MAINTENANCE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY IN A MANNER THAT INTERFERES WITH THE USE OF PUBLIC PROPERTY IN THE CITY OF KALISPELL, DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE, AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO CODIFY THE SAME. WHEREAS, the City of Kalispell's property such as parks, streets, sidewalks, benches, and public gathering spaces are valuable amenities that are used and enjoyed by residents and visitors alike; and WHEREAS, in recent years, individuals have used the City's property to store personal items and garbage thus interfering with other's rights to access and use such public property; and WHEREAS, the City has received numerous complaints from businesses, residents, and visitors about individuals storing personal items on public property; and WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the City, its residents, and its visitors to ensure that public property and spaces are kept sanitary and free from items that impede use of public property; and WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the City of Kalispell and its inhabitants to prohibit the storage, placement, and maintenance of personal property in a manner that interferes with the use of public property. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KALISPELL, MONTANA, AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. A new Section is hereby added to Chapter 19 of the Kalispell City Code as set forth in Exhibit A attached hereto. SECTION 2. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word in this section is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this section. SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after its final adoption by the City Council of the City of Kalispell, Montana. PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND SIGNED BY THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF KALISPELL THIS 21 ST DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2023. ATTEST: Ain4ee Brunckhorst, CMC City Clerk Mark Johnso Mayor r .0 N1 EXHIBIT A Chapter 19, Section 37 - Excessive Personal Property Interfering with the Use of Public Property A. PURPOSE: Public areas should be accessible and available to residents and the public at large for their intended uses. The unauthorized use of public property for the storage of excessive personal property interferes with the rights of other members of the public to use public areas for their intended purposes, including those with accessibility issues, and can create a public health or safety hazard that adversely affects residential and commercial areas. The purpose of this chapter is to maintain public areas in a clean, sanitary, and accessible condition to prevent the misappropriation of public areas for personal use, and to promote the public health and safety by ensuring that public areas remain readily accessible for their intended uses. B. DEFINITIONS: As used in this chapter, the terms are defined as follows: EXCESSIVE: More than what a reasonable person would carry with theirs as the most rudimentary precaution or for the enjoyment or use of the public property or an amount of property that will interfere with another's use of public property. PERSON: Any natural person or individual, group, business, business trust, company, corporation, partnership, entity, association, club, or organization composed of two or more individuals. PERSONAL PROPERTY: Any and all tangible things or property, including, without limitation, goods, materials, products, and merchandise or food of any kind. PUBLIC PROPERTY: That portion of any public area or public areas within the City that are owned, managed, controlled, or maintained by the City, including, without limitation, any park, parking lot, street, alley, median strip, space, ground, building, structure, sidewalk, avenue, highway, curb, bikeway, or any right-of-way or other public way in the City, improved or unimproved. STORE: To put aside or accumulate for use when needed, or to put for safekeeping, and/or to place or leave or lay away in a location for preservation or later use or disposal, separate and apart from being carried, kept, or stored upon one's person. C. PROHIBITED CONDUCT: It is unlawful for a person or persons to place, store, or maintain excessive personal property on public property and in a manner that: 1. Deprives another the use of the same property; 2. Creates a health or sanitation issue; 3. Creates an obstruction; or 4. Causes a public area to be uninviting to others. D. VIOLATION — PENALTY. Any violation of the restrictions set forth in this section may be treated as a municipal infraction as provided in section 1-12 of this code, and the person violating the restrictions set forth in this section may be assessed a civil penalty as provided in section 1-12 of this code. E. ABANDONED PERSONAL PROPERTY. Abandoned personal property stored on public property shall be tagged with a date, time, and location, removed to a City owned facility, and held by the City for a period of 30 days or as required by State law during which time the owner may reclaim the personal property. Abandoned personal property that has not been reclaimed within this time frame shall be disposed of by the City.