City Moves to Avoid 'Threat' of Occupy Encampment

Although the Occupy movement never made it closer to Lake Forest than neighboring Irvine, the city is moving to preempt any such long-term encampments in town.

Sleeping overnight on city property is already a violation of city laws, but there's no rule that specifically bars camping out during the day.

Lake Forest's City Council on Tuesday will consider significantly expanding its camping code as currently written from one sentence to about three pages.

The proposed ordinance would ban camping on city property during the daytime, as well as forbid the storage of cots, bedrolls, tarps and other camping equipment in those same areas.

Expanding the scope of the ordinance would "increase the enforcement tools" available to the city to deal with people camping out in city parks or other government-owned areas, City Attorney Scott Smith said.

"It will also provide the City better enforcement authority in the event the City faces the threat of long-term occupation of City property as occurred in other cities during the recent 'Occupy' movement," Smith wrote in a report to the council.

The proposed ordinance "emulates provisions of other cities’ codes that have been tested and upheld in court challenges," according to Smith. Case law resulting from the Occupy movement in other cities influenced its development, he said.

Were the city to become the target of an Occupy-style encampment, the revisions would make it easier for Lake Forest law enforcement to regulate any such protests.

Reviewing the ordinance is part of an annual check of the city's laws for provisions that need updates or clarification.

Under the current ordinance, camping of any form is forbidden without permission from the city on public property—defined as "lands or easements owned or managed" by the Lake Forest government.

The new text, however, is much more comprehesive. For example, it defines public property as government-owned, maintained or operated:

• land, improved or unimproved
• facilities or buildings
• educational institutions
• streets, rights-of-way, alleyways, passageways
• parks, landscaped areas or greenbelts
• parking lots
• sidewalks, curbs and gutters

The council meets 7 p.m. Tuesday at , 25550 Commercentre Dr.

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