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Abate or abatement means having the individuals in an unauthorized camp vacate the site and remove their personal property or property they desire to keep from the camp site so the city may clean and restore the site to its original intended lawful purpose.

Camp, camping, or encampment means the use of property for the purpose of unauthorized overnight occupancy, or to reside or dwell in a place, with shelter, or the use of property for the purpose of overnight occupancy or longer occupancy. Camp or camping includes the use of a vehicle for overnight occupancy where overnight occupancy or overnight camping is not permitted, violates City Code, violates a city rule or regulation, or is not otherwise permitted by the city. Camping does not include napping during the day or picnicking.

City means the City of Aurora, Colorado, its departments, employees, and agents.

City manager means the city manager of the City of Aurora, Colorado, or designee.

City-owned property means any property owned, leased, or controlled by the city.

Evidence of unauthorized camps or unauthorized camping includes, but is not limited to:

(1) Sleeping, or making preparations to sleep by laying out personal belongings, bedding, bedroll(s), blanket(s), sleeping pad(s), sleeping bag(s);

(2) Erecting or occupying a tent, makeshift shelter, lean-to, tarpaulin, enclosure, or other structure used for human habitation, or any form of cover or protection from the elements other than clothing; or

(3) Making a fire or making preparations for a fire (except for fires at sites specifically designated or authorized for a fire by the parks, recreation and open space (PROS) department), setting up or using a camp stove, cooking device, or other heating source (except for grills and personal grills permitted in designated areas by PROS).

Overnight means between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., unless otherwise posted.

Personal property means an item that is readily apparent as belonging to an individual and has apparent value or utility in its present condition. Examples of personal property include, but are not limited to, structurally sound tents, clothing, shoes, jackets, tarpaulins, sleeping bags, bedrolls, blankets, backpacks, duffel bags, assembled bicycles, tools, watches, jewelry, audio/visual equipment, medications, toiletries, eyeglasses, purses, handbags, books, and baby strollers. Personal property does not include building materials, metal, shopping carts, disassembled bicycles, makeshift shelters, rigid plastic, garbage, trash, rubbish, debris, litter, or waste.

Public property means, by way of illustration, but not limited to, a highway, highway median, any street, street median, road, road median, alley, sidewalk, strips of land between streets and sidewalks, lanes, catch basins, pedestrian or transit mall, bike path, greenway, public parking lot, or any other structure or area encompassed within the public right-of-way; any park, parkway, mountain park, open space, natural area, trail, beach, playground, or other publicly owned recreation facility; a municipal watercourse, bodies of water, watercourses, stormwater infrastructure such as, but not limited to, bridges, pipes, inlets and culverts; or any other grounds, buildings, or other facilities owned or leased by the city or by any other public entity, regardless of whether such public property is vacant or occupied and actively used for any public purpose.

Public right-of-way means an area of land dedicated to the public in fee simple title conveyed to the city for drainage, pedestrian, utility, street lighting, landscaping, roadway, or other purposes.

Reside or dwell means and includes, without limitation, conducting such activities as eating, sleeping, making preparation to sleep, or the storage of personal possessions. Residing or dwelling does not include napping during the day or picnicking.

Shelter, as used in the definition of camping, means and includes, without limitation, a tent, tarpaulin, lean-to, sleeping bag, bedroll, blankets, or any form of cover or protection from the elements other than clothing.

Unauthorized camp means to use public property for camping or to camp where camping is not expressly authorized by the city, or the use of public property for camping or to camp that violates the law or any city rule or regulation. (Ord. No. 2022-12, § 3, 3-28-2022)