Happy camper

By Diane Montanez

Is there any ordinance against someone sleeping in a vehicle in the driveway of their house or on the street?

If you’re sleeping in a car on the street, you’ll have to take your slumber party somewhere else.

Napa Police Sgt. Tom Pieper provided me with the following information.

Napa Municipal Code 12.65.010 (slips right off the tongue, eh?) basically states that any public property, such as sidewalks, streets, rights-of-way, etc., should always be accessible to residents, and (very importantly) city maintenance and emergency crews. This ordinance, along with many others, is in place to prevent health and safety risks.

Under this ordinance, if you sleep in, on or under any kind of vehicle, it is considered “camping.” Municipal code 12.65.030 states that “it shall be unlawful for any person to camp, occupy camp facilities or use camp paraphernalia” in the aforementioned publicly owned or controlled areas, also including city parks, playgrounds, parking lots, bridges, road shoulders, streams, creeks, rivers or waterways.

If you’re sleeping in your car in your driveway, however, and you’re not blocking publicly owned property, that’s your prerogative (assuming you own your property). So if your spouse locks you out, you may want to rethink your sleeping quarters. Dog house, anyone?

What is Glad You Asked?

Glad You Asked attempts to answer readers’ questions. Find yourself falling asleep at the wheel? Send your questions to dmontanez@napanews.com or call me at 256-2224.

Napa Valley Register Copyright © 2009