Southern California city considers crackdown on picnics

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Southern California city considers crackdown on picnics

Officials in San Clemente are considering a crackdown on unpermitted picnicking and other types of outdoor food and drink consumption.

Councilmember

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, who proposed the bill, said that while it would apply to all city property if passed, it mainly targets North Beach in San Clemente, where officials say regular unpermitted gatherings often leave the area trashed.

The San Clemente City Council discussed the ordinance, which was drafted by City Manager Andy Hall, at a meeting on Tuesday.

Loeffner and Hall argue that the unregulated distribution of food and drinks in public is both dangerous and destructive.

A photo of food and other debris from an unpermitted food gathering as presented to the San Clemente City Council. February 2025. (City Manager Andy Hall)

“Persons distributing food and drinks can unknowingly impact health conditions such as diabetes, heart conditions, mental health, or other health-related disorders that can be affected by food and drink content, portion size, and unintended combination with other food, drinks, and drugs,”

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. “Additionally, the food and drinks distributed are not always fully consumed by recipients and the leftover contents can be discovered by unsuspecting children, animals, or rodents, and packaging debris is often left behind and could find its way into the storm drains and ocean.”

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The ordinance would require anyone serving food in public to demonstrate that they would “maintain sanitary conditions,” which include warm water for washing hands, eating utensils and food warmers, in order to get a permit.

Multiple activist groups spoke out against the proposal during Tuesday’s meeting, arguing that it targets homeless people and infringes on personal freedoms.

“The ordinance is based on laws used in other cities to stop unpermitted food and drink distribution on public property,”

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. “In Newport Beach, for example, vendors are regulated, and public food distribution must be permitted in some public areas, but in others, it is forbidden.”

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