Item 15 - Ordinance Entitled "Street Racing and Reckless Driving Exhibitions Prohibited"

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Ordinance Adding Article XV, Sections 36-706 through 36-710, Entitled "Street Racing and Reckless Driving Exhibitions Prohibited" to the Santa Ana Municipal Code October 3, 2023 Page 3 3 7 5 9 Historically, law enforcement has observed hundreds of spectators who attend these unlawful activities and who typically block an entire intersection resulting in significant traffic flow issues including, but not limited to, preventing emergency personnel from responding to critical calls for service, defacing City street surfaces with tire marks, and causing numerous noise complaints. Spectators also act as "blockers" by protecting the drivers and their vehicles from apprehension by law enforcement. Finally, the spectators often act in a violent manner towards officers at the scene to allow the drivers an avenue of escape. The following municipalities have adopted ordinances that ban spectating: Long Beach, Anaheim, Buena Park, Modesto, Paramount, and Ontario. This type of ordinance provides an additional tool to complement the continuing enforcement efforts against the takeover groups and drivers to curb and/or eliminate these dangerous activities by addressing the two primary components simultaneously: PERFORMANCE and AUDIENCE. The City has evaluated the needs and concerns of the community in recommending the adoption of an ordinance relating to street racing. Specifically, the proposed ordinance (Exhibit 1) will provide law enforcement with additional enforcement and deterrence tools in its ongoing goal to mitigate street racing and reckless driving exhibitions. The provisions of the ordinance include the following: •The ordinance will allow the Police Department to issue infraction or misdemeanor citations to any person who is knowingly present as a Spectator of a street race or reckless driving exhibition on a public street, highway, or off-street parking facility. Alternatively, the Police Department can issue an administrative citation to violators. •The ordinance defines "present" as a person who is within two hundred (200) feet of the location of a motor vehicle speed contest or reckless driving exhibition or within two hundred (200) feet of the site of the preparations for either of these activities. Common intersections in the city where reckless driving has been observed and/or documented include the following: •Flower Street and Memory Lane •Flower Street and Santa Clara Avenue •Flower and 19th streets •Mabury and Fruit streets •Fairhaven Avenue and Linwood Street Common intersections in the City where street takeovers have been observed and/or documented include the following: •17th and King streets •17th Street and Penn Way