Council Updates Laws on Public Nudity
Surfers and swimmers who have been changing out of their wet bathing suits and into dry street clothes for the last few decades will now have the legal right to go about their business as usual.
The City Council on Tuesday adopted an urgency ordinance to delete a 1970s-era ordinance that prohibited dressing, undressing or disrobing in public places. They also removed a law from the books from the 1950s that specified what kind of bathing apparel was appropriate.
After deleting those ordinances, the City Council adopted a public nudity law that requires clothing to be worn in all public places in the city and in places where the nude individual is in public view, such as a front yard. Discreetly changing clothes on the beach is not considered nudity.
Previously, it was not illegal to be nude in public places.
“The [new] ordinance is appropriate under current case law,” said city attorney Jerry Goddard. “It reflects current standards in the community.”
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