SECTIONS 830-831.9 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 830-831.9

830. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Dangerous condition" means a condition of property that
creates a substantial (as distinguished from a minor, trivial or
insignificant) risk of injury when such property or adjacent property
is used with due care in a manner in which it is reasonably
foreseeable that it will be used.
(b) "Protect against" includes repairing, remedying or correcting
a dangerous condition, providing safeguards against a dangerous
condition, or warning of a dangerous condition.
(c) "Property of a public entity" and "public property" mean real
or personal property owned or controlled by the public entity, but do
not include easements, encroachments and other property that are
located on the property of the public entity but are not owned or
controlled by the public entity.

830.1. For purposes of this chapter, seismic safety improvements or
fire sprinkler improvements which are owned, built, controlled,
operated, and maintained by the private owner of the building in
which they are installed are not public property or property of a
public entity solely because the improvements were financed, in whole
or in part, by means of the formation of a special assessment
district.

830.2. A condition is not a dangerous condition within the meaning
of this chapter if the trial or appellate court, viewing the evidence
most favorably to the plaintiff, determines as a matter of law that
the risk created by the condition was of such a minor, trivial or
insignificant nature in view of the surrounding circumstances that no
reasonable person would conclude that the condition created a
substantial risk of injury when such property or adjacent property
was used with due care in a manner in which it was reasonably
foreseeable that it would be used.

830.4. A condition is not a dangerous condition within the meaning
of this chapter merely because of the failure to provide regulatory
traffic control signals, stop signs, yield right-of-way signs, or
speed restriction signs, as described by the Vehicle Code, or
distinctive roadway markings as described in Section 21460 of the
Vehicle Code.

830.5. (a) Except where the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur is
applicable, the happening of the accident which results in the injury
is not in and of itself evidence that public property was in a
dangerous condition.
(b) The fact that action was taken after an injury occurred to
protect against a condition of public property is not evidence that
the public property was in a dangerous condition at the time of the
injury.

830.6. Neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable
under this chapter for an injury caused by the plan or design of a
construction of, or an improvement to, public property where such
plan or design has been approved in advance of the construction or
improvement by the legislative body of the public entity or by some
other body or employee exercising discretionary authority to give
such approval or where such plan or design is prepared in conformity
with standards previously so approved, if the trial or appellate
court determines that there is any substantial evidence upon the
basis of which (a) a reasonable public employee could have adopted
the plan or design or the standards therefor or (b) a reasonable
legislative body or other body or employee could have approved the
plan or design or the standards therefor. Notwithstanding notice that
constructed or improved public property may no longer be in
conformity with a plan or design or a standard which reasonably could
be approved by the legislative body or other body or employee, the
immunity provided by this section shall continue for a reasonable
period of time sufficient to permit the public entity to obtain funds
for and carry out remedial work necessary to allow such public
property to be in conformity with a plan or design approved by the
legislative body of the public entity or other body or employee, or
with a plan or design in conformity with a standard previously
approved by such legislative body or other body or employee. In the
event that the public entity is unable to remedy such public property
because of practical impossibility or lack of sufficient funds, the
immunity provided by this section shall remain so long as such public
entity shall reasonably attempt to provide adequate warnings of the
existence of the condition not conforming to the approved plan or
design or to the approved standard. However, where a person fails to
heed such warning or occupies public property despite such warning,
such failure or occupation shall not in itself constitute an
assumption of the risk of the danger indicated by the warning.

830.8. Neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable
under this chapter for an injury caused by the failure to provide
traffic or warning signals, signs, markings or devices described in
the Vehicle Code. Nothing in this section exonerates a public entity
or public employee from liability for injury proximately caused by
such failure if a signal, sign, marking or device (other than one
described in Section 830.4) was necessary to warn of a dangerous
condition which endangered the safe movement of traffic and which
would not be reasonably apparent to, and would not have been
anticipated by, a person exercising due care.

830.9. Neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable for
an injury caused by the operation or nonoperation of official traffic
control signals when controlled by an emergency vehicle in
accordance with the provisions of subdivision (a) of Section 25258 of
the Vehicle Code.

831. Neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable for an
injury caused by the effect on the use of streets and highways of
weather conditions as such. Nothing in this section exonerates a
public entity or public employee from liability for injury
proximately caused by such effect if it would not be reasonably
apparent to, and would not be anticipated by, a person exercising due
care. For the purpose of this section, the effect on the use of
streets and highways of weather conditions includes the effect of
fog, wind, rain, flood, ice or snow but does not include physical
damage to or deterioration of streets and highways resulting from
weather conditions.

831.2. Neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable for
an injury caused by a natural condition of any unimproved public
property, including but not limited to any natural condition of any
lake, stream, bay, river or beach.

831.21. (a) Public beaches shall be deemed to be in a natural
condition and unimproved notwithstanding the provision or absence of
public safety services such as lifeguards, police or sheriff patrols,
medical services, fire protection services, beach cleanup services,
or signs. The provisions of this section shall apply only to natural
conditions of public property and shall not limit any liability or
immunity that may otherwise exist pursuant to this division.
(b) This section shall only be applicable to causes of action
based upon acts or omissions occurring on or after January 1, 1988.

831.25. (a) Neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable
for any damage or injury to property, or for emotional distress
unless the plaintiff has suffered substantial physical injury, off
the public entity's property caused by land failure of any unimproved
public property if the land failure was caused by a natural
condition of the unimproved public property.
(b) For the purposes of this section, a natural condition exists
and property shall be deemed unimproved notwithstanding the
intervention of minor improvements made for the preservation or
prudent management of the property in its unimproved state that did
not contribute to the land failure.
(c) As used in this section, "land failure" means any movement of
land, including a landslide, mudslide, creep, subsidence, and any
other gradual or rapid movement of land.
(d) This section shall not benefit any public entity or public
employee who had actual notice of probable damage that is likely to
occur outside the public property because of land failure and who
fails to give a reasonable warning of the danger to the affected
property owners. Neither a public entity nor a public employee is
liable for any damage or injury arising from the giving of a warning
under this section.
(e) Nothing in this section shall limit the immunity provided by
Section 831.2.
(f) Nothing in this section creates a duty of care or basis of
liability for damage or injury to property or of liability for
emotional distress.

831.3. Neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable for
any injury occurring on account of the grading or the performance of
other maintenance or repair on or reconstruction or replacement of
any road which has not officially been accepted as a part of the road
system under the jurisdiction of the public entity if the grading,
maintenance, repair, or reconstruction or replacement is performed
with reasonable care and leaves the road in no more dangerous or
unsafe condition than it was before the work commenced. No act of
grading, maintenance, repair, or reconstruction or replacement within
the meaning of this section shall be deemed to give rise to any duty
of the public entity to continue any grading, maintenance, repair,
or reconstruction or replacement on any road not a part of the road
system under the public entity's jurisdiction. As used in this
section "reconstruction or replacement" means reconstruction or
replacement performed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section
1160) of Chapter 4 of Division 2 of the Streets and Highways Code.

831.4. A public entity, public employee, or a grantor of a public
easement to a public entity for any of the following purposes, is not
liable for an injury caused by a condition of:
(a) Any unpaved road which provides access to fishing, hunting,
camping, hiking, riding, including animal and all types of vehicular
riding, water sports, recreational or scenic areas and which is not a
(1) city street or highway or (2) county, state or federal highway
or (3) public street or highway of a joint highway district,
boulevard district, bridge and highway district or similar district
formed for the improvement or building of public streets or highways.
(b) Any trail used for the above purposes.
(c) Any paved trail, walkway, path, or sidewalk on an easement of
way which has been granted to a public entity, which easement
provides access to any unimproved property, so long as such public
entity shall reasonably attempt to provide adequate warnings of the
existence of any condition of the paved trail, walkway, path, or
sidewalk which constitutes a hazard to health or safety. Warnings
required by this subdivision shall only be required where pathways
are paved, and such requirement shall not be construed to be a
standard of care for any unpaved pathways or roads.

831.5. (a) The Legislature declares that innovative public access
programs, such as agreements with public land trusts, can provide
effective and responsible alternatives to costly public acquisition
programs. The Legislature therefore declares that it is beneficial to
the people of this state to encourage private nonprofit entities
such as public land trusts to carry out programs that preserve open
space or increase opportunities for the public to enjoy access to and
use of natural resources if the programs are consistent (1) with
public safety, (2) with the protection of the resources, and (3) with
public and private rights.
(b) For the purposes of Sections 831.2, 831.25, 831.4, and 831.7,
"public entity" includes a public land trust which meets all of the
following conditions:
(1) It is a nonprofit organization existing under the provisions
of Section 501(c) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
(2) It has specifically set forth in its articles of
incorporation, as among its principal charitable purposes, the
conservation of land for public access, agricultural, scientific,
historical, educational, recreational, scenic, or open-space
opportunities.
(3) It has entered into an agreement with the State Coastal
Conservancy for lands located within the coastal zone, as defined in
Section 31006 of the Public Resources Code, with the California Tahoe
Conservancy or its designee for lands located within the Lake Tahoe
region, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 66953 of the
Government Code, or with the State Public Works Board or its designee
for lands not located within the coastal zone or the Lake Tahoe
region, on such terms and conditions as are mutually agreeable,
requiring the public land trust to hold the lands or, where
appropriate, to provide nondiscriminatory public access consistent
with the protection and conservation of either coastal or other
natural resources, or both. The conservancy or the board, as
appropriate, shall periodically review the agreement and determine
whether the public land trust is in compliance with the terms and
conditions. In the event the conservancy or the board determines that
the public land trust is not in substantial compliance with the
agreement, the conservancy or the board shall cancel the agreement,
and the provisions of Sections 831.2, 831.25, 831.4, and 831.7 shall
no longer apply with regard to that public land trust.
(c) For the purposes of Sections 831.2, 831.25, 831.4, and 831.7,
"public employee" includes an officer, authorized agent, or employee
of any public land trust which is a public entity.

831.6. Neither the State nor an employee of the State is liable
under this chapter for any injury caused by a condition of the
unimproved and unoccupied portions of:
(a) The ungranted tidelands and submerged lands, and the beds of
navigable rivers, streams, lakes, bays, estuaries, inlets and
straits, owned by the State.
(b) The unsold portions of the 16th and 36th sections of school
lands, the unsold portions of the 500,000 acres granted to the State
for school purposes, and the unsold portions of the listed lands
selected of the United States in lieu of the 16th and 36th sections
and losses to the school grant.

831.7. (a) Neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable
to any person who participates in a hazardous recreational activity,
including any person who assists the participant, or to any spectator
who knew or reasonably should have known that the hazardous
recreational activity created a substantial risk of injury to himself
or herself and was voluntarily in the place of risk, or having the
ability to do so failed to leave, for any damage or injury to
property or persons arising out of that hazardous recreational
activity.
(b) As used in this section, "hazardous recreational activity"
means a recreational activity conducted on property of a public
entity that creates a substantial, as distinguished from a minor,
trivial, or insignificant, risk of injury to a participant or a
spectator.
"Hazardous recreational activity" also means:
(1) Water contact activities, except diving, in places where, or
at a time when, lifeguards are not provided and reasonable warning
thereof has been given, or the injured party should reasonably have
known that there was no lifeguard provided at the time.
(2) Any form of diving into water from other than a diving board
or diving platform, or at any place or from any structure where
diving is prohibited and reasonable warning thereof has been given.
(3) Animal riding, including equestrian competition, archery,
bicycle racing or jumping, mountain bicycling, boating, cross-country
and downhill skiing, hang gliding, kayaking, motorized vehicle
racing, off-road motorcycling or four-wheel driving of any kind,
orienteering, pistol and rifle shooting, rock climbing, rocketeering,
rodeo, self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) diving,
spelunking, skydiving, sport parachuting, paragliding, body contact
sports, surfing, trampolining, tree climbing, tree rope swinging,
waterskiing, white water rafting, and windsurfing. For the purposes
of this subdivision, "mountain bicycling" does not include riding a
bicycle on paved pathways, roadways, or sidewalks. For the purpose of
this paragraph, "body contact sports" means sports in which it is
reasonably foreseeable that there will be rough bodily contact with
one or more participants.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), this section does not
limit liability that would otherwise exist for any of the following:
(A) Failure of the public entity or employee to guard or warn of a
known dangerous condition or of another hazardous recreational
activity known to the public entity or employee that is not
reasonably assumed by the participant as inherently a part of the
hazardous recreational activity out of which the damage or injury
arose.
(B) Damage or injury suffered in any case where permission to
participate in the hazardous recreational activity was granted for a
specific fee. For the purpose of this subparagraph, a "specific fee"
does not include a fee or consideration charged for a general purpose
such as a general park admission charge, a vehicle entry or parking
fee, or an administrative or group use application or permit fee, as
distinguished from a specific fee charged for participation in the
specific hazardous recreational activity out of which the damage or
injury arose.
(C) Injury suffered to the extent proximately caused by the
negligent failure of the public entity or public employee to properly
construct or maintain in good repair any structure, recreational
equipment or machinery, or substantial work of improvement utilized
in the hazardous recreational activity out of which the damage or
injury arose.
(D) Damage or injury suffered in any case where the public entity
or employee recklessly or with gross negligence promoted the
participation in or observance of a hazardous recreational activity.
For purposes of this paragraph, promotional literature or a public
announcement or advertisement that merely describes the available
facilities and services on the property does not in itself constitute
a reckless or grossly negligent promotion.
(E) An act of gross negligence by a public entity or a public
employee that is the proximate cause of the injury.
(2) Nothing in this subdivision creates a duty of care or basis of
liability for personal injury or damage to personal property.
(d) Nothing in this section limits the liability of an independent
concessionaire, or any person or organization other than the public
entity, whether or not the person or organization has a contractual
relationship with the public entity to use the public property, for
injuries or damages suffered in any case as a result of the operation
of a hazardous recreational activity on public property by the
concessionaire, person, or organization.

831.8. (a) Subject to subdivisions (d) and (e), neither a public
entity nor a public employee is liable under this chapter for an
injury caused by the condition of a reservoir if at the time of the
injury the person injured was using the property for any purpose
other than that for which the public entity intended or permitted the
property to be used.
(b) Subject to subdivisions (d) and (e), neither an irrigation
district nor an employee thereof nor the state nor a state employee
is liable under this chapter for an injury caused by the condition of
canals, conduits, or drains used for the distribution of water if at
the time of the injury the person injured was using the property for
any purpose other than that for which the district or state intended
it to be used.
(c) Subject to subdivisions (d) and (e), neither a public agency
operating flood control and water conservation facilities nor its
employees are liable under this chapter for an injury caused by the
condition or use of unlined flood control channels or adjacent
groundwater recharge spreading grounds if, at the time of the injury,
the person injured was using the property for any purpose other than
that for which the public entity intended it to be used, and, if all
of the following conditions are met:
(1) The public agency operates and maintains dams, pipes,
channels, and appurtenant facilities to provide flood control
protection and water conservation for a county whose population
exceeds nine million residents.
(2) The public agency operates facilities to recharge a
groundwater basin system which is the primary water supply for more
than one million residents.
(3) The groundwater supply is dependent on imported water recharge
which must be conducted in accordance with court-imposed basin
management restrictions.
(4) The basin recharge activities allow the conservation and
storage of both local and imported water supplies when these waters
are available.
(5) The public agency posts conspicuous signs warning of any
increase in waterflow levels of an unlined flood control channel or
any spreading ground receiving water.
(d) Nothing in this section exonerates a public entity or a public
employee from liability for injury proximately caused by a dangerous
condition of property if all of the following occur:
(1) The injured person was not guilty of a criminal offense under
Article 1 (commencing with Section 552) of Chapter 12 of Title 13 of
Part 1 of the Penal Code in entering on or using the property.
(2) The condition created a substantial and unreasonable risk of
death or serious bodily harm when the property or adjacent property
was used with due care in a manner in which it was reasonably
foreseeable that it would be used.
(3) The dangerous character of the condition was not reasonably
apparent to, and would not have been anticipated by, a mature,
reasonable person using the property with due care.
(4) The public entity or the public employee had actual knowledge
of the condition and knew or should have known of its dangerous
character a sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken
measures to protect against the condition.
(e) Nothing in this section exonerates a public entity or a public
employee from liability for injury proximately caused by a dangerous
condition of property if all of the following occur:
(1) The person injured was less than 12 years of age.
(2) The dangerous condition created a substantial and unreasonable
risk of death or serious bodily harm to children under 12 years of
age using the property or adjacent property with due care in a manner
in which it was reasonably foreseeable that it would be used.
(3) The person injured, because of his or her immaturity, did not
discover the condition or did not appreciate its dangerous character.
(4) The public entity or the public employee had actual knowledge
of the condition and knew or should have known of its dangerous
character a sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken
measures to protect against the condition.
(f) Nothing in subdivision (c) exonerates a public agency or
public employee subject to that subdivision from liability for injury
proximately caused by a dangerous condition of public property if
all of the following occur:
(1) The person injured was 16 years of age or younger.
(2) The dangerous condition created a substantial and unreasonable
risk of death or serious bodily harm to children 16 years of age or
younger using the property or adjacent property with due care in a
manner in which it was reasonably foreseeable that it would be used.
(3) The person injured did not discover the condition or did not
appreciate its dangerous character because of his or her immaturity.
(4) The public entity or public employee had actual knowledge of
the condition and knew or should have known of its dangerous
character a sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken
measures to protect against the condition.
(g) Subdivisions (c) and (f) shall become inoperative on and after
January 1, 2013.

831.9. (a) The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works
shall maintain a record of all known or reported injuries incurred by
the public in the unlined flood control channels or adjacent
groundwater recharge spreading grounds during the activities of
groundwater recharge. The County of Los Angeles Department of Public
Works shall also maintain a record of all claims, paid and not paid,
including any civil actions or proceedings and their results, arising
from those incidents, that were filed against the county. Copies of
these records shall be filed annually, no later than January 1 of
each year, with the Judicial Council, which shall then submit a
report to the Legislature on or before January 31, 2012, on the
incidences of injuries incurred, claims asserted, and the results of
any civil action or proceeding filed by persons injured at these
facilities.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2013, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends
that date.