Sanitary Ordinance
Encyclopedia
The Sanitary Ordinance was a law passed in San Francisco, California
on July 29, 1870. The purpose of the law was to prevent unsafe tenement
conditions as the city grew. Under the law, boarding house
s were required to have 500 cubic feet (14,158.4 l) of air in a room for each occupant. The penalty for violating the ordinance was a fine of $10-$500, 5-90 days in jail, or both, imposed on both the landlord and the occupants.
Realizing this amounted to free room and board, many Chinese immigrants intentionally violated the conditions. After a housing raid on May 22, 1873, 45 people were arrested in a single day and the small local jails were filled to capacity. It was reported that some of those arrested were willing to pay the fine, but were ordered by leaders in Chinatown
to accept jail time instead; the intent was to make the enforcement of the law more trouble than it was worth. Local Chinese leaders also noted that local authorities were breaking their own law since the small jails were filled to capacity, thereby violating the ordinance. This situation led to the Board of Supervisors' proposal of the famous Pigtail Ordinance
.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
on July 29, 1870. The purpose of the law was to prevent unsafe tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
conditions as the city grew. Under the law, boarding house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
s were required to have 500 cubic feet (14,158.4 l) of air in a room for each occupant. The penalty for violating the ordinance was a fine of $10-$500, 5-90 days in jail, or both, imposed on both the landlord and the occupants.
Realizing this amounted to free room and board, many Chinese immigrants intentionally violated the conditions. After a housing raid on May 22, 1873, 45 people were arrested in a single day and the small local jails were filled to capacity. It was reported that some of those arrested were willing to pay the fine, but were ordered by leaders in Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
to accept jail time instead; the intent was to make the enforcement of the law more trouble than it was worth. Local Chinese leaders also noted that local authorities were breaking their own law since the small jails were filled to capacity, thereby violating the ordinance. This situation led to the Board of Supervisors' proposal of the famous Pigtail Ordinance
Pigtail Ordinance
The Pigtail Ordinance was an 1873 law intended to force prisoners in San Francisco, California to have their hair cut within an inch of the scalp. While the law did not discriminate between races, it affected Han Chinese prisoners in particular, as it meant they would have their queue, a...
.