Residents near Sacramento’s Land Park say they are increasingly concerned about what they describe as drug use, lewd behavior and overnight camping in the park after dark. Land Park draws thousands of visitors on a typical weekend, but Kristina Rogers, president of the Land Park Community Association, said the park changes overnight.“The park is closed at sunset. It opens at sunrise,” Rogers said. “Most people are not in the park. They’re at home. They’re resting. They have no idea what’s happening from 10 to 4 a.m.”Rogers said neighbors have reported multiple safety concerns and that volunteers who help clean the park have found evidence of illegal activity.“Neighbors have found condoms and needles,” Rogers said. “In fact, our Land Park Volunteer Corps, which cleans the park, they frequently find condoms and needles in specific parts of the park.”During a visit to several areas of Land Park on Sunday, KCRA 3 saw numerous discarded beer and liquor bottles and also found a used contraceptive near a duck pond.Jim Randlett, a Land Park resident who said he has lived in the neighborhood for decades, said he avoids the park at night.“We stay out of the park at night,” Randlett said. “We don’t think it’s safe here.”Randlett said overnight encampments have become a growing concern. He pointed to two recurring areas where he said people often stay overnight, including the parking lot behind Fairytale Town.“There are two primary spots,” Randlett said. “I’ve seen a number of cars, you know, set up in there overnight.”He also said he frequently sees signs of overnight activity in the morning.“Right along that strip over there is where we walk the dog and we’ll see, you know, beer bottles and stuff like that, and those things that you can’t mention on TV,” Randlett said.In April, the Sacramento City Council voted to ban overnight parking between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. at three locations, including Land Park. But neighbors said the park’s gates are often left open.“Many of these places, there are gates which have been left open at night,” Rogers said. “So it allows people to drive in and sort of do whatever they want at night.”Residents said they are now pushing for those gates to be closed overnight in hopes of reducing after-hours activity.“We don’t have an invisible barrier around our park. We still have crime and it’s still not OK, wherever it’s going on,” Rogers said. “So we’re just trying in our neighborhood to be proactive about it and work with our City Council to help make things better for everybody, so when they wake up in the morning and come out and enjoy the park, it’s clean, it’s safe, it’s comfortable.”KCRA 3 reached out to the office of Councilmember Rick Jennings, who represents the area, for comment but did not receive a response. The community association said it has been working closely with Jennings on possible solutions.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Residents near Sacramento’s Land Park say they are increasingly concerned about what they describe as drug use, lewd behavior and overnight camping in the park after dark.

Land Park draws thousands of visitors on a typical weekend, but Kristina Rogers, president of the Land Park Community Association, said the park changes overnight.

“The park is closed at sunset. It opens at sunrise,” Rogers said. “Most people are not in the park. They’re at home. They’re resting. They have no idea what’s happening from 10 to 4 a.m.”

Rogers said neighbors have reported multiple safety concerns and that volunteers who help clean the park have found evidence of illegal activity.

“Neighbors have found condoms and needles,” Rogers said. “In fact, our Land Park Volunteer Corps, which cleans the park, they frequently find condoms and needles in specific parts of the park.”

During a visit to several areas of Land Park on Sunday, KCRA 3 saw numerous discarded beer and liquor bottles and also found a used contraceptive near a duck pond.

Jim Randlett, a Land Park resident who said he has lived in the neighborhood for decades, said he avoids the park at night.

“We stay out of the park at night,” Randlett said. “We don’t think it’s safe here.”

Randlett said overnight encampments have become a growing concern. He pointed to two recurring areas where he said people often stay overnight, including the parking lot behind Fairytale Town.

“There are two primary spots,” Randlett said. “I’ve seen a number of cars, you know, set up in there overnight.”

He also said he frequently sees signs of overnight activity in the morning.

“Right along that strip over there is where we walk the dog and we’ll see, you know, beer bottles and stuff like that, and those things that you can’t mention on TV,” Randlett said.

In April, the Sacramento City Council voted to ban overnight parking between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. at three locations, including Land Park. But neighbors said the park’s gates are often left open.

“Many of these places, there are gates which have been left open at night,” Rogers said. “So it allows people to drive in and sort of do whatever they want at night.”

Residents said they are now pushing for those gates to be closed overnight in hopes of reducing after-hours activity.

“We don’t have an invisible barrier around our park. We still have crime and it’s still not OK, wherever it’s going on,” Rogers said. “So we’re just trying in our neighborhood to be proactive about it and work with our City Council to help make things better for everybody, so when they wake up in the morning and come out and enjoy the park, it’s clean, it’s safe, it’s comfortable.”

KCRA 3 reached out to the office of Councilmember Rick Jennings, who represents the area, for comment but did not receive a response. The community association said it has been working closely with Jennings on possible solutions.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google