BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — Shafter city leaders have approved a new ordinance aimed at regulating sleeping and camping in public places, saying it will help keep streets, sidewalks and parks accessible, safe and sanitary while giving police clearer enforcement options.
FILE – A homeless encampment sits set up next to a freeway off-ramp in California. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The Shafter City Council passed Ordinance 784 on a 4-0 vote. Council member Pete Espinoza was absent. The ordinance is intended to create “reasonable and enforceable rules” for sleeping in public while keeping public areas available for their intended uses, the city said.
“Ordinance 784 is a separate amendment to Title 9. It’s Chapter 9.48 which establishes regulations concerning sleeping in public places,” said Dennis Fedler.
Scene of one of the operations orchestrated by the Bakersfield Police Department. (KBAK/KBFX).
Fedler said the ordinance is designed to address access and sanitation concerns in public spaces. “This ordinance will give us a reasonable tool to help keep access to all the public spaces and address sanitary issues before they become an issue,” he said.
Shafter City Council member Cathy Prout said the city wanted authority it previously did not have. “There’s a stronger desire today to make sure that we have it enforced because you couldn’t do anything at all before with people on public land,” Prout said.
Prout said homelessness is currently a small issue in Shafter and that the city does not have a facility for people experiencing homelessness. “Oh it’s very small for us at this point,” she said.
Fresno irrigation district aids in major homeless encampment clean-up; neighbors rejoice (FOX26 Photojournalist Bert Monelongo)
Police enforcement would begin with a verbal warning, according to Shafter police. Officers would also educate the person about the rules and offer information about available resources. If officers encounter the same person again, police said they could issue a citation and release the person at the scene. A third contact could lead to an arrest, if appropriate.
Prout said the city also wants to be prepared if the situation changes. “Just to be prepared for the future so we can continue to keep our city safe,” she said.