{"id":451925,"date":"2026-09-03T06:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T06:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/451925\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T06:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T06:40:11","slug":"shafter-passes-ordinance-restricting-sleeping-and-camping-in-public-places","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/451925\/","title":{"rendered":"Shafter passes ordinance restricting sleeping and camping in public places"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 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.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"FILE - A homeless encampment sits set up next to a freeway off-ramp in California. (AP Photo\/Damian Dovarganes)\" class=\"ImageEmbed_image__qZBo_\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"365\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a0ab1699-247e-45aa-9dcc-cfa74c58c988-medium16x9_AP24208839134713.jpg\" width=\"648\"\/><\/p>\n<p>FILE &#8211; A homeless encampment sits set up next to a freeway off-ramp in California. (AP Photo\/Damian Dovarganes)<\/p>\n<p>The Shafter City Council passed Ordinance 784 on a 4-0 vote. Council member Pete Espinoza was absent. The ordinance is intended to create \u201creasonable and enforceable rules\u201d for sleeping in public while keeping public areas available for their intended uses, the city said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOrdinance 784 is a separate amendment to Title 9. It\u2019s Chapter 9.48 which establishes regulations concerning sleeping in public places,\u201d said Dennis Fedler.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Scene of one of the operations orchestrated by the Bakersfield Police Department. (KBAK\/KBFX).\" class=\"ImageEmbed_image__qZBo_\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"365\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ea3213d1-65bd-4ba7-ab81-d2458b525a15-medium16x9_homelesscountpicture.JPG\" width=\"648\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Scene of one of the operations orchestrated by the Bakersfield Police Department. (KBAK\/KBFX).<\/p>\n<p>Fedler said the ordinance is designed to address access and sanitation concerns in public spaces. \u201cThis 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Shafter City Council member Cathy Prout said the city wanted authority it previously did not have. \u201cThere\u2019s a stronger desire today to make sure that we have it enforced because you couldn\u2019t do anything at all before with people on public land,\u201d Prout said.<\/p>\n<p>Prout said homelessness is currently a small issue in Shafter and that the city does not have a facility for people experiencing homelessness. \u201cOh it\u2019s very small for us at this point,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Fresno irrigation district aids in major homeless encampment clean-up; neighbors rejoice (FOX26 Photojournalist Bert Monelongo)\" class=\"ImageEmbed_image__qZBo_\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"365\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/8ca06b6f-db7f-4ed0-a413-bdd4e20cd372-medium16x9_vlcsnap2024022904h42m13s762.png\" width=\"648\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Fresno irrigation district aids in major homeless encampment clean-up; neighbors rejoice (FOX26 Photojournalist Bert Monelongo)<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Prout said the city also wants to be prepared if the situation changes. \u201cJust to be prepared for the future so we can continue to keep our city safe,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 Shafter city leaders have approved a new ordinance aimed at regulating sleeping and camping&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451926,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":["post-451925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}