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Merced County staff propose tighter unlawful-camping rules, new cleanup process and diversion option
Summary
County counsel and Human Services Agency staff presented proposed revisions to Merced County Code chapter 10.32 to expand definitions tied to unlawful camping, add an encampment cleanup process and a private-property letter-of-authorization, and add diversion options and revised criminal penalties.
County legal and human services staff asked the Merced County Board of Supervisors to approve the scope of proposed revisions to Merced County Code chapter 10.32, which governs offenses against public property and unlawful camping.
Chief Deputy County Counsel Rena Gonzalez and John Chekely, deputy director of the Human Services Agency, told the board the draft updates expand definitions (camp/camping, camp facilities/materials, camp paraphernalia, critical infrastructure, personal property, public buildings, waterways), formalize the county’s encampment-cleanup practices, create a private-property letter-of-authorization process for quick abatement, and revise penalties to add diversion options.
Gonzalez said the revised definition of camping would prohibit erecting a tent, arranging bedding or using a parked or standing vehicle “for the purpose of sleeping longer than 60 minutes or within 500 feet of any previous stopping point in a 24-hour period.” The proposed…
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