Merced County staff propose tighter unlawful-camping rules, new cleanup process and diversion option

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 “camp paraphernalia” definition adds items staff say commonly accompany camps, including “warming fires.” She said personal property — examples given were identification, medications, eyeglasses and photos — would be collected and stored for 60 days under county policy; contraband (described during the meeting as open needles, unlabeled drugs or drug paraphernalia) would not be treated as personal property for return.

The proposed encampment-cleanup section codifies current practice: a posted 48-hour notice before abatement except when an encampment creates an “imminent and substantial threat to public health, safety or life” or is on or near critical infrastructure. Gonzalez said critical infrastructure examples include government buildings, fire stations, courthouses, public libraries and maintenance access roads; the draft also references drainage systems and rail lines in that definition.

The draft creates a letter-of-authorization option under Penal Code section 602 to allow private-property owners to request sheriff assistance with trespassers; the county would be able to offer incentives to property owners to file letters proactively. On penalties, Gonzalez said the draft keeps unlawful-camping violations as misdemeanors but updates the maximum legal penalty language to six months in jail and a $500 fine per violation, and adds an explicit diversion pathway such as referral to social-service facilities, homeless court or other treatment programs in lieu of fines, probation or jail. She said the diversion language was developed with input from the district attorney, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services and HSA.

Supervisors asked clarifying questions. Supervisor Pereira asked what “standing” meant for a vehicle used to sleep in; Gonzalez said it meant immobile. Supervisors also asked whether gutters would be treated as waterways; staff said drainage systems are included in the critical-infrastructure language and that cleanup involving rail-owned property would require coordination with railroad companies, which the sheriff’s office said it already performs.

John Chekely said the county has expanded shelter and housing resources over the past decade — including the county navigation center, bridge housing and multiple permanent housing projects — and framed the code revisions as one tool among many to move people into services and reduce public-safety and public-health risks. He told the board the county’s work on shelter and housing is ongoing and that any enforcement or abatement effort will create additional solid-waste and logistical needs for county departments.

No ordinance was adopted at the meeting; staff presented the draft and invited further direction to return with formal enactment steps. Gonzalez and Chekely said staff would continue stakeholder coordination and bring the formal ordinance or an approval action back to the board for adoption after additional review.