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City attorney recommends restoring pre‑2020 camping rule after U.S. Supreme Court decision; council introduces ordinance
Summary
The Redondo Beach City Council on Tuesday introduced an ordinance to amend the municipal camping code to the pre‑December 2020 language following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Grants Pass v. Johnson decision, and added proposed language restricting use of bus stops for non‑transit purposes.
At the direction of a city strategic plan item, Redondo Beach City Attorney Joy Ford presented recommended amendments to the municipal camping ordinance after a change in federal case law.
Ford told the council that the 2020 municipal change had been adopted in response to Martin v. Boise, which limited enforcement of anti‑camping rules where no shelter beds were available. She said the June 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson overruled Martin v. Boise, and that the city could therefore return to the pre‑2020 prohibition against camping in public places.
Ford offered two draft ordinance tracks: one that restores the pre‑2020 language statewide and another that, in addition, would make it unlawful to use a bus stop for any purpose other than boarding, waiting for, or disembarking from a bus. The bus‑stop language includes a permissible inference that a person repeatedly at the same bus site within two instances in 24 hours and separated by more than four hours may be occupying that site for purposes other than transit use.
After discussion, the council voted to introduce by title only Ordinance No. 3293‑25, amending municipal code chapter 34 to return the city’s unlawful‑camping rules to the pre‑2020 form and to add the bus‑stop restriction language as drafted. The motion to introduce the ordinance for first reading as amended carried.
What’s next: The ordinance was introduced for first reading; additional readings or a public hearing will be scheduled consistent with the municipal code and state law. Staff noted that enforcement options and procedures will need to be coordinated with police and outreach providers if and when the ordinance is adopted.
