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Ukiah introduces camping ordinance amendments after tense public debate
Summary
Council introduced and moved forward amendments to Ukiah’s camping ordinance to align with state guidance; the proposal removes the prior enforcement limitation tied to shelter availability and directs officers to make reasonable efforts to offer shelter and services before enforcement. The changes drew substantial public opposition and support.
The Ukiah City Council introduced ordinance amendments to the city’s camping regulations after lengthy public comment that included both sharp opposition and arguments in favor of adding an enforcement tool.
Assistant City Attorney Darcy Vaughn explained the draft ordinance reverts to the city's earlier camping rule while incorporating language from the governor's model guidance and recent federal rulings. The proposal would remove the prior requirement that an individual could only be cited if shelter space was available and the person had refused shelter; instead, it requires officials delegated to enforce the ordinance to make every reasonable effort to identify and offer shelter or supportive services before enforcement action.
Chief Tom Corning and staff emphasized that enforcement would be a last resort and that the ordinance includes a directive that the police department adopt procedures to prevent arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement. Chief Corning said outreach teams and social-service partners are regularly involved in encampment responses and that officers prefer voluntary compliance.
The public hearing drew dozens of speakers. Opponents argued the change would criminalize homelessness and lead to citations, warrants and arrests for people with nowhere to shelter; Jordan Nagla said removing the shelter-availability requirement would be “evil” if it allowed enforcement when individuals had nowhere safe to go. Several commenters raised concerns about racial disparities in the unhoused population and about the challenge of getting court dates without stable addresses. Supporters said the change gives the city a last-resort tool for unsafe encampments and stressed that outreach and social-service linkages would be used first.
Councilmembers discussed procedural safeguards and the strong emphasis in the draft on outreach, shelter offers and coordination with county social-services teams. Council moved to introduce the ordinance by title and advanced a second motion; both passed on roll-call votes.
Next steps: introduction by title only was approved and staff will bring back finalized language and related policies for enforcement procedures, including a requirement that the police department adopt an operational policy to ensure non-arbitrary enforcement and coordination with outreach teams and county partners.
