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Salinas council narrows camping rules, cuts notice period amid calls for more housing
Summary
After hours of public comment, the Salinas City Council voted 6–1 on Feb. 3 to advance amendments restricting where people may camp on public property and to adopt related administrative cleanup procedures; the ordinances will return for a required second reading. Residents and advocates urged more shelter capacity and opposed shorter notice periods.
Salinas — The Salinas City Council on Feb. 3 moved to tighten local rules on camping and the storage of belongings on public property while directing staff to organize an intergovernmental summit on homelessness.
Assistant City Manager Lisa Murphy told the council the city has spent roughly $57.6 million in grant funding on homelessness programs and is working to convert temporary shelter opportunities into longer‑term supportive housing. Murphy framed the ordinance changes as a public‑health and safety measure: the proposals remove the previous 7 p.m.–7 a.m. exception, create a 25‑foot buffer zone around ‘critical infrastructure,’ and reduce the minimum notice for encampment removals from 72 to 48 hours to allow staff to respond faster to growing encampments.
The…
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