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Salinas council advances camping and storage ordinance changes, adopts administrative procedures amid heated public comment
Summary
Council approved amendments for a first reading to restrict where camping is allowed, shorten notice for encampment removal to 48 hours, and adopted updated administrative procedures for cleanups; the measures drew extensive public testimony urging more housing and caution about health harms from sweeps.
The Salinas City Council on Feb. 3 advanced amendments to Chapter 16 of the municipal code governing camping and storage of personal property on public property and adopted an accompanying resolution that updates administrative clean-up procedures.
Assistant City Manager Lisa Murphy framed the ordinance changes as an effort to align local rules with recent court standards, operational experience and the governor’s recommended best practices. Key proposed changes include removing the prior allowance that permitted camping from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., prohibiting camping within 25 feet of critical infrastructure and reducing the notice period for removal of encampments from 72 hours to 48 hours.
Murphy emphasized the city’s combined strategy — prevention, outreach (including the…
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