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Stockton council expands camping prohibitions and proclaims local homelessness emergency
Summary
The Stockton City Council unanimously adopted revisions to its camping and critical-infrastructure ordinance and proclaimed a local emergency on homelessness, approving staff'recommended enforcement, diversion and cleanup steps and requesting additional funding and staffing reallocations.
The Stockton City Council on Nov. 19 adopted revisions to Chapter 8.1 of the municipal code to expand locations where camping is prohibited and unanimously approved a resolution declaring a local emergency on homelessness.
City staff framed the changes as a response to recent changes in state and federal case law and a July 2024 executive order. Assistant City Attorney Taryn Jones told the council that the proposed redlines would add city-controlled public property to prohibited-camping locations, create a park-exclusion process with notice and appeal, and remove two footnotes tied to prior case law that required verification of shelter bed availability before enforcement.
The move follows the U.S. Supreme Court'related shifts referenced in staff'materials that, according to staff, permit broader enforcement than prior precedent. City Manager Harry Black described a three-part strategy of "cleanup, diversion and enforcement," saying the city plans to stand up a transfer station for cleanup operations by 2025, reassign police staffing to encampment response and expand outreach and diversion services to connect people to housing and health supports.
Public commenters and local nonprofits pressed the council to prioritize diversion and services over enforcement. "Our systems are the problem. The people are not the problem," Jessica Velez of Fresh Start Charities said during public comment, urging safe camping and transition services.
Council members asked staff for specifics on funding and timelines. Director Carrie Wright confirmed the city had received an award letter for Homeless Housing Assistance Program funds (HAP) and said those funds would be part of the anticipated external funding. Staff outlined estimated additional costs tied to the emergency declaration: approximately $130,000 in overtime, $230,000 in one-time equipment, $50,000 for personal property storage, $1.2M in enhanced cleanup (one-time) and $715,000 ongoing, and $156,000 in diversion-related staff costs.
Council moved to adopt the ordinance reflecting the redline revisions and to adopt a resolution proclaiming a local emergency on homelessness. The motion passed on a 7-0 roll call vote.
The council approved the ordinance and emergency declaration; next steps include drafting the final ordinance language for formal adoption, executing the staffing reallocations described by police and public works, pursuing the transfer station timeline, and returning to council with specific budget allocations and implementation milestones.
