Council introduces ordinance to ban overnight camping on public property

The Weed City Council on first reading introduced Ordinance 482, which would make overnight camping on public property unlawful within city limits and regulate fires on public property. Staff explained the change reflects recent court rulings and a U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming that cities may limit public camping under certain circumstances.

City staff and council members clarified that the ordinance would not prohibit camping in RV parks, which remain allowable. The ordinance includes abatement procedures aligned with the governor’s executive order, including standard notice periods (60 days and 48 hours for certain actions). Staff said a detailed enforcement policy is planned for January and noted exceptions for hazardous-materials removal and similarly urgent circumstances.

Council members pressed staff on operational details: how and where property removed from encampments would be stored, whether the city has storage capacity for large encampments, and how enforcement would interface with trespass law on private property. Staff said small encampments could be accommodated but a large encampment may require alternate storage solutions and that in practice they have not yet encountered a public-property encampment requiring large-scale holding facilities.

The ordinance requires two council readings and, if adopted on a second reading, would take effect 30 days after adoption. Council voted to introduce the ordinance on first reading by title only.