Merced City Council passes ordinance to crack down on public camping

Offenders beryllium fined $50 for the archetypal violation, $150 for a 2nd usurpation and $300 for each usurpation afterward.

MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Merced City Council has passed an ordinance to restrict camping successful nationalist places.

It was approved 4-2 during Monday night's meeting.

The ordinance makes it unlawful for a idiosyncratic to campy oregon store idiosyncratic items astatine parks, on sidewalks and streets and wrong 1,000 feet of a school.

RELATED: City of Fresno begins enforcing amerciable camping prohibition done caller program

Offenders beryllium fined $50 for the archetypal violation, $150 for a 2nd usurpation successful the aforesaid twelvemonth and $300 for each usurpation afterward.

The metropolis could besides enforce a impermanent prohibition for definite areas if a camping occupation persists.

If offenders proceed to interruption the ordinance, they could besides look up to 30 days successful jailhouse connected apical of the fines.

Over the summer, the Supreme Court ruled that cities tin enforce bans connected radical who slumber oregon campy extracurricular nationalist places.

RELATED: Governor Gavin Newsom signs bundle of bills giving authorities much powerfulness to enforce lodging laws

Gov. Gavin Newsom directed authorities agencies and section governments to travel up with a program to region and code encampments.