U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas joined Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue and other officials in welcoming the community to the Hebbron Family Center grand opening.
Salinas City Council on Tuesday advanced new restrictions on camping on public property and shortened notice periods ahead of homeless encampment clearings to align with state guidelines released last year.
City officials said the changes are needed to protect public health and safety, maintain access to public spaces like parks, trails, sidewalks and libraries, and prevent large encampments that can damage the environment and city infrastructure.
"The city has a responsibility to protect the public health and safety of the entire community," Assistant City Manager Lisa Murphy said. "It has a responsibility to preserve access to public facilities, to prevent damage to city infrastructure and our environmental resources, but it's a balancing act with compassion and kindness for people who are community residents and experiencing homelessness."
Murphy said Salinas has seen a rise in the number and size of homeless encampments, creating challenges for unhoused residents and the broader community, and the new rules will ensure the city's actions are "lawful, effective, and compassionate."
There are an estimated 1,240 unhoused individuals in Salinas, according to city officials.
Policy changes follow Gov. Newsom's model for cities, counties
The policy changes mirror best practices released in May 2025 by Gov. Gavin Newsom aimed at addressing unsafe encampments while connecting unhoused people with shelter and services.
"There's nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets," Newsom said when announcing a new directive for jurisdictions to ban tent camping on sidewalks and in parks, as reported by Deseret News.
The changes recommended by city staff bar camping on public property overnight (7 p.m. to 7 a.m.) and within 25 feet of critical infrastructure. Notification time before removing encampments also drops from 72 to 48 hours.
Before the vote, the city council received a number of public comments, including an email from Jason Sarris who wrote that he recently visited residents living in tents in Salinas and "many are not doing well physically or mentally" and the instability imposed by constant displacement "worsens health outcomes, undermines engagement with services, and makes exits from homelessness less likely, not more."
The city council voted 6 to 1 to approve the two ordinances related to camping and personal property (notification times), with Councilman Andrew Sandoval providing the no vote. Since it was not a unanimous result, the two ordinances will return to council for a second reading.
Approach to encampment clearings
Murphy said clearing encampments is a coordinated effort with support from multiple city departments, including public works, police, code enforcement, the city attorney's office and the city's Salinas Outreach and Response Team (SORT), which engages directly with the unhoused population.
"There's a number of folks that are involved in our homeless response strategy and how we coordinate our efforts in cleanups," Murphy said.
Along with ordinances governing camping and personal property, the city council approved a resolution updating administrative procedures to ensure encampment removals are handled consistently, safely, transparently and with an emphasis on outreach and engagement.
The resolution passed by a simple majority vote.