CITY OF GROVER BEACH
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item No. 9
Placement: Consent
Meeting Date: October 14, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Matthew Bronson, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Jim Munro, Chief of Police
SUBJECT: Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance to Amend Grover Beach Municipal Code sections 93.35, 93.52, and 93.54 of Chapter 93 (Parks and Recreation) of Title IX (General Regulations) Pertaining to Noticing Requirements for Camping, Recreation; Homelessness and use of Public Rights of Way or City Property for Camping
RECOMMENDATION
Conduct a first reading, by title only, and introduce an Ordinance Amending Chapter 93 of Title IX (General Regulations); amending sections 93.35, 93.52, and 93.54 pertaining to noticing requirements for camping, recreation; homelessness and use of public rights of way or city property for camping; and schedule a public hearing at the next regular meeting to provide a second reading and adopt the Ordinance.
BACKGROUND
Homelessness has been a long-standing issue for the City given the complexity and challenge of this issue not only in Grover Beach but throughout the county and state. To help address this issue, the City Council adopted the City’s camping ordinance in March 2023 that regulated camping on public property. That ordinance required the City to provide 72-hour notice to campers who camped longer than 24 hours on permitted public property before removing the campsite. On August 25, 2025, staff provided an update to the Council on the City’s response to homelessness and during this update recommended that the noticing time period for camp removal be changed from 72 hours to 48 hours to enhance the City’s ability to reduce illegal camping while still providing reasonable notice to campers.
The 72-hour period was consistent with federal case law at the time of ordinance adoption though this case law has since changed with the U.S. Supreme Court’s City of Grants Pass v. Johnson decision which gives public agencies more latitude for removing encampments on public property.
Requiring removal of a tagged campsite with a 48-hour period would enable the Police and Public Works departments to have a faster response to encampments and further the City’s goal of reducing the number and impacts of encampments within the city, while being consistent with current case law. This time period aligns with guidance from the California Interagency Council on Homelessness which recommends a minimum of 48 hours notice before encampments are removed.
Pending the introduction of this Ordinance, a public hearing will be scheduled for the October 27th meeting to provide a second reading and consider adoption of this Ordinance.
Staff Report: Camping Ordinance Amendment Page 2
October 14, 2025
Multi-Year Goals
☒ Public Safety and Community Services ☐ Economic Development and Housing ☐ Community Infrastructure ☐ Financial and Organization Sustainability Council Priorities
☐ Water & Wastewater Infrastructure ☐ Community Engagement
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact from this agenda item.
ALTERNATIVES
The Council has the following alternatives to consider:
1. Introduce and conduct a first reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 93 of Title IX (General Regulations); amending sections 93.35, 93.52, and 93.54 of the Grover Beach Municipal Code Regulating Camping on Public Rights of Way and City Property and schedule a public hearing for the Second Reading at the next regularly scheduled Council meeting; or
1. Do not introduce and conduct a First Reading of the Ordinance; or
2. Provide alternative direction to staff.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
The agenda was posted in accordance with the Brown Act.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Ordinance
ORDINANCE NO. 25-__
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GROVER
BEACH, CALIFORNIA AMENDING SECTIONS 93.35, 93.52, AND 93.54 OF CHAPTER 93 (PARKS AND RECREATION) OF TITLE IX (GENERAL
REGULATIONS) OF THE GROVER BEACH MUNICIPAL
CODE PERTAINING TO NOTICING REQUIREMENTS FOR CAMPING,
RECREATION; HOMELESSNESS AND USE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS OF
WAY OR CITY PROPERTY FOR CAMPING
WHEREAS, the City Council has the authority under its police powers to regulate the time, place, and manner of camping on public property to protect public health, safety, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the City’s current municipal code requires seventy-two (72) hours advance notice before requiring the cleanup or removal of unauthorized camping sites on public property; and
WHEREAS, The City Council has received reports from City staff, law enforcement, and public works indicating that the current seventy-two (72) hour notice period creates operational challenges and delays in addressing health and safety hazards; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that reducing the notice period from seventytwo (72) to forty-eight (48) hours will enhance the City’s ability to respond to public safety and health concerns while still providing reasonable advance notice to affected individuals.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Grover Beach as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 93.35, subdivision (J), (“Homelessness on camping grounds”), of Chapter 93 (“Parks and Recreation”) of Article IX (“General Regulations”) of the Grover Beach Municipal Code is hereby amended to read in its entirety as follows:
When the city removes a camp or closes a location people are sheltering in the public right-of-way or on public property, it will post notices a minimum 48-hours prior to the closure so everyone that would be affected by the move will have adequate notice, except in cases of exceptional emergency or criminal activity, as allowed by state law and set forth in §§ 93.35 through 93.38 , and 93.50 through 93.54.
SECTION 2. Section 93.52, subdivision (B)(1), (“Time, place, manner regulations”), of Chapter 93 (“Parks and Recreation”) of Article IX (“General Regulations”) of the Grover Beach Municipal Code is hereby amended to read in its entirety as follows:
Attachment 1
Unless otherwise specified, any camping or camp, where allowed, may only occur for 24- hours at a time in any one location. After a camp has been in one place for 24-hours or more, the city may post notice at the location that the camp, and all associated camp materials, must be removed no more than 48 hours later and all personal property remaining will be removed, as described in § 93.54 .
SECTION 3. Section 93.54, subdivision (D)(1), (“Violations”), of Chapter 93 (“Parks and Recreation”) of Article IX (“General Regulations”) of the Grover Beach Municipal Code is hereby amended to read in its entirety as follows:
Prior to removing an established campsite on public rights-of-way or city property, at least 48 hours in advance, except in the case of exceptional emergency or criminal activity, the city must post notice at the location that the campsite must move and all personal property remaining will be removed and must inform local agencies that deliver services to homeless individuals where the notice has been posted that such notice has been posted.
SECTION 4. Section 93.54, subdivision (D)(2), (“Violations”), of Chapter 93 (“Parks and Recreation”) of Article IX (“General Regulations”) of the Grover Beach Municipal Code is hereby amended to read in its entirety as follows:
A campsite may be removed for violation of this subchapter without posting a 48-hour notice:
(a) When there is probable cause for law enforcement officials to believe that illegal activity, other than camping, is occurring on the campsite or in the immediate vicinity of the campsite, or the property that comprises the campsite is being used or is intended to be used to commit or facilitate the commission of otherwise illegal activity; or in the event of an exceptional emergency, such as possible site contamination by hazardous materials or when there is immediate danger to human life or safety; and/or (b) If the danger to human life or safety can be reduced by moving the established campsite to a safer location, such as an adjacent landscape strip, the campsite should be moved rather than removed.
SECTION 5. Section 93.54, subdivision (D)(3), (“Violations”), of Chapter 93 (“Parks and Recreation”) of Article IX (“General Regulations”) of the Grover Beach Municipal Code is hereby amended to read in its entirety as follows:
Once the 48-hour notice has been posted, the city may act on the notice and remove the campsite beginning 48 hours after posting and for up to ten days following the posting.
SECTION 6. Section 93.54, subdivision (D)(4), (“Violations”), of Chapter 93 (“Parks and Recreation”) of Article IX (“General Regulations”) of the Grover Beach Municipal Code is hereby amended to read in its entirety as follows:
After a camp has been removed subject to a 48-hour notice or under circumstances when no advance notice is required, the camp and all associated camp facilities must be moved at least one block or 600 feet, whichever is greater, and the city may order that no camp be set up in that same location or a 100-foot radius for up to 30 days. The city will post signs informing the public that camping is prohibited at the location.
SECTION 7. SEVERABILITY. If any part of this Ordinance is held invalid for any reason by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this Ordinance, and the City Council hereby declares that it would have passed the remainder of the Ordinance if such invalid portion thereof had been deleted.
SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days from and after its final passage.
SECTION 9. PUBLICATION. Within fifteen (15) days after passage, the City Clerk shall cause this ordinance to be published in a newspaper of general circulation.
INTRODUCED at a regular meeting of the City Council held October 14, 2025.
PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED by the City Council at a regular meeting held on October 27, 2025, on the following roll call vote, to wit:
AYES: Council Members –
NOES: Council Members –
ABSENT: Council Members –
ABSTAIN: Council Members –
APPROVED:
__________________________
Kassi Dee, Mayor
ATTEST:
____________________________________
Wendi Sims, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_____________________________________
Robert Lomeli, City Attorney