The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday gave final approval to a new camping ordinance creating designated “no-encampment zones,” allowing the city to immediately remove encampments from certain public areas without providing the standard 72-hour notice.
The vote marked the ordinance’s second reading, making it final.
The council also approved a map identifying the city’s initial no encampment zones, which will serve as the official enforcement map.
Both items were placed on the consent agenda, which contains items expected to pass without debate or discussion.
The consent agenda was approved 4-0. Councilmembers Vanessa Quiroz-Carter and Maria Orozco, along with Mayor Kristal Salcido, were absent.
While the ordinance passed without comment Tuesday, its first reading on June 23 drew criticism from Quiroz-Carter, who called it “ridiculous.”
“We need to have adequate services for people,” she said. “We need to have adequate shelter for people. That’s a basic human right.”
Future changes to the map will require City Council approval.
The ordinance is intended to address what city officials describe as a recurring enforcement problem along Watsonville’s waterways, levees and other public spaces, where unhoused people often move their belongings just outside a cleanup area after receiving notice, creating new encampments that require another 72-hour warning before crews can return.
Under the new rules, people camping within designated no encampment zones will be considered to have already received notice and may be subject to immediate enforcement. The city will still collect and store qualifying personal property for 60 days at no cost, allowing owners to reclaim it. Signs posted at each zone will notify people that camping is prohibited, explain how to retrieve impounded belongings and provide information about available shelter and services.
The ordinance also expands the city’s definition of camping. It now includes storing unattended personal property on public land, constructing semi-permanent shelters, digging or altering the ground to create shelters, using portable cooking devices or fires on public property outside designated barbecue areas, and sleeping in parked vehicles.
The city says no encampment zones may be established around sensitive infrastructure, environmentally significant areas and homeless shelters or navigation centers to protect public health, safety, sanitation and access.
During the ordinance’s first reading on June 23, city officials said major waterways would be among the first locations designated as no encampment zones because cleanup efforts there have been especially difficult.
Supporters said the changes will help protect waterways, parks and public spaces while giving city crews a more effective way to address persistent encampments.
Critics, however, argued the ordinance criminalizes homelessness without providing enough shelter or housing options.
The ordinance takes effect 30 days after its adoption.
