Newsom wants California cities to ban homeless encampments

May 12, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently provided a template for an ordinance for cities and counties to adopt to help local officials put an end to the many homeless encampments that have proliferated throughout the state.

Newsom directed the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to create guidance and a sample ordinance for local governments to follow in creating and implementing homeless camping rules. Since July 2021, the state has cleared more than 16,000 encampments from sites along the state right of way.

“This model ordinance is intended to provide a starting point that jurisdictions may build from and adjust in creating their own policies,” according to Newsom’s announcement. “These results demonstrate that the policy is both effective and scalable, offering a sound, adoptable framework for jurisdictions to resolve encampments with urgency and dignity.”

All ordinance need to include three basic principles, according to Newsom:

• No criminal prosecution for sleeping outside if there is no where to go.
• Encampment policies must prioritize shelter and services and ensure that unhoused people and their belongings are treated with respect.
• Ordinances must not unduly limit local authority to clear encampments.

“There is no compassion in abandoning Californians to the dangers and indignities of encampments,” according to Newsom’s announcement. “Encampments pose a serious public safety risk, often causing fires and exposing encampment residents to increased risk of sexual violence and criminal activity, to property damage and break-ins, and unsanitary conditions affecting both residents and neighbors.”