A proposed ordinance in Ripon may sound like it’s aimed at criminalizing the homeless.
But that may be far from the truth.
At the recent Ripon City Council meeting, City Attorney Tom Terpstra indicated that the “Camping along the Stanislaus River” – this municipal code also prohibits storage of personal property along this stretch of waterway and use of a vehicle for sleeping or as a living accommodation within the city – proposal, instead, could be useful for the Ripon Police Department in assisting an individual to locate some of the available services within the region.
“Currently, camping and storing personal property in other locations within the City and use of vehicles for sleeping or as living accommodations within the City are not addressed in the (municipal) code,” he said at the Jan. 10 meeting.
As it stands, police have no method to curb activities associated with unauthorized camping.
“The use of streets and public areas for camping, sleeping or living in vehicles, for the storage of personal property interferes with the rights of others to use these areas for their intended purpose. Such activities can also constitute a public health and safety hazard, which adversely impacts other members of the public, neighborhoods, and commercial areas,” according to the staff report by Terpstra and Police Chief Ed Ormonde.
This includes a possibility of a major fire by illegal campers using outdoor cooking equipment “where high levels of combustible vegetation are located (e.g. wooden areas),” the report said.
Terpstra noted that the ordinance pertains to property with public access such as a park or public parking lots, from sunset to sunrise.
Vice Mayor Michael Restuccia questioned the timing, asking “why not all day?”
Terpstra pointed out that the ordinance would cover actual overnight sleeping and camping. “You can’t prohibit napping in a park during the day (by someone taking a break from work) – it’s a public area,” he said.
Council approved waiving the first reading and introduce to the ordinance.
To contact reporter Vince Rembulat, e-mail vrembulat@mantecabulletin.com.
Ripon seeks to ban camping along Stanislaus