Unhoused residents would be fined or jailed for sleeping outside “beyond 60 consecutive minutes” in San Joaquin County under rules supervisors plan to vote on this month.
The Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 on Tuesday to schedule for Sept. 24 a decision that would change existing camping rules to punish homeless residents for setting up bedding, tents, or shelter, or using a vehicle, to sleep on county land for more than one hour.
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Homeless residents caught using makeshift beds or shelter for sleeping would get an up to $1,000 fine, up to six months of jail time or both, the proposed rule states.
The amendment would further ban stopping to set up shelter or bedding “within 300 feet of any previous stopping point in a 24-hour period,” it states.
It would also eliminate a 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. window when camping isn’t explicitly banned.
The Stockton City Council too will likely consider new camping rules within the next month, City Manager Harry Black said Aug. 29.