POLICE ISSUE 72-HOUR CAMPING NOTICES
The Chico Police Target Team distributed the first 72-hour notices to evacuate homeless people illegally camping on Monday, a week after the first 7-day notices were issued.
“You must removed all property within 72 hours,” read an illegal encampment notification attached Laura Bailey’s tent in front of the Chico City Council Chambers.
According to the notice, the illegal encampment is in violation of Chico Municipal Code sections 9.20.055 and/ or 9.50.030(C) which cite the storage of personal property in public places and/or waterway-storage of personal property for 24 hours or more.
“If the personal property described above is not removed from the above location
within 72 hours, then you may receive a citation or be subject to arrest for violation of the laws listed in this notice,” said the notification.
During the next few days, the team expects to deliver notices to about 60 people while continuing to do voluntary assessments to refer to eligible homeless people to either the Pallet shelter or the Torres Shelter, said Interim City Manager Paul Hahn.
“I want to stress that giving the 72-hour notice does not necessarily mean we will begin enforcement at hour 73,” said Hahn. “In fact, the 72-hour is the minimum we must wait before enforcing. We want to make sure we finish all the assessments and apply time for more voluntary compliance before enforcing. Actual enforcement could very well not happen until next
week.”
Attached to the notification was a page that had been filled out when the city outreach and engagement team attempted to contact the person. The page includes a list of five different days that the team attempted to reach out to them along with the name of the resident of the illegal
encampment.
“You are camping on public property,” said the page. “The city has determined that there is enough shelter spaces a the city’s Pallet shelter site and/or Torres Community Shelter for everyone camping at this location. You may move to one of these shelters.”
On Friday, Chico announced the location of three alternate campsites for people who were determined by an assessment to not be recommendable to one of the two shelters in the city. The three shelters include one-acre sites on the corners of Fair Street and Country Drive and Cohasset and Eaton roads and a two-acre piece of land on the corner of Bruce and Humboldt roads.
According to the notification, the public property must be cleared by May 23.
“As I have said repeatedly throughout this process, this is going to be take some time to apply the anti-campong ordinance throughout the city and people need to be patient,” said Hahn.