LA PALMA : City to Consider Anti-Camping Law
The City Council will discuss tonight whether La Palma should become the next Orange County city to prohibit overnight camping on public property.
The city currently has no problem with homeless people camping in its city park, Mayor Larry A. Herman said. But the council may want an ordinance on the books in case the homeless begin to show up in La Palma in greater numbers, he said.
“I don’t really have the right answer,” Herman said. “It may be appropriate to have it on the books as an ordinance. And if the times were to change and (homelessness) impacts us in some fashion, it would be available for us to use if we see the need.”
Several City Council members from neighboring cities talked about anti-camping laws at a recent West Orange County Mayors Group meeting, he said.
Santa Ana, Fullerton and Orange adopted anti-camping laws in May. Several other cities, including Garden Grove, have considered similar ordinances to dissuade people from staying overnight in parks and on other city property.
Herman said he is unsure how fellow council members will react to the idea, because camping in the city has not been a problem and homeless people don’t seem to have many choices about where to sleep.
The council will discuss the anti-camping ordinance at its 7:30 p.m. meeting at City Hall.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
