Thousand Oaks, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Bridge Housing Siting (2026)

TOMC Sec. 2525 imposes special zoning standards on emergency shelters beyond ordinary use permits. Spacing is fixed: no shelter can locate less than 300 feet from another emergency shelter under subsection (d). Subsection (e) requires on-site management at all times the shelter is open, at a ratio of at least one staff person per 15 clients, and that staff must be trained in emergency evacuation, shelter operating procedures, first aid, and non-violent crisis intervention. Clients get clean beds, toilets, showers, bedding, and laundry access, plus referrals to medical, psychiatric, housing, educational, social, and nutritional services, and no one can be denied shelter for inability to pay.

Management must post shelter rules, bar alcohol and illegal drugs, log client demographics with an annual report to the City, clear litter within 48 hours, and provide an outdoor smoking area; nothing brought by clients may be stored outdoors. The six-month length-of-stay cap in subsection (e)(11) is waived only for low-barrier navigation centers. Security duties in subsection (f) require well-lit, clearly marked entrances and exits, external and internal security lighting, individual lockers, separate sleeping and bathing areas by sex and for families, and a ban on camping or sleeping anywhere on the premises outside the shelter building itself.

Parking is set at one space per staff person during the largest shift, plus bicycle racks and a staffed client intake counter. The section was adopted by Ord. 1547-NS in 2011 and amended twice recently, by Ord. 1730-NS effective May 24, 2024 and Ord. 1733-NS effective January 3, 2025, which is when the low-barrier navigation center carve-out to the six-month cap was added.