Pico Rivera, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Adopted by Ordinance 1185 on July 9, 2024, Chapter 9.56 responds to shopping carts, tents and debris accumulating on city property by splitting personal property into three tracks. Section 9.56.030 flatly prohibits storing any personal property on public property unless the Municipal Code expressly allows it. Section 9.56.060(B) then sets the removal procedure: property within a fifteen-foot radius of someone camping, as recognized in Martin v. City of Boise (9th Cir. 2019) 920 F.3d 584, is not automatically 'abandoned' and can only be removed after twenty-four-hour pre-removal notice posted at the site, followed by post-removal notice explaining how to retrieve it.

Property blocking a 'critical use area,' such as within ten feet of a building entrance or critical infrastructure, within five feet of a marked parking space, or an ADA-required clear path, can be removed on shorter post-removal notice alone even if it belongs to someone camping. Once removed, Section 9.56.060(B)(5) requires the city or sheriff to store the property for ninety days at a location that reasonably facilitates retrieval, keeping written records of the date, location and a general description of what was taken. Anyone can retrieve stored items during business hours under subsection (B)(6).

Items unclaimed after ninety days are deemed abandoned under subsection (B)(7) and may be destroyed, donated or sold, while items presenting a health risk, such as those soiled by bodily fluids or infested with vermin, can be discarded immediately without any storage obligation under the exceptions in subsection (B)(8).