Merced County, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

035 bans camping, defined as erecting shelter, arranging bedding, or sleeping in a parked vehicle for more than 60 consecutive minutes or within 500 feet of a prior stop in 24 hours, across eight categories of publicly accessible land: public buildings, county highways, county parks, recreation areas, roads, sidewalks, critical infrastructure (fire stations, jails, utilities, waterways, and similar), and waterways. Subsection (D) separately bans storing personal property, camp facilities or camp paraphernalia in those same locations. Subsection (E) authorizes the county to abate camp facilities and encampments after written notice, or immediately without notice if the sheriff-coroner, in consultation with the county executive officer, determines the encampment poses an imminent threat to health, safety or critical infrastructure, such as fire or flood risk or blocked emergency access.

Abated personal property that is not contraband must be stored for 60 days under applicable sheriff's policy. Subsection (F) also lets private property owners request a Letter of Authorization under Penal Code Section 602(o), letting the sheriff's department enter their land for up to 12 months to address trespassing encampments. 060(S) of the county code.