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

The county's Red Line Channel ordinance prohibits camping, sleeping, unattended property storage, tents, structures, and open flames on publicly owned flood-control property and adjacent critical infrastructure in the unincorporated county. Section 5704(b) builds a mandatory warning step into enforcement. When evidence of camping, personal property storage, or other prohibited activity is discovered, a written notice must be posted conspicuously on or near the site, advising that the prohibited activities must cease and property be removed within the time stated. ' The 72 hours is a floor, not a ceiling, so the county may give more time but never less.

Property removed during enforcement is stored for 90 days before disposal, which gives a displaced person a defined window to retrieve belongings after a cleanup rather than losing them outright. The ordinance treats emergencies differently: an Emergency Order, for example during predicted high water flows or wildfire, can require immediate evacuation without the 72-hour posting. The rule reaches only the Red Line flood-control channels and related infrastructure; it does not govern general streets, sidewalks, or property inside incorporated cities, which are subject to other laws.