Salinas, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

Enacted as part of Article XIV's camping prohibition (Ord. No. 2599 (NCS), 2017; amended by Ord. No. 2694 (NCS), February 24, 2026), Sec. 060 is narrower than a blanket downtown sit-lie law: it applies only after a police officer, other city employee, or official has notified the individual that the specific conduct is prohibited. Once notified, a person may not walk, stand, sit, or lie on a monument, vase, decorative or drinking fountain, bike rack, trash receptacle, median, fire hydrant, street-tree planter, berm, utility cabinet, railing, fence, planter, stairwell, parking lot, or parking structure, or on a public lawn or planted area posted with signs forbidding that conduct.

The rule works alongside Sec. 030(e), which separately bars sleeping, sitting, lying, or placing personal property within two hundred feet of any posted notice to vacate issued under the city's personal-property removal process, or other official signage restricting that conduct at a specific enforcement location. Neither section imposes a blanket, city-wide ban on sitting or lying on ordinary sidewalks; the restriction attaches to specifically listed fixtures, posted lawns, or areas near posted enforcement notices, and only takes effect against a given person after they have been personally told the conduct is unlawful there.