City of Chico to enforce encampment restrictions

The City of Chico is enforcing a directive requiring homeless encampments to be moved away from city waterways.

Is enforcing a policy that will require many encampments to move.

Action news now reporter brandon benitez is live with more on this directive.

Alan, starting today city resources will be forcing encampments to remain atleast 50-feet away from city waterways... the city of chico approved encampments to exist throughout the city parks in march after governor gavin newsom mandated a stay- at-home order the council decided that it was important folks were safe during the covid-19 pandemic the hope was by keeping encampments together -- it would be easier to limit the spread of the virus while also making it easier to contact trace -- but after months of complaints the city is taking action when it comes to encampments built along waterways like here in comanche creek... there was also this reality that with doing that there was the potentiality of having some major degradation to those park lands...the city proactively did was engage with getting some restrooms in place in a lot of these areas and getting dumpsters and trash cans in place but still there were some issues that arose.

We were informed of those.

We have to go and manage those better encampments were required to remain 50 feet from city waterways -- but it took time for the rule to be prioritized and enforced... one of the things you find in local government is you only have so much resources