Long Beach now enforcing its longstanding ban on public camping — starting with parks
With most emergency and temporary shelters in the city close to capacity, it's unclear where unhoused people will go.
Long Beach began enforcement of its decades-old ban on public camping, targeting several parks and public spaces around the city for cleanups, but with most emergency or temporary shelters close to capacity it’s unclear where people ousted from parks will go.
On Monday at Gumbiner Park, after sending outreach workers there regularly for several months, the city cleared an encampment and fenced in most of the property, according to information provided by city spokesperson Kevin Lee. The fence will allow workers to repair damage and refurbish the park, Lee said.
Deputy City Manager Teresa Chandler laid out the city’s enforcement strategy in a public memo last week, explaining that the city will focus on encampments “that pose significant and persistent obstruction to use of public resources like parks, libraries and beaches.”
