ENCAMPMENTS in public spaces will soon be illegal in Garden Grove (Shutterstock).

By Jim Tortolano/Orange County Tribune

In one month, the parks, sidewalks and other public places in Garden Grove will be off-limits to people seeking to camp out.

On Tuesday night the city council voted 7-0 in favor of adopting an ordinance that is intended to reduce the number of homeless people bedding down in publicly-owned places.

It will take effect in 30 days.

The ordinance will ban camping in public places and interfering with public access. The new law will prohibit such activity on public property such as streets, alleyways, sidewalks, medians, parkways, driveways, rights of way, restrooms, public benches, bus benches, bus shelters, parks, open space, storm drains, public buildings or parking lots.

Additionally, the ordinance would prohibit camping near the entrances to a wide variety of public and private buildings, with distances ranging from 20 to 250 feet.

Unattended or abandoned personal property may be removed by city staff.

This new ordinance comes in consequence of the U.S Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson in 2024 in which the high court determined that imposing civil and criminal penalties for camping on public land didn’t constitute cruel and unusual punishment of homeless people.