Sonora Proposal To Crack Down On Issues Arising From Homelessness

Sonora, CA — The Sonora City Council will vote on items aimed at reducing shopping cart theft, lying on sidewalks, and bathing in public restrooms.

The city had earlier passed an ordinance prohibiting camping in public spaces, but there were legal issues that prevented its enforcement. However, the US Supreme Court recently overturned a decision in Boise, Idaho, which essentially now allows the enforcement of camping bans in public spaces.

In addition to the city’s existing rules (camping restrictions), the city council will vote this evening on expanding the ordinance to address other matters. They include sitting or lying on any public sidewalks in the city (currently there are only restrictions for the downtown district), prohibiting bathing or washing clothes in public restrooms or fountains, and cracking down on shopping cart theft.

The latter would place new requirements on businesses that provide shopping carts. It includes requiring identification on all carts, installing removal warning signs, and submitting an abandoned cart prevention plan to the city. There would be exemptions for shops (from submitting a plan) that have under 15 carts or are willing to install a security system that causes the wheels to lock when they move past an established perimeter. The city would also be able to impose penalties to recover the costs related to shopping cart recovery.

The ordinance changes will be discussed at today’s meeting starting at 5 pm.