Does Culver City prohibit tents or other makeshift shelters in certain public places?
Yes. Culver City prohibits setting up tents or other makeshift shelters, in certain public places, such as parks, streets, sidewalks, schools and government property. It also prevents storage of certain items, such as personal property, cots, beds, and hammocks, in those public places. You can find the specific language of the prohibition in Culver City Municipal Code Section 9.10.700.
Why does Culver City prohibit tents or other makeshift shelters in certain public places?
Culver City prohibits tents or other makeshift shelters in certain public places to protect the health and safety of everyone who lives, works, and visits Culver City and to ensure that public spaces are safe and accessible to all.
What does the City do if someone sets up a tent or makeshift shelter in a prohibited public place?
Culver City leads with support and care, housing and services. If someone sets up a tent or makeshift shelter in a prohibited public place, the City’s goals are:
- To help the person who has setup the tent or makeshift shelter and encourage them to accept safer and healthier housing, shelter and services.
- To ensure that everyone in the community can stay safe and healthy.
How does the City help the person who setup the tent or makeshift shelter in a prohibited public place?
Culver City leads with support and care, housing and services. The City helps the person who set up the tent or makeshift shelter by offering the person safer and healthier housing and shelter and services including access to mental health care, substance use services, and street medicine services.
Does the City cite, ticket, or arrest someone for setting up a tent or makeshift shelter in a prohibited public place?
No. It is the City’s policy to not cite, ticket, or arrest someone who has setup a tent or makeshift shelter in a prohibited public place.
What items does Culver City prohibit from being setup or stored in certain public places?
Tents, huts, other temporary physical shelters, cots, beds, hammocks, and personal property are prohibited from being setup or stored in certain public places.
What items does Culver City not prohibit from being setup or stored in certain public places?
Sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, and similar bedding used while sleeping are not prohibited from being setup or stored in certain public places.
Culver City does not prohibit the following additional activities and items:
- Individuals that sleep at a location, who have not setup a tent or makeshift shelter, and who take their belongings with them when they leave.
- Gatherings of individuals during the day who have not setup a tent or makeshift shelter.
How do I report a tent or makeshift shelter in a prohibited public place?
To report a tent or makeshift shelter in a prohibited public location, contact Culver City Homeless Services by phone at (310) 253-6767, by email at homelessservices@culvercity.org, or by using the City’s website.
How does the City respond when it receives a report of a tent or makeshift shelter in a prohibited public location?
City workers visit the location to verify the report. Next, specialized City homeless outreach workers visit the location. The specialized homeless outreach workers talk with the person who setup the tent or makeshift shelter, who is likely experiencing homelessness, and give them information about safer and healthier housing and services that the City provides. The homeless outreach workers encourage the person to move to safer and healthier housing and shelter.
What happens if the person experiencing homelessness does not accept the offer of safer and healthier housing and services?
If the person experiencing homelessness chooses not to accept the City’s offer of safer and healthier housing and services, the homeless outreach workers leave. The homeless outreach workers will return to attempt to talk to the person three additional times, for a total of four attempts to talk to the person.
What happens if homeless outreach workers make four attempts to talk to the person and the person still does not want to use the City’s safer and healthier shelter and services?
After four attempts to talk to the person, City workers post a notice at the site that the owner of the items must remove the tent, makeshift shelter, or other prohibited items within 72 hours, or the City will remove and store the items. The time period in which the notice is posted may be longer or shorter, depending on the situation or if public health and safety are immediately compromised. If 72 hours pass and the items are still not removed, the City will remove and store the items.
How does Culver City remove and store items that were found to violate the City’s prohibition on tents or makeshift shelters in certain public places?
After at least four outreach attempts and a 72-hour notification, there is an expectation that the person will remove the items in violation, and hopefully also accept safer and healthier housing and services. If that does not happen, City employees from multiple City departments including Housing and Human Services, Public Works, Police, and the City Manager’s Office, will respond to the site. City employees will dismantle tents and makeshift structures, remove trash, and move remaining prohibited items to the City’s secure storage site to be stored for 90 days.
What is the role of the Police Department when responding to items in violation of the City’s prohibition on tents or makeshift shelters in certain public places?
Police officers from the Culver City Police Department will respond along with employees from multiple City departments to sites where items remain in violation. The role of Police officers is to ensure the security of City employees while they are doing their job at the site. The Police officers are not present to cite or arrest the person who is in violation.
What happens if someone is inside a tent or makeshift structure when Culver City employees arrive to remove items in violation of the City’s prohibition on tents or makeshift shelters in certain public places?
City staff will request the person leave the tent or makeshift structure. The City will not forcibly remove someone from inside a tent or makeshift structure.
What type of items does Culver City remove and store?
Culver City does not remove sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, and other bedding items currently in use. Other usable items are collected and stored. Items that may be soiled or contaminated are not stored. Debris and trash are disposed of and not stored.
What does the City do with items that are removed?
The City removes items and stores them in a clean, dry, secure, location in Culver City for 90 days.
How can people retrieve items that have been removed?
People may arrange to collect their item that were removed by calling (310) 253-6400 during regular business hours, Monday to Friday from 7 AM to 3 PM. Items are stored and available for collection for up to 90 days.
What are the safer and healthier housing and services options that the City provides?
Culver City offers a variety of safer and healthier housing and services options, including:
- Access to mental health care, substance use services, and street medicine services.
- Project Homekey: 73 units of temporary and permanent supportive housing with hot meals, linen and laundry service, security, and access to social services including an on-site case manager, 24/7 health monitoring, and mental health clinicians.
- Safe Sleep: 20 units of temporary housing in tents, with hot meals, showers, laundry service, 24/7 security, and access to social services.
- Local Motels: 64 units of temporary housing in two local motels leased by the City, including meals, security, and case management services.
How does the City help people access safer and healthier housing and shelter and services including access to mental health care, substance use services, and street medicine services?
Culver City contracts with homeless outreach workers from the non-profit St. Joseph Center. These teams are dispatched to provide outreach and connect people experiencing homelessness to temporary and long-term housing and shelter, and services including mental health care and substance use services. Culver City contracts with Healthcare in Action for street medicine services for people experiencing homelessness.
Why do some people experiencing homelessness decline the housing and services that the City offers?
It is not uncommon for individuals to decline housing or services. There are multiple reasons why this may occur: negative previous experiences with housing or services; perceived or actual restrictions and requirements for housing or services; wanting to maintain connection to a specific location; mental health issues; and/or substance use issues. Homeless outreach workers cannot force people to accept housing or services. However, homeless outreach workers continue to motivate and encourage people experiencing homelessness to accept housing and supportive services by creating an empathic, positive, and trusting relationship.
What happens if someone is experiencing homelessness in Culver City but has not set up a tent or makeshift shelter in a prohibited public location?
Homelessness is not a crime. If someone is experiencing homelessness but has not set up a tent or makeshift shelter in a prohibited public location, the City’s homeless outreach workers will talk to the person and offer housing and services. If the person experiencing homelessness chooses not to accept the offer of housing and services, the homeless outreach workers will return regularly to talk to the person. The person will not be cited or arrested, nor will possessions be removed and stored that are not in violation of the City’s prohibition on setting up tents or makeshift shelters in certain public places.
What happens after a tent or makeshift shelter is removed to prevent setup of another tent or makeshift shelter?
It can be frustrating when a tent or makeshift shelter is removed from a prohibited public location, only to be subsequently re-assembled. In these circumstances, the City will continue to lead with care and support by offering the person who setup the tent or makeshift shelter safer and healthier housing and services. If those services are not accepted, the City will post a notice at the site that owner of the items must remove the prohibited items within 72 hours, or the City will remove and store the items. The time period of the posting may be longer or shorter, depending on the situation or if public health and safety are immediately compromised. If 72 hours pass and the items are still not removed, the City will remove and store the items. It is the City’s policy to not cite or arrest a person who continues to setup tents or makeshift shelters, even if that person creates a violation multiple times.