BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
Redwood City Council tonight (July 21) will consider a ban on homeless encampments. But some residents fear the proposal will criminalize homelessness.
After meetings with residents in April and July, where officials received mixed responses, Assistant City Manager Patrick Heisigner is proposing a ban similar to the one in place in San Mateo County.
Heisigner’s proposal calls for removing encampments within 200 feet away from schools after a 48-hour notice.
Heisigner said the ban San Mateo County has is less penalizing when compared to other cities.
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approved a camping ban on January 23, 2024, allowing authorities to issue a misdemeanor citation for camping after two warnings. The day after the homeless are given a ticket, their encampment will be placed in a process to clean up.
Cleanup
The city Public Works Department will schedule a clean up with two weeks notice. A space for housing will be ready for the encampment ahead of time. Police and outreach workers will be working with the homeless before, during and after the clean up.
Any personal belongings that are removed will be saved for 90 days for the homeless to retrieve.
Redwood City Police will then monitor the areas where encampments were cleared to make sure there’s no re-encampment.
The homeless will be at risk of receiving a citation of up to $500 or six months in jail.
During a meeting in April, some residents expressed concerns about criminalizing the homeless and forcing them into shelters, Heisigner said.
During virtual meetings on July 1 and July 2, a survey was conducted among attendees, with the majority supporting the city having an encampment ordinance, Heisigner said.
Number of homeless drops
In 2024, San Mateo found 2,130 homeless people in a count, with Redwood City having the highest count of 189 people without homes. In January 2024, County Manager Mike Callagy reported 1,657 homeless in the county, 897 of which are living on the streets while 15-30 shelter beds go unused every night.
The number of homeless in Redwood City has decreased since 2023, according to Heisigner. In 2023, 205 people were unsheltered, compared to 141 in June 2025. There has been a 42% decrease since 2022, Heisigner said.
The proposed ordinance follows the $2.85 million grant the city received on March 5 to further its work with helping people in homeless encampments to find stable housing and cleaning up areas. The grant is focused on being used at the intersection of Highway 101 and Highway 84, Woodside Road, and Seaport Blvd, according to the statement.
This is the second grant that the city has received. In 2022, $1.84 million was awarded to the city. During that time, the number of people without homes went down 23% while it went up 18% countywide, according to data collected by San Mateo County.