UKIAH, CA., 10/17/25 —The Ukiah City Council on Wednesday gave final approval to an ordinance that follows updated state guidance about unhoused people camping in public spaces and removes a requirement that encampments can only be cleared if shelter space is available.
During Wednesday night’s meeting, the City Council approved an ordinance amendment that will follow Gov. Gavin Newsom’s guidance on how local jurisdictions should address homeless encampments.
Earlier this year, Newsom released a model ordinance that aims to give guidance to government entities in creating their own policies on homelessness. The policies include providing advance notice of removals and partnering with service providers and shelters to help unhoused people.
The proposed changes to the city’s ordinance stem from the 2024 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, which stated that criminal punishment of people camping in public spaces is not considered “cruel and unusual” under the Eighth Amendment.
The approved change to the ordinance will remove the requirement that police may intervene in homeless encampments only if shelter space is available and a person refuses to move to the shelter. This means law enforcement can take action even when no shelter beds are available.
Another change requires the Ukiah Police Department and other city officials to make efforts to help people in violation of the ordinance find shelter. The police chief may also delegate enforcement authority to other city officials. Lastly, the amendment explicitly prohibits camping in the public right of way in a manner that blocks a pathway, in accordance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to the 2025 Point-in-Time count for Mendocino County, an annual survey conducted by the Mendocino County Homeless Services Continuum of Care to count sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in the county on a single night in January, the total number of unsheltered people in Mendocino County was 440.
For local homeless advocates like Marigold Klein, who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, there needs to be designated locations in the city of Ukiah where people living in their cars can sleep safely.
“Ukiah needs a safe place to park for unhoused people,” she emphasized during the meeting. “I have talked to people who are working full-time and still living in their cars because they can’t afford both food and rent. I see disabled people, elderly people, we need a safe place for them to sleep and it’s legal for them to sleep.”
One of those people who works but can’t afford housing and lives in her car is Jana Baker, who also gave an impassioned speech during the public comment period.
“I am currently homeless, and I’ve worked all my life,” Baker said. She noted that the salary she makes only allows her to buy food and gasoline, but not housing. “I make $1,200 a month, that’s what rent is. I could rent a place, and give up my storage, gasoline, food, and I’d have a roof over my head. It’s ridiculous.”
Baker also spoke about how community members often assume homeless people are not working. She explained that many people who live in their cars — including some of her neighbors — work regular jobs but still can’t afford the costs of renting a housing unit.
“My proposal is to have a space where people can feel safe. I’d like to see Ukiah have a place for these people, people like me. For people who want to go to work and come back to their car and still feel safe,” Baker said.
At the end of the public comment period, city staff asked Baker for her contact information so they could ensure she is on the appropriate lists for local subsidized housing for people experiencing homelessness who want to transition into housing.
“Thank you for your time, I appreciate it,” Baker said before departing the meeting.
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Nov. 5 at 5:15 p.m. at the Ukiah Civic Center at 300 Seminary Ave. Residents can also participate virtually via a Zoom link at the top of the agenda when it becomes available. Public comments can be emailed to cityclerk@cityofukiah.com or called in at (707) 463-6217. Meeting agendas can be found at cityofukiah.com/meetings.
With the so-called economy like it is and the cost of housing going through its own roof, this is a problem that’s likely to get worse. Some common sense is called for here, but the old Golden Rule has been replaced by the Gilded Regulation. To the detriment of all. It was the Supreme Court that gave us the Citizens United decision. Criminalizing everyone who has had some hard luck is an overly blunt tool for the situation.
Especially when Mendocino county was 2nd top money getter during the shelter in place …Mendocino county had gotten 7 BILLION dollars to house all HOMELESS people in motel rooms and transition out to permanent housing ..with every motel room rented and every housing voucher given FEMA reimbursed every penny that was given out for homeless as for the point in time counting …. It’s all wrong too because orr creek commons and the other new apartment building over by the tracks … yes we’re built for Mendocino homeless people …but everyone that moved in is from OUT OF COUNTY …therefore ….the county they moved out of got paid for them and that county didn’t even house them …Mendocino county did ..but the apartments were for Mendocino county homeless people …. …but they applied for out of county housing while still living in the county that got paid for them.but they came and took our spots that we got counted for .and that’s why there are so many of us STILL homeless …and the others counties are banking off us homeless people AGAIN
So who needs to find out why they were allowed to move in other counties to fill all those new low income apartments and our community members still homeless who needs to answer for this? Cause that is true that’s how that happened. And who is mis managing
all this ?!!!
Sure can’t be working many hours at the California minimum wage of $16.50 per hour if she is only making $1,200.00 per month.
It’s probably ssi… They get 1200.00 a month unless they prove homelessness…than the ssi recipient gets1300.00
Why was a photo – that is NOT of an encampment in Ukiah, used?? Mendocino Vouce tooooo lazy to go and and take a photo ?
Yep that is what happened !!! And why?¡!!!?!? 🤨
I feel like something really needs to be done I’m one of these ppl that the government is talking about. I have had bad credit since before I was born basically because my mom was putting phone bills cable bills in my name before I could walk. I’m 38 I didn’t graduate highschool i have NEVER had a driver’s license, I have been homeless since I left my mother’s house since I was 12 yrs old I mean on paperwork I lived with her for government benefits that helped my mother financially with my brother and myself while struggling with her own mental health issues she tried killing herself several times and passed that behavior on to my brother because I was embarrassed of what I didn’t understand I chose to hide my mental health symptoms my younger brother was successful in taking his own life in 2017 2 years later I lost my son at 5 weeks due to sids. the older I have gotten, my mental health has gotten worse. I have never really had my own place to live so from the age 12 to now I have had a total of maybe 5 places that were in my name only 1 of those were paid by me and that was not in full the other places I had assistance I’m in a housing program now I’m in my own apartment and I got excepted into the section 8 LACDA program and it’s supposed to be with me until I expire. I tried to kill myself a wk before my TLS housing went through to move me out of the homeless shelter into an actual apartment because the fact that I was homeless and I was trying to stay clean it got overwhelming and I tried to take my life now a yr later I’m excepted to a section 8 program I should be moving into my new apartment and nobody is saying anything now since my inspection and I’m assuming it’s because on Trump’s ridiculous idea to strips the homeless of all funds. like I feel like everyone that is required homeless should be given a section 8 voucher that provides money on a mortgage towards a rent to own therefore homeless people can own their home and they can eventually be taking off of section 8 that will continue to make openings for others to have their chance to be placed on section 8 and also be independent and own their own home in years to come eventually when their house is paid off. because being homeless is the worse thing you could be in this world is homeless my life spiralled out of controled fast and I was doing more drugs to try and stay awake meaning I was jumping in and out of random cars with random men? And that is dangerous but I had to make money to survive and now I just can’t do that anymore and I thought I never had to worry about begging some man to stay with him forced into having sex just to live there every time we fight they put me out keep my stuff and give it to the next female that comes along. and I can’t help how my brain works and it just doesn’t work right and I struggling in every aspect in life and because of my mental health I can’t keep a job I have entitlement issues abandonment issues, anger issues, control issues, PTSD , panic and anxiety attacks it’s out of my control and once again so is my housing situation but someone needs to come up with a program that can get us into a home that we own that belongs to us where nobody can make us leave and then get us moved off that program on to one that helps us maintain this property and give other people the opportunity to get housed and moved on so the government is not paying the rent for us to live until we die I mean you would think that people would have thought about this a long time ago now we have a president that doesn’t care about homelessness because they don’t understand because they are not eating at the same table we were born to eat at
No one should have to live on the streets. Casting aside smokescreens and bias, shelter is a priority, everything else follows. Excuses to prevent this essential need is unworthy of us. Find a solution and apply it, even if it goes against an individual’s protests. Just do it.
I used to live in SF and I watched my back alley go from a few folks to an overgrown tent city. Ukiah has a miniscule problem compared to that. It doesn’t have to be that way.