NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Newport Beach will have a new “anti-camping mandate” that kicks in Oct. 10. The new law builds on the city’s tent ban from 2023.

Newport Beach spokesman John Pope says, “It is now illegal to camp in the city even without a tent. So, sleeping on sidewalks, sleeping in cars, if you have a sleeping bag and you’re out in public, that could be a citation.”

It could also lead to arrests, but Pope says the city’s focus and emphasis will be on connecting homeless people with services and housing.

In this story you’ll also hear from a property owner in Newport Beach, the nonprofit PATH which is partnering with the city to help homeless people, and Lawrence Addesso, a homeless man who’s been living at a bus depot in Newport Beach for a few years.