The fact that being homeless is not a crime weighed heavy in the minds of several members of the Huntington Beach City Council Tuesday night as they decided to ease existing punishments related to the storage of personal property in public spaces. While making the language around personal property violations more precise, the council voted 6-1 to stop using misdemeanors as an option as punishment for such violations. Councilwoman Natalie Moser introduced a motion to start treating the storage of personal property in public spaces as an infraction instead of a misdemeanor. The city must provide 24-hour advance notice to impound any property stored on public land. The city must protect and store any property impounded for 90 days and must return it to its owner upon request.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 17, 2021 23:17 UTC