Riverside Ordinance Requires 24-Hour Notice Before Organizations Transport Homeless People Into City

Organizations transporting people experiencing homelessness into Riverside must now provide written notice at least 24 hours before a drop-off under an ordinance announced July 28 to help coordinate services before the individual arrives.

The requirement applies when an organization transports into Riverside an individual who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. Drop-offs must take place during normal business hours, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., to give city staff and service providers time to coordinate shelter placement, behavioral health services, housing navigation and other assistance.

Organizations subject to the ordinance include municipal and county agencies, law enforcement agencies, hospitals and medical facilities, behavioral health and recuperative care providers, nonprofit organizations, social service agencies and other institutions arranging transportation.

Written notification can be submitted through an online form at riversideca.gov/HHS. Once submitted, the form notifies the city manager and the director of Housing and Human Services.

First violations will result in a written warning. Subsequent violations can lead to an administrative citation, with applicable hearing and appeal procedures. The city may also pursue civil remedies to collect unpaid administrative fines.

“Ensuring an unhoused person has the best chance at success requires coordination of services, and that is made infinitely more difficult when an individual is brought to our city in a haphazard way,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said. “Riverside is committed to assisting unhoused people living in our city on the path to self-reliance, and this ordinance will give us the best opportunity to do that.”

City officials said the notification system will allow Riverside to determine where transported individuals originated, coordinate with service providers and reduce the likelihood that people are released into unsheltered conditions.

The city also expects the system to support discussions with neighboring jurisdictions about shared responsibilities and funding while helping Riverside manage its limited shelter, outreach and housing resources.

The ordinance regulates transportation arranged by organizations and does not restrict an individual’s right to travel or relocate. It also does not criminalize homelessness or prohibit charitable assistance and basic survival services permitted under California Government Code Section 53069.44.

The city said the ordinance responds partly to a continuing shortage of emergency shelter beds and affordable housing despite state and local investments. The 2025 Point-in-Time Count administered by the Riverside County Continuum of Care identified 614 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness within Riverside.

Riverside has invested in its Homelessness Action Plan, expanded shelter capacity and provided housing navigation and coordinated outreach through its Public Safety and Engagement Team. The city also works with Riverside County agencies and nonprofit providers to offer shelter, recuperative care, behavioral health treatment and permanent housing placement.

City officials said Riverside’s role as a regional center for services creates additional challenges. The city is home to the Robert Presley Detention Center, regional hospitals, behavioral health facilities, emergency shelters and motels being used as temporary shelter.

According to the city, those facilities contribute to an influx of people experiencing homelessness who come from outside Riverside, sometimes without prior coordination or a confirmed housing or service plan.

The city also said some people cited or arrested in their home jurisdictions for low-level offenses are later released in Riverside without stable housing plans. Local recuperative care data cited by the city similarly indicate that a significant number of patients come from outside Riverside and that some remain in the city after being discharged without permanent housing.

As an example, the city cited a recent incident in which it said a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy transported an individual experiencing homelessness from Jurupa Valley and dropped the person off outside the Riverside Access Center without first coordinating with city staff or service providers.

Riverside officials said uncoordinated drop-offs place additional pressure on the city’s shelter beds, outreach workers and housing resources. The city estimates that providing shelter, rental assistance, housing navigation, case management and outreach to stabilize one unsheltered person costs about $63,000.