The City Council on Tuesday advanced a proposal to require advance notice when organizations or government agencies drop off unhoused people in Riverside – an effort officials said is meant to improve coordination and ease pressure on local shelters and outreach teams.
The proposed ordinance would add a new chapter to the Riverside Municipal Code requiring any agency, organization or employee acting on their behalf to notify the city manager and the Housing and Human Services director 24 hours in advance before transporting a person who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence into the city.
The notice would need to include information about the person being transported, where they are coming from, the reason for the transport and whether the receiving organization has agreed to accept them. A second notice would be required after the drop-off to confirm whether the person was placed into services or explain what happened if they were not.
City staff said the measure is meant to help connect people to housing navigation, health care and shelter instead of leaving them unsheltered in Riverside.
In the staff report, city officials said homelessness remains one of Riverside's biggest public health and safety challenges.
The report noted that the city had 614 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the city's 2025 point-in-time count and said uncoordinated drop-offs can strain the city's limited shelter beds, outreach capacity and housing resources.
The report also estimates it costs the city about $63,376.19 to stabilize one unsheltered person through shelter, rental assistance, case management, housing navigation and outreach services.
Officials also clarified that the proposal does not ban the transport of unhoused people into Riverside – and the city is not trying to criminalize homelessness or block charitable assistance and survival aid.
The ordinance helps the city identify where people are coming from and push for more regional coordination, according to the staff report.
The proposal also includes exemptions for jail bookings; transport to licensed medical facilities, social service or court appointments; city-run transport; and public transit operations.
The council introduced the ordinance on Tuesday; it will return to the council for a second vote in the coming weeks – and if adopted, it would go into effect 30 days later.
Civic Engagement Reporter who calls the Inland Empire home. Five years covering SoCal. APU journalism grad. Good conversations over coffee and stories that matter.
