At an April 13 special meeting, the San Luis Obispo City Council amended its municipal code to explicitly ban the use of tents in public parks and passed a new ordinance regulating shopping carts—both moves that aim to curb the impacts of homelessness, but that opponents say target and punish the unhoused during a pandemic. The City Council voted 4-1 to pass the prohibition on tents at parks. In January, city officials began interpreting existing laws on "encroachment" to include tents—which had proliferated in parks, especially Mitchell Park—issuing three citations thus far. The April 13 amendment codified that interpretation into law, officials told the council.