Should a group of homeless people be allowed to camp together in Sacramento without outside monitoring? Safe Ground Sacramento, a group of mostly homeless people, says it should have the right to be “self-governing” and to operate an overnight camp independently. But a few Sacramento City Council members said they disagreed with that idea Tuesday. The City Council held a workshop on the safe ground issue as part of its weekly meeting. Over the past two years, Safe Ground Sacramento has asked the city to dedicate land for a site where the homeless could camp legally overnight. The city has an ordinance that bans overnight camping. One of the group’s key principles is that its members ar

At Mayor Kevin Johnson's request, homeless campers have cleared out of a vacant lot used in a "safe ground" dispute with the city, he said Monday. Johnson visited the property near 13th and C streets, which is owned by attorney Mark Merin, over the weekend to discuss the ongoing controversy with campers, the mayor said in a late afternoon press conference. On Sunday, as many as 40 people left the property where they'd been camping for a month after saying they believe their statement has been made. They agreed to negotiate with the city for at least one legal campground, Johnson said. "I felt this would be a distraction if they continued to camp there illegally," he said outside City Ha