San Rafael temporarily bans homeless campers at City Hall

San Rafael will ban camping on City Hall grounds for six months because of health and safety concerns — including a rodent infestation — connected to a growing congregation of homeless people.

The encampment at 1400 Fifth Ave. “has more than quadrupled in size” in recent weeks, forcing visitors to walk between tents to enter City Hall, Daniel Cooperman, the community services director, wrote in a staff report.

The campers have polluted the site with trash, urine and rotten food, attracting rodents and other pests.