Anaheim Looks to Bolster Anti-Camping Laws After Supreme Court Ruling

Anaheim City Councilwoman Natalie Meeks wants her colleagues successful Anaheim to bolster metropolis laws against stateless encampments – perchance joining a big of OC cities tightening anti-camping laws successful the aftermath of a Supreme Court ruling this past summer.

“I’d similar to enactment with unit and (the constabulary department) to reappraisal what different cities person enacted and are considering aft the Grants Pass determination precocious and bring backmost for information an ordinance tailored to code Anaheim’s needs,” she said astatine the Sept. 10 assembly meeting.

Meeks besides called connected the city’s stateless task unit to place barriers to enforcing existent anti-camping laws.

Anaheim Councilmember Natalie Meeks connected April 16, 2024. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC

Her calls travel aft the Supreme Court overturned a lawsuit that required cities to connection structure to stateless radical earlier they were allowed to wide them disconnected the streets.

Since then, cities similar Newport Beach, San Clemente and Aliso Viejo person revamped their anti-camping laws, portion officials successful Garden Grove directed unit to bring backmost an ordinance prohibiting camping connected nationalist property.

The changes travel amid complaints from concern owners and residents calling for leaders to instrumentality enactment against stateless breaking section laws and arsenic section officials crossed OC conflict to code homelessness.

Meanwhile, advocates pass efforts to wide our encampments could pb to the criminalization of radical sleeping connected the streets – thing they accidental volition worsen the crisis.

David Duran, a founding subordinate of the People’s Homeless Task Force Orange County, said criminalizing homelessness volition jam up the jails and the tribunal system, but volition bash thing to halt much radical from becoming stateless amid precocious lodging costs.

“It’s a horrible soiled bandage that’s being placed connected a societal contented of poverty,” Duran said successful a telephone interrogation past week.

Westminster Officials Provide Direction to Staff successful Secret

City hallway successful Westminster, Calif. connected March 9, 2022. Credit: JACK SUNDBLAD, Voice of OC

Anaheim is not the lone metropolis considering cracking down connected stateless encampments.

Earlier this period officials successful Westminster held a treatment down closed doors connected the Supreme Court determination and were besides scheduled to discuss the ruling during the portion of the gathering unfastened to the public.

But the nationalist treatment determination ended up being scrapped by the assembly bulk who said they already discussed and gave absorption to unit astir the ruling astatine the closed doorway gathering and are choosing not to proceed with a nationalist update to support the metropolis from litigation.

Councilmembers Amy Phan West and NamQuan Nguyen argued with the assembly bulk to let attorneys to contiguous an update connected the Supreme Court ruling and beryllium transparent with residents.

But Councilwoman Kimberly Ho said West chose not to be the closed league information of the meeting.

West publically accused the metropolis assembly of violating the state’s main unfastened gathering instrumentality by not decently disclosing the closed doorway gathering connected the Supreme Court ruling.

What Changes Have Been Made?

Code enforcement officers, on with police, locomotion done the Maxwell Park stateless campy successful Anaheim. Dec. 21, 2018. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC

While Westminster officials are providing absorption connected the Supreme Court ruling retired of nationalist view, different officials are doing truthful successful the open.

In Newport Beach, officials voted successful August to amend their instrumentality to see greater prohibitions connected sleeping successful nationalist places and blocking nationalist close of ways.

[Read: Newport Beach Officials Bolster Anti-Camping Law After Supreme Court Ruling]

This includes prohibiting mounting up tents connected nationalist property, leaving idiosyncratic spot unattended astatine definite nationalist spaces and outlawing sleeping connected nationalist benches oregon motorcycle racks.

It besides prohibits radical from staying overnight oregon sleeping astatine a nationalist plaza betwixt 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the adjacent day, on with blocking entree to ATMs, electrical conveyance charging stations, parking wage stations oregon meters and nationalist trails.

Beyond that, Newport officials person opted not to renew their declaration for Be Well OC’s mobile effect squad – a unit of societal workers who respond to intelligence wellness and stateless calls alternatively of cops successful a fig of cities crossed the county.

Council members successful some Anaheim and Newport Beach person publically questioned the effectiveness of Be Well’s thoroughfare squad response.

County of Orange officials precocious backed retired of a declaration with Be Well aft an audit recovered systemic failures successful their program.

[Read: Orange County Drops Contract with Flagship Mental Health Nonprofit After Failed Audit]

In Aliso Viejo, officials removed the request to person structure beds disposable earlier being capable to mention oregon apprehension stateless radical for illegally sleeping oregon camping connected nationalist property.

Homelessness successful Anaheim

The stateless campy astatine Anaheim’s Maxwell Park, which was cleared retired Dec. 21, 2018. The radical were placed successful an exigency 200-bed structure adjacent Angel Stadium. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC

Officials successful Anaheim person agelong struggled with however to champion woody with stateless camps – particularly aft the 2018 evictions of encampments connected the Santa Ana Riverbed, which saw tiny stateless camps outpouring up successful parks and railroad tracks soon after. 

[Read: Anaheim Clears Homeless Camp astatine Maxwell Park, Offers People Shelter Beds]

Since then, the city’s funded and helped physique immoderate stateless shelters, but officials person struggled with immoderate houseless residents they telephone “service resistant.” 

The anti-camping petition by Councilwoman Meeks came aft officials directed unit to travel backmost with an ordinance that would necessitate developers to physique affordable homes successful definite residential projects oregon wage the metropolis a interest to boost their lodging banal for debased income residents.

[Read: How Will Anaheim Build More Affordable Homes?]

It besides came aft officials debated whether oregon not they should impact themselves successful enforcing authorities rent caps and tenant extortion laws arsenic immoderate residents facing evictions telephone connected officials for assistance and others called connected section leaders to enact a citywide rent power law.

According to the latest stateless number connected OC, determination are 1,417 stateless radical successful Anaheim and 601 of them are unsheltered.

This year, the Orange County Sheriff’s section released a report that showed 97 radical died surviving connected the streets of Anaheim successful 2022 – the astir deaths successful stateless radical retired of immoderate of 34 cities successful OC.

The deaths successful Anaheim relationship for adjacent to 20% of the 496 stateless deaths successful OC successful 2022.

Hosam Elattar is simply a Voice of OC newsman and corps subordinate with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him astatine [email protected] oregon connected Twitter @ElattarHosam.

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