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Aliso Viejo city officials are tightening their anti-camping law following a Supreme Court ruling that gave cities more power to clear homeless encampments.
It’s one of the first Orange County cities to make any changes after the ruling and subsequent calls from the governor to start cracking down on encampments.
Supreme Court Justices’ ruling in the Grants Pass v. Johnson case earlier this summer reversed the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal ruling in Martin v. Boise, which mandated that cities must provide adequate shelter beds before they can push homeless people off the streets.
It’s a rule that many officials say has largely prevented city and county officials from clearing out homeless encampments in the past.
After the ruling, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order calling on state agencies to adopt clear policies that urgently address homeless encampments.
[Read: Gov. Newsom Calls on Local Leaders to Clean Up Encampments – Will They?]
In response, the Aliso Viejo City Council voted unanimously last week to remove the exception in their anti-camping law that references Martin v. Boise’s shelter space rule.
That means the city no longer needs to have shelter beds available to cite or arrest people for illegally sleeping or camping on public property.
City Attorney Scott Smith emphasized that doesn’t mean the city is stopping all homelessness outreach efforts.
“The city still has programs,” Smith told council members during last week’s meeting. “The county still has programs. The sheriff still has programs to make sure that people aren’t unhoused sleeping in your streets. But if they’re resistant to those programs, you have — with this code revision — the ability to cite them.”
Some of the council members disagreed with the Supreme Court ruling, saying they were only approving the item to align city code to abide by the Justice’s decision.
Councilmember Tiffany Ackley called the ruling a “failure of humanity” but still voted to update the ordinance.
“We don’t do enough for at-risk people, people who are suffering from homelessness or from mental illness or what be it, and I am saddened by this rule,” Ackley said.
“However, I also believe very strongly in democracy and the three branches of government, and I believe in following the law,” she said. “The judiciary has declared that this is the law, so I will vote that we stay within the confines of the law.”
Mayor Mike Munzing also mentioned he didn’t agree with the ruling before voting to approve the changes.
The item will need to return to the council again for a second reading and vote before it can go into effect.
Are Other Cities Making Changes?
For years, cities across the county were blocked from clearing homeless encampments until they had enough shelter beds.
City leaders have often protested against Martin v. Boise for establishing the shelter rule.
But now that it’s gone, few city and county leaders have laid out plans for what they’re going to do next.
[Read: What Does The Future of Homeless Camping Enforcement In Orange County Look Like?]
Aliso Viejo is one of the first cities to update their local laws to reflect the Supreme Court ruling and Newsom’s executive order.
Next up, San Clemente city officials are slated to consider an update to their city’s anti-camping ordinance at their next meeting on Aug. 20.
In Santa Ana, Mayor Valerie Amezcua has called for a renewed focus on clearing out homeless people in the city.
[Read: Is An Anti-Camping Crackdown Coming To Santa Ana?]
She emphasized a focus on bus stops to prevent homeless people from using illegal drugs and sleeping where people should be able to wait for the bus.
“They should not be passed out, drugged out, half naked on our bus stops because people need to use the bus and they need to sit there,” Amezcua said at the council’s July 16 meeting. “I would love to help people more, but we don’t have the ability to carry every single person on our back in the city of Santa Ana.”
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.
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