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Officials in Newport Beach became the latest in Orange County to strengthen its anti-camping laws in the wake of a supreme court ruling that clears the way for cities to crack down on homeless camps.
[Read: Is Orange County About To Enforce Anti-Camping Laws Again?]
On Tuesday, officials voted unanimously to amend their law to include greater prohibitions on sleeping in public places and blocking public streets and sidewalks in a city that has allocated $3.4 million in the current budget on outreach services to get people into shelters and off the street.
Councilwoman Lauren Kleiman said the Supreme Court has made it easier to tackle homeless encampments in Newport Beach by eliminating the old precedent of requiring a city to have a certain amount of shelter beds before enforcing anti-camping laws.
“For years, we and many other cities have been burdened by the challenge of trying to combat homelessness with our hands tied behind our backs,” she said at the meeting.
“The bottom line is we need to use every tool available to get people off the street, but we also need to use every tool available to protect the rights and safety of everyone else in our community.”
Councilwoman Robyn Grant said the ruling gives them a chance to make a much needed paradigm shift when it comes to addressing homelessness as some people continue to refuse to go to a shelter or receive mental health services.
“We can continue to offer the services and offer the shelter. That’s not something that we’re just going to withdraw,” she said. “But it’s no longer a prerequisite. It’s not something that’s an impediment to the enforcement in our city and that’s the big difference.”
For half an hour Tuesday night, residents and business owners called for greater enforcement of anti-camping laws and taking action against homeless people breaking local laws as some of them recounted stories of witnessing public urination, defecation, assault and drug use.
Jennifer Hoff, a Newport Beach resident, said at the Tuesday meeting the city should take a zero tolerance policy on “vagrants” and said most are mentally ill.
“If we take sick people and give them medication when they really need it, they can stabilize and live very productive lives. If we have a zero tolerance policy on vagrancy, we might see crime reduced immediately,” said Hoff, adding she herself has been homeless and has a child who has been homeless.
Meanwhile, advocates warn efforts to clear our encampments could lead to the criminalization of people sleeping on the streets – something they say will worsen the crisis.
[Read: What Does The Future of Homeless Camping Enforcement In Orange County Look Like?]
Newport Beach & Other OC Cities Cracking Down on Camps
The discussion comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom called on city officials to clear out encampments across the state.
Since the Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, officials in San Clemente, Aliso Viejo and Garden Grove have either bolstered local anti-camping laws or called on staff to draft such a law.
Newport Beach officials adopted a law last year that prohibits people from camping on public property when shelter beds are available, as well as voted to increase the amount of beds they have at the shelter they share with Costa Mesa from 20 to 25
The law also prohibits people from blocking access to business, sleeping in public bathrooms and using public water fountains, restroom sinks and sprinklers to clean clothes, dishes or bathe.
[Read: Newport Beach Becomes Latest Orange County City to Limit Homeless Camps]
On Tuesday, officials voted to amend the law to prohibit setting up tents on public property, leaving personal property unattended at certain public spaces and outlawing sleeping on public benches or bike racks.
The law will also now prohibit people from staying overnight or sleeping at a public plaza between 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next day, along with blocking access to ATMs, electric vehicle charging stations, parking pay stations or meters and public trails.
The changes come after city and county staff helped the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers clear out camps and debris at a federally protected marsh near Pacific Coast Highway
Now, city staff are meeting with representatives from the Army Corps and the county to discuss long-term plans for keeping the marsh clear.
Homeless in Newport Beach
According to the latest homeless count on OC, there are 71 homeless people in Newport Beach and all of them are unsheltered – a decrease of the 2022 count of 96 homeless people in the coastal city.
This year, the Orange County Sheriff’s department released a report that showed 17 people died living on the streets of Newport Beach in 2022.
Between January and June of this year, 41 homeless folks from Newport Beach utilized the Costa Mesa shelter for the first time, according to a staff report.
According to the staff report, city officials were able to house 12 people and reunite three with their families in the first half of 2024.
There were also 130 street exits, which the city defines as someone who has left the street and went to a shelter or who has left the city entirely.
It is unclear from the report how many of those people left the city entirely.
Meanwhile, officials have spent over $1.5 million on homeless outreach programs – a majority of which was spent on the shared shelter with Costa Mesa in the first half of 2024.
It also includes over half a million on Be Well OC’s mobile response team – a crew of social workers who respond to mental health and homeless calls instead of cops in a number of cities across the county.
Last year, the city amended the Be Well OC contract to have the mobile team focus on getting homeless people to shelters or out of the city.
On Tuesday, officials opted not to renew the Be Well contract, with two council members publicly saying they are not effective at addressing homelessness and the city would be better off spending money on police to enforce the law.
The decision comes as the police chief plans in December to convert the department’s Homeless Liaison officer into a team of four officers to provide outreach to homeless people.
At the same time, city officials are also analyzing if they need a full-time city prosecutor to prosecute violations to local laws like the anti-camping ordinance.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
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