Following Supreme Court ruling, Fresno County pushes anti-camping law critics call anti-homeless

Fresno County looks to be the first local government to join many others around the country in tackling its homelessness issues with the introduction of legal penalties.

Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau introduced an ordinance that would make outdoor encampments on public spaces illegal.

Similar ordinances have faced criticism from advocates for the unhoused, arguing that these laws criminalize homelessness. Speaking Thursday at a news conference, Brandau defended the ordinance, however, by saying that it would punish actions “that anybody can do.”

“Nobody in this room can go out camping and, likewise, neither can a homeless person,” Brandau said during the press conference. “It’s not about a certain demographic of people, it’s about an activity on public property.”

Multiple city officials, Brandau said, including Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and city councilmember Garry Bredefeld — the latter of whom he will face off in a reelection bid this November — reached out to share support for his ordinance.

Brandau’s ordinance follows the United States Supreme Court’s Grants Pass ruling earlier this month that effectively allows local governments to penalize people for sleeping in public spaces — almost always members of the unhoused population — to deal with their homeless problems. Up until the Grants Pass ruling, such tactics were considered “cruel and unusual punishment,” and in violation of the Eighth Amendment.

The ordinance was also introduced days after the City of Oakland swept for homeless encampments, and a little over an hour after California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order for state agencies to clear out homeless encampments in their jurisdiction, while also encouraging local governments around the state to follow suit. 

Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni commended the governor’s decision during the Thursday news conference. The sheriff also added that citations and arrests are only considered as a “last resort.”

“Our goal is not to go out and criminalize homelessness,” Zanoni said. “Our goal is to [stop] them from being some sort of public nuisance…but if you are not going to move out of the sidewalk, if you are not going to move out of these public places, yes, you will be cited and even arrested based on the law.”

Though Brandau and Zanoni said they don’t agree with the narrative that this ordinance criminalizes homelessness, they acknowledged that a citation could lead to jail time.

Brandau noted that only the unincorporated islands within city limits — like Old Fig Garden, Bullard, Mayfair and Sunnyside — will be affected by the ordinance.

Brandau successfully introduced and passed a resolution in 2017 similar to the ordinance introduced on Thursday while serving as a Fresno City Councilmember. The resolution passed 4-3, with Luis Chavez — who Brandau also said during Thursday’s news conference reached out to show support for his county ordinance — voting yes. 

The resolution was ultimately dead on arrival, however, after the U.S  Ninth Circuit Appellate Court declared such laws to be illegal. Now with the Supreme Court’s recent decision, however, Brandau is calling on Fresno City Hall to pass a similar resolution.

“I’m bringing this [ordinance] forward as a resident of the City of Fresno,” Brandau said. “I’m demanding that my friends down the street pull that ordinance off the shelf…dust it off and put it into play so that we can tackle these situations together.”

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer confirmed with Fresnoland that he supports the county ordinance, and that the city is working on updating the 2017 resolution.

“I support all efforts to more effectively address homelessness in our communities,” Dyer told Fresnoland through an emailed statement. I played a substantial role in creating the 2017 ordinance during my time as police chief, and Councilmembers Bredefeld, Arias, and Maxwell have been working closely with the Fresno City Attorney’s Office for several weeks to strengthen that ordinance and give additional tools to our law enforcement response.”

Dyer told Fresnoland earlier this month after the Grants Pass ruling that the Supreme Court’s decision was a “game-changer.”

“We will now have the opportunity to once again enforce the city of Fresno’s no camping ordinance in public places,” Dyer said in an emailed statement. “However, the true long term solution is increased shelter capacity, services and permanent housing for those on our streets so they can become gainfully employed and self-sustaining.”

Brandau said that the ordinance also has the support of many businesses — some of which he says call his office constantly complaining about the effect of neighboring encampments on their businesses.

Nick Rocca, the incoming chair of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, and Yery Olivares, chief operating officer for the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation both showed up to support Brandau’s ordinance Thursday.

Olivares said that a local business asked for help in finding a new location due to the effect encampments were having on their business.

Thursday’s news conference was notably combative as members of the homeless community pressed the panel for answers on where the unhoused can go if they can’t find a place to sleep. 

Amina Flores Becker, the deputy county administrative officer, said that the county only has about 34 shelter beds. The most recent Point In Time count from the Fresno-Madera Continuum of Care shows that there are about 600 homeless people at any given night in Fresno County.

Brandau added that the Supreme Court’s ruling makes it so that local governments do not need to provide a bed. Drawing more criticisms for his response, Brandau ended the conference by posing his ordinance as both a public service and an aid for local businesses. 

“Sometimes, when you take a stand for business, it gets tough,” Brandau said. “You can get a tough crowd sometimes.”

The ordinance will be formally introduced at the next Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 6, where it is expected to pass.