Overview:
The City of Fresno is poised to be among the first major cities in the country to pass anti-camping legislation in the wake of the U. S. Supreme Court’s Grants Pass ruling. The Fresno City Council unanimously voted to support an anti-camping ordinance during a special city council meeting Monday.
The ordinance will be made official during the next council meeting on Aug. 15., and it will take effect Sept. 15.
The city is poised to pass an ordinance aimed at alleviating Fresno’s encampment issues despite overwhelming opposition from residents who spoke out Monday during a special city council meeting.
The Fresno City Council unanimously voted to support an anti-encampment ordinance during Monday’s special meeting, which took over five hours to get through.
Fresno will be among the first local jurisdictions across the country to pass and enforce such legislation after the United States Supreme Court’s Grants Pass ruling — which said penalizing camping in public spaces is a legal and viable way to deal with the nation’s homeless crisis.
Dozens spoke out Monday — including attorneys, community organizers, educators, homeowners, housing advocates, small children, and former and current members of the homeless community — to voice their opposition to the city ordinance they said criminalizes homelessness.
The council moved forward with the ordinance, however, citing their duty to all of their constituents — including, they said, those who voice support but may not be present at the meeting.
“I truly believe we’ve met the community more than halfway on this issue,” Councilmember Tyler Maxwell said. “But what are we supposed to tell the small business owners who call us every single day…the elementary school principals who call my office every single day…the families that call every day that say the parks that we’re paying Measure P dollars for every single day, we can’t use?”
In another sign of real, but private support for the ordinance, Arias read a portion of an email that was sent directly to his office. The email was later shared by Arias to Fresnoland on the condition of anonymity for the sender.
“…I am beyond tired (of) having my neighborhood compromised by the unhoused that camp out on the streets of the Tower District,” part of the email reads.
The resident goes on to describe drug use in the neighborhood, along with trash and human excrement obstructing sidewalks and public spaces.
Fresno officials have said business owners have been asking for help regarding a variety of issues related to unhoused residents camping and loitering or disturbing customers. Nick Rocca, the incoming chair of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, was on hand Thursday when Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau introduced the county’s anti-camping ordinance.
Nearly 100 people crowded into the city council chambers Monday, including about 80 residents who spoke in-person or via virtual public comment. The meeting also saw about 30 comments submitted to the city online.
The sizable audience led to a break for lunch in a meeting that only had one item to discuss publicly.
One woman, who Fresnoland has chosen to not to identify, said she chooses to live there with her children at an emergency shelter since she’s escaping an abusive relationship.
However, the shelter only allows for 30 days of emergency residence for people fleeing domestic violence. She is expected to leave by Aug. 17. She doesn’t know what she’ll do next.
She told the council that she fears an ordinance like this will force vulnerable people to make a hard decision: return with her children and live indoors in a dangerous situation, or face fines and jail time living outdoors.
“My husband beated me. I have a restraining order. I’m trying my best to stay away from him because I do not want my kids tooken from me, but this kind of stuff will make me go back,” she said.
Many of the councilmembers shared personal anecdotes and experiences to push back on the criticism that the ordinance criminalizes homelessness.
Arias and councilmember Luis Chavez said they know family members who are living on the streets. In a past council meeting, councilmember Garry Bredefled said in a June 20 council meeting he was homeless, and used school funds to live in a hotel.
Maxwell, emotional, said he spent time with family in “halfway homes” as a child. In a statement to Fresnoland, Maxwell said he spent his time there visiting his parents, sleeping on floors and couches and living with friends and family.
“I think it’s absurd to suggest that we would ever support something like [that],” Maxwell said. “I think if you were to know some of the personal stories of myself and my colleagues, you would know how absurd that is.”
Arias showed a slideshow of encampment photos taken from his district. He said the community resources and services in centers like these go unused due to the surrounding encampments, which he says continue to crop up even after sweeps are made.
“Kids can’t go to the community center,” Arias said. “As a city, we’re investing millions in programming for kids over the summer, so they’re not in the streets joining gangs when they’re out of school. Kids can’t go there, and their parents aren’t allowing them to go to the center. I wouldn’t either.
“We clean it out, we disinfect, we pick up the human excrement, and then they’re back the next day. The same individuals,” Arias added.
Chavez said he’d like to see more guidance put on the record for the ordinance in an effort to both assuage community anxieties, and put local law enforcement in a better position to handle future calls for encampment sweeps.
“We’re not going to be jailing domestic violence victims, we’re not going to be prosecuting youth and young folks, we’re not going to break up families,” Chavez said. “I think these will be reserved for the most egregious situations…where you have folks who are urinating, defecating, shooting drugs near schools, community centers, parks. I think that’s what our community is so frustrated with.
“I want to know what the process will be,” Chavez added. “At what point do we exercise the prosecution component of this? What will be the definition of a habitual offender, so to speak, for this ordinance?”
The new ordinance, which a city news release last week described as a revival of a shelved 2017 policy, defines camping as “sitting, lying, storing or placing a tent on a public space.” The ordinance draws special attention to banning camping on “sensitive spaces,” which includes schools, public parks, libraries, city and government facilities located in the city of Fresno, warming and cooling centers, and city-permitted homeless shelters.
The ordinance says that it will adhere to state law for mobile and sidewalk vendors. Council also added that it will pursue agreements with private property owners to get those spaces cleared as well.
The ordinance will be formally introduced and passed at the next Fresno City Council meeting on Aug. 15. It is expected to begin taking effect on Sunday, Sept.15.
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