California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has called for local leaders to crack down on homeless encampments in public places.
The announcement comes alongside the release of $3.3 billion in funding through Proposition 1.
“There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets. Local leaders asked for resources — we delivered the largest state investment in history,” said Newsom. “They asked for legal clarity — the courts delivered. Now, we’re giving them a model they can put to work immediately, with urgency and with humanity, to resolve encampments and connect people to shelter, housing, and care. The time for inaction is over. There are no more excuses.”
Newsom’s model ordinance is “intended to provide a starting point that jurisdictions may build from and adjust in creating their own policies,” the document says, and draws from California’s previous “proven and workable approach” to addressing encampments.
All local approaches to encampments are to reflect “three basic principles,” which are prohibiting criminal punishment for those “sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go;” prioritizing shelter and services to ensure homeless individuals are “treated with respect;” and refraining from limiting local authorities from clearing encampments.
“There is no compassion in abandoning Californians to the dangers and indignities of encampments. Encampments pose a serious public safety risk, often causing fires and exposing encampment residents to increased risk of sexual violence and criminal activity, to property damage and break-ins, and unsanitary conditions affecting both residents and neighbors,” the model ordinance states.
City officials must also provide a 48-hour notice to vacate an encampment location.
In February, Fremont, California, passed a homeless camping ban in a 6-1 vote.
The Fremont Police Association voiced support for the ordinance ahead of its vote.
“A small portion of the unhoused community places [an] inordinate demand on Fremont’s public safety resources,” the group wrote on social media. “Repeatedly dealing with some of these individuals can unnecessarily place firefighters and police officers in harms way. The passage of this ordinance allows the public safety experts to appropriately address public safety issues while still [providing] resources to our unhoused community members.”
