San Clemente officials have opposed a state bill that would prohibit government employees from transporting homeless people outside the city and leaving them there.

The practice is often referred to as “dumping” — when governments or other institutions release unhoused people onto the street without providing any resources, support or a place to go.

It’s often done to shift responsibility for homelessness or reduce how many homeless people are visible in a certain place.

The proposed bill, called AB 820, would prevent local governments and law enforcement agencies from transporting and dropping off homeless people in another jurisdiction without first arranging for shelter space or another housing option.

The bill would create a $10,000 penalty for violations. It’s proposed by California State Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz).

The San Clemente City Council approved sending an opposition letter to the state legislature in a 4-1 vote at the April 15 meeting. Councilmember Mark Enmeier voted no.

Councilmembers and city staff opposed the bill out of concern that it could prevent community outreach staff from providing certain services to homeless people in the city.

“While the City of San Clemente understands that concerns have been raised in California about jurisdictions ‘dumping’ homeless individuals in other jurisdictions, AB 820 potentially affects many existing, and legitimate, transportation services provided by the City of San Clemente,” reads the draft letter that councilmembers approved Tuesday night. 

“San Clemente’s Community Outreach Workers assist the homeless population on a very regular basis with these various services in an effort to help individuals accept and acquire shelter or housing.” 

Adam Atamian, Community Development director, emphasized that when staff transport homeless people outside the city to places like medical or legal appointments, the city can’t control whether or not they choose to remain there.

“Staff’s issue with this bill is that it’s poorly written, and it identifies a penalty for city staff in the completion of their job to help people get services. It provides a very loose framework for identifying what a violation of that law is,” Atamian said during the meeting. 

“The work that our community outreach staff does involves transporting people to many locations, and we’re not always in control of what that person wants to do once they are there.”

Staff found that many city services could be affected if the bill was approved, including transporting homeless people outside the city for things like mental health help, faith-based programs, medical care or government appointments, according to the staff report included with the agenda.

City Attorney Elizabeth Mitchell said she agreed with Atamian and shares the same concerns as staff.

Councilmember Victor Cabral said he opposed the bill because it would be up to the state to issue fines.

“They’re the ones that are going to decide who gets fined $10,000 every time you move someone, and they’re going to come after a city like ours every time we try and do something good,” he said.

Enmeier said he supported the bill since it would prevent other cities from dropping off homeless people in San Clemente, especially with the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles on the horizon — when Olympic surfing is slated to be held at Trestles Beach. 

“It’s not so much I’m concerned that we won’t be able to facilitate the services to the homeless that are here,” Enmeier said. “I’m more concerned about other cities sending their unhoused populations to us. Especially with the Olympics coming up, that could be a real issue.”

Two public speakers also supported the bill.

“Due to the scarcity in local shelter space, there has been a push to relocate individuals to other cities such as Laguna Beach, Lake Forest or Santa Ana without a formal shelter or housing plan in place,” San Clemente resident Donna Vidrine said at the meeting. 

Vidrine is also a co-chair for the San Clemente Homeless Collaborative, a local group aiming to find solutions to address homelessness. Tom Streeter, the other co-chair, also urged the council to support the bill at the meeting.

“This bill holds cities like ours accountable,” Vidrine said. “It says, if you are going to move people along, you must do so responsibly.”

Homeless ‘Dumping’ In Southern California

There’s a growing concern across the Golden State about dumping homeless people, especially after a Supreme Court ruling from last year gave local municipalities more power to enforce anti-camping laws and clear out homeless encampments.

[Read: Is Orange County About To Enforce Anti-Camping Laws Again?]

San Clemente officials have already been criticized for transporting homeless residents off the beach in 2023 ahead of the World Surf League Finals competition.

Staff helped people off the beach and into motels for the night in Dana Point. 

But local activists said the homeless residents were left there with no offerings of a shelter, no services and no way to get back home.

Multiple homeless advocacy groups, including Housing is a Human Right Orange County and the San Clemente Homeless Collaborative, criticized the city for its treatment of homeless people in a letter to the city council in 2023.

[Read: San Clemente Bussed Homeless People Out During Surf Competition]

The 2028 Olympic Games surfing competition is also set to be held at Trestles Beach, just south of San Clemente, according to an announcement last week.

Last year, L.A. City Council President Paul Krekorian released a video depicting two Burbank Police officers leaving a shoeless homeless man on a sidewalk before driving away.

According to the video, after the officers remove the man’s cuffs, he kneels down on the ground as the police vehicle drives away. He’s then seen lying face-first on the sidewalk.

Krekorian criticized the police officers’ “inhumane” treatment and accused them of dumping the man and failing to help him.

Other cities like Santa Ana have spent years railing against other agencies bringing homeless people to their town.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department transported homeless people to the county jail in Santa Ana 285 times during a 9.5-month period in 2017 and 2018, according to data released under the California Public Records Act.

Inmates are released in Santa Ana, and the department said it had no data of homeless people being transported back to the cities where they were picked up.

[Read: Santa Ana Residents Say They’re Tired of Being Dumping Ground of OC’s Homeless]

San Clemente Mayor Steve Knoblock said he’s not concerned about homeless people being dropped off in his city.

“If we were a receiver city, we’d have a whole lot more than 30 [homeless] people,” Knoblock said. “I don’t know if that’s going to change a lot in a couple years. With the Olympics, it might, but that’s the nature of what we have.”

Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.