Santa Ana officials are ramping up their anti-camping laws in a city that’s home to the most homeless residents in Orange County.
The proposed ordinance comes after a landmark Supreme Court ruling this past summer that clears the way for cities to crack down on homeless people sleeping on public sidewalks, benches and in public parks without having to have shelter beds available to offer them.
In the months since, a slew of city officials across Orange County have stepped up enforcement efforts along private railroads, parks and have enhanced anti-camping laws – with officials in one city, Stanton, declaring homelessness a local emergency.
[Read: Orange County Confronts Homelessness Ahead of Thanksgiving]
Advocates for homeless people are criticizing the revamped laws and the crackdowns, arguing that criminalizing people for sleeping in the streets will worsen the crisis, that there aren’t a lot of shelter beds available and that the approach does not address the root causes of homelessness.
City officials say they have spent a lot of money on the problem and offer a host of services including street medicine, outreach services, drug and mental health treatment at local shelters and job training programs – but some people on the street still refuse help.
On Tuesday, Santa Ana officials voted unanimously in favor of an ordinance that bans people from sleeping, loitering or storing personal property on sidewalks, parks and plazas. It still needs to come back for one more vote before it’s officially adopted as a city law – taking effect 30 days after that final vote.
Councilwoman Thai Viet Phan said Santa Ana officials will continue to provide services to homeless people, but they’re also going to hold people accountable for their actions.
“It is not your fault for having mental health crises. It’s not your fault for being addicted to drugs, however, it is your responsibility to get help, to accept help, and to go out and not harm others,” she said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Councilman Phil Bacerra said the ordinance is about making public spaces safe and accessible to the community.
“This is about safe access to public spaces. This is not about whether you own a yacht. It’s not about whether you own a car. It’s not about whether you own a home. This is about being able to walk out to a bus stop, sidewalk, park, any public space,” he said.
Bacerra also said the ordinance was better, more thorough and fair than those recently passed in other cities.
To read the ordinance, click here.
This is the second time such a proposal was in front of Santa Ana officials.
In November, a majority of Santa Ana officials voted to delay bolstering an anti-camping ordinance after some council members raised concerns that the proposal went too far and shouldn’t include people sleeping in their cars.
[Read: Santa Ana Delays Bolstering Anti-Camping Laws]
Tuesday’s decision comes after California voters overwhelmingly approved a statewide ballot measure – dubbed Prop. 36 – in November that increases the punishment for certain drug and theft-related crimes.
Prop. 36 is expected to go into effect today.
Santa Ana’s ordinance also came after several residents spoke in support of the anti-camping law at Tuesday’s meeting, pleading with council members to protect their quality of life and address public defecation and drug use.
One resident told council members that her son was homeless and addicted to drugs and asked officials to adopt the ordinance.
“As his mother,” she said. “I’d rather he be safe behind bars than on the streets or in any encampment, bench or park.”
According to a database on the city website, seven of 200 beds at the city’s shelter were available as of Monday.
At the same meeting, officials voted 6-1 to approve a $3,750,420 1-year contract with City Net for homeless outreach services.
Bacerra was the dissenting vote, arguing that the city shouldn’t have to pay millions of dollars for a service county officials are supposed to be responsible for.
What Will Santa Ana’s Ordinance Do?
Santa Ana’s ordinance bans people from sleeping or loitering on a public bench, bike rack, in a public bathroom or at the entrance of a public or private building.
It bans people from sleeping, loitering or storing personal property within 20 feet of driveways, loading docks, fire hydrants, ATMs, electric vehicle charging stations or the entrance of a public restroom, trail or park.
The ordinance also prohibits people from sleeping, loitering or storing personal property within 200 feet of a college, school or day care center.
It prohibits people from camping and storing things like shopping carts, tents, sleeping bags and blankets at the civic center or on sidewalks, parks, streets, plazas, parking lots or schools.
People will be considered to be camping in their cars if someone outside the vehicle can’t see through two or more windows of the car because its blocked, if someone can’t sit in the car because there are a large amount of personal belongings on the seats or if they are grooming or cooking in their car.
The new law also bans people from vandalizing a bus bench and sleeping on a bus bench when the bus is not in service.
Anyone in violation of the ordinance could be charged with an infraction or misdemeanor.
Homeless in Santa Ana
The proposed law comes after county leaders reported an over 2,000-person increase in OC’s homeless population since 2022.
[Read: Orange County Homeless Population Continues Growing]
According to the latest count, there are 1,428 homeless people in Santa Ana – the highest out of any city in OC – and 871 of them are unsheltered.
This year, the Orange County Sheriff’s department released a report that showed close to 500 homeless people died in 2022 – an increase of 25.6% from 2021.
About 19% of those deaths – 95 people – happened in Santa Ana, according to the report.
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.