Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/david-o-carter/)
Anaheim officials cleared out homeless encampments at Maxwell Park Friday morning and sent roughly 30 people to the newly opened 200-bed emergency homeless shelter near Angel Stadium four days before Christmas, as part of a settlement in a federal lawsuit.
At least 575 new homeless shelter beds will be built in north Orange County under a series of court-enforceable settlement agreements reached in recent days between attorneys for homeless people and the cities of Anaheim, Orange and Tustin.
At the hearing, Santa Ana officials said they were able to design and construct the new 200-bed shelter in less than a month and that it will be opening soon at a location they haven’t yet disclosed publicly.
A unanimous Anaheim City Council has approved $400,000 partly to ramp up visible, private security and park rangers at city parks where large numbers of homeless people are known to visit.
Santa Ana is moving ahead to open a new 200-bed homeless shelter by the end of the year, following unanimous Santa Ana City Council approval of a one year operations contract. The location hasn’t been announced.
South Orange County also is set to be brought into the federal case, as the judge expressed frustration at the lack of a south county shelter site.
A federal appeals court this week supports what U.S. District Judge David O. Carter has been warning county and city leaders about for six months: If they don’t offer a realistic option for homeless people to stay overnight, police can’t enforce anti-camping ordinances. On Friday, Carter is bringing OC civic leaders back to court to gauge progress.
Prior “point-in-time” counts – which play a key role in policy and funding decisions – are actually estimates, officials now say.
Federal judge David O. Carter has warned cities against pushing homeless people to other areas, saying it raises constitutional issues.
U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter warned the County of Orange and its cities they will need to make significant progress on plans for new emergency shelter housing for the homeless, or face a possible court ruling or temporary injunction stopping the enforcement of anti-camping laws.