Cities throughout the county say they already are in line with ruling on laws against sleeping in public
By GARY WARTH
DEC. 20, 2019 9:15 PM
A week after the Supreme Court let stand a court decision allowing homeless people to sleep outdoors if they have no other choice, some cities in San Diego County are reviewing their laws but so far are not anticipating revisions to make them consistent with the ruling.
City officials who were asked how they are responding to the ruling also stressed they are not criminalizing homelessness while continuing to enforce their laws.
“The city of Imperial Beach encourages and practices compassionate and humane treatment for the residents in the city who are experiencing homelessness or must live in less than acceptable conditions,” wrote Imperial Beach City Manager Andy Hall.
Earlier this year, Imperial Beach expanded its regulations against camping and sleeping in parks and other public spaces to include streets and sidewalks. Hall said the city’s enforcement of its laws is consistent with the court ruling, and homeless people contacted by law enforcement are offered shelter.ADVERTISEMENT
“When residents, homeless or otherwise, present a harm to themselves or others the city is compelled to protect those in harm’s way,” he wrote in an email. “Specifically related to sleeping on public property, the city of Imperial Beach would only initiate contact if the individual was deemed to be in danger or potentially endangering others.”
In the case Martin vs. the City of Boise, Idaho, six homeless people sued the city in a complaint that an ordinance against sleeping on sidewalks or other public places violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments because some people had no other place to sleep. The case went to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case Monday, letting the ruling stand in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, California, Arizona, and Hawaii.
Under the ruling, cities cannot cite a person from sleeping in public if there is no alternative. Attorney Eric Tars of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, which filed the case in 2009 with other counsels, said cities can enforce their laws against outdoor sleeping if a homeless person refuses a shelter bed, but the offer must be acceptable to the person. In the Boise case, one plaintiff had refused a shelter because he would have been required to join a faith-based discipleship program, which he declined because of his religious beliefs.
San Diego allows homeless people to sleep in some public areas from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. under a settlement of a lawsuit that also argued that it was unconstitutional to cite homeless people for sleeping on sidewalks if they had no other options. Under the settlement, the city is allowed to enforce its laws against outdoor sleeping if a homeless person turns down an offer for a shelter bed.
Leslie Branscomb, senior public information officer with the San Diego City Attorney’s Office, said the city’s policy is consistent with the Boise decision.
Homeless advocate Michael McConnell, however, said he is not so sure. The Boise decision does not mention any time window when sleeping outdoors is allowed, so he questioned if the 5:30 a.m. curfew could be challenged.
“I’m sure there will be more lawsuits,” he said.
McConnell also said San Diego and other cities could be challenged for not having adequate or enough shelter beds to meet the needs of all homeless people.
Until such legal challenges are issued, however, cities don’t seem ready to throw out their laws.
Brad Raulston, city manager of National City, said he would look at the court decision to see if it conflicts with local laws, but he did not expect the ruling to have a major effect.
“For many months, we’ve had people sleeping on sidewalks,” he said, adding that the city works with the Alpha Project to offer them shelter beds. “We’re trying to get them so they don’t have to sleep on sidewalks. But I think unless there is an eminent life-safety issue, we would never remove them from the sidewalk.”
Oceanside City Attorney John Mullen said he did not foresee a conflict with the Boise decision, as it still allows cities to enforce laws that relate to keeping public areas clear.
“The city has been complying with the decision,” he wrote in an email. “The 9thCircuit’s decision in Boise holds that the Eighth Amendment prohibits law enforcement agencies from criminally citing homeless individuals for sleeping on public property when no shelter beds are available. The opinion does not allow individuals to block a sidewalk, erect structures, or sleep in areas that are not open to the public.”
He also noted Oceanside spends more than $2 million annually on homeless services and allocates $7 million in housing vouchers.
In Chula Vista, marketing and communications manager Anne Steinberger in the City Manager’s Office said the city is reviewing the decision.
“However, the city’s focus and priority in serving its homeless constituents is not criminal enforcement but outreach and referral,” she wrote. “The Chula Vista Police Department, through its homeless outreach team, works with county social service providers and non-profit partners to offer voluntary referrals, with transportation, to medical and mental health services, substance abuse treatment, job training, and food and housing options.”
In Encinitas, Paul Brencick in the City Manager’s Office said the Boise decision is under evaluation, and the city had no comment about its effect on its laws.
Some people have seen the court ruling as meaning cities have been stripped of their power to crack down on disruptive homeless behavior, while others have seen it as an opportunity to take a more humane approach to long-term solutions.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro wrote that the decision “damned America’s major cities to the continuation of the festering problem of homelessness.”
San Diego City Councilman and mayoral candidate Scott Sherman released a statement that the decision demonstrated a need for all cities in the region to take responsibility in providing shelters, safe-parking lots and other services.
“We must always have shelter and safe parking capacity so we can enforce our laws and prevent public health outbreaks like Hepatitis A,” he wrote.
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