The city of Ceres is looking into the way it deals with homeless people camping out in city parks after a landmark court decision.
The Supreme Court handed down a decision on June 28 in the Grants Pass, Ore. v. Johnson case, reversing a prior Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals injunction barring enforcement of municipal ordinances that ban camping in public spaces.
In a 6-3 decision, the court reversed the lower court’s 2022 ruling that said barring homeless residents for sleeping in public spaces, when adequate bed space is un-available, violated the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment.
The decision now allows cities to crack down on ridding homeless persons from public spaces, such as sleeping in parks, on sidewalks and other places.
Ceres Police Chief Chris Perry said the Boise case hampered police from chasing homeless persons out of parks.
“So now we are able to kick them out, essentially, however, I do believe that we still need to update our local ordinance to reflect the new change in the law,” said Chief Perry.
City Attorney Nubia Goldstein said she is evaluating the existing Ceres Municipal Code to update enforcement provisions to “now cite as an option to address the issue.”
The issue came up at the July 22 Ceres City Council after a citizen, speaking through an interpreter from Spanish to English, complained about the presence of about 10-20 homeless persons hanging out in her area of Ceres.
Mayor Javier Lopez instructed her in Spanish to keep reporting problems so the city will be aware of what is taking place.
Last week California Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered state agencies to remove homeless camps throughout California, his first major show of force since the Supreme Court granted state and local authorities more power to clear encampments.
His executive order mandates that state agencies and departments adopt policies to clear camps on state property. It also encourages local governments to do the same.
“This executive order directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them — and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same,” Newsom said in a news release. “The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets. There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part.”
San Francisco Mayor London Breed said she’s hopeful that the move to clean up her city will cause homeless persons to realize they need to seek help from agencies that are ready to assist them.
In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass, who opposed the Grants Pass ruling last month, is critical of Newsom’s new order.
“Strategies that just move people along from one neighborhood to the next or give citations instead of housing do not work,” she said in an emailed statement. “We thank the governor for his partnership thus far and hope that he will continue collaboration on strategies that work.”
Newsom’s new order tells state agencies to model their encampment policies around one that Caltrans has used for several years to remove camps on highway on and off ramps, under overpasses and on other land maintained by the transit agency. State agencies should warn residents at least 48 hours before clearing a camp. They also are required to store residents’ belongings for at least 60 days, and to request services for displaced residents from local organizations. If an encampment poses an “imminent threat” to life, health, safety or infrastructure, the agency can remove a camp immediately.
California cities and counties estimated that they had about 71,000 emergency shelter and transitional housing beds last year. The state would need more than twice that number to accommodate the more than 181,000 homeless residents in California.
