VISTA — City leaders have agreed to adopt a total homeless encampment ban on public property regardless of whether there is shelter space available, bringing back 1960s-era regulations that are now consistent with federal and state direction.
The Vista City Council agreed Tuesday in a 4-0 vote, with Councilmember Corinna Contreras abstaining, to adopt a first reading of an ordinance banning camping on all public property. The ordinance will go into effect after a second reading at the next City Council meeting.
Vista is the latest city to take broad action against encampments. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in the Johnson v. Grants Pass case declaring that clearing encampments does not qualify as cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.
The San Marcos City Council adopted a local encampment ban in early July.
On July 25, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide executive order directing state agencies to move urgently to address encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them. The order also provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same.
Vista leaders last discussed encampment regulations in April and were considering banning encampments only within certain distances of schools, playgrounds and shelters, pending the outcome of the Supreme Court decision.
“It gave cities much greater latitude than cities had expected, to be honest,” said Vista City Attorney Walter Chung.
Instead, city officials proposed re-implementing the total camping ban that was imposed in the city in 1968 but has not been in effect for some time.
The Vista Municipal Code defines camping as using public property for living accommodation purposes, such as sleeping activities or preparing to sleep, storing personal property and sleeping in vehicles.
Homeless Services Manager Jonathan Lung emphasized the city will continue to focus on outreach and offering services when the ban is in effect. Personal property cleared from encampments will be held for 72 hours at the city’s public works yard for individuals to pick up, and valuables like photos, money, religious items and identification documents will also be safely stored.
“Anytime there is a notice of property removal posted on the public right-of-way, social workers are notified and will attempt outreach if there are folks on site,” Lung said.
Holly Herring, who was formerly homeless and now works as a homelessness advocate, said she is grateful for the city’s initiatives to address homelessness in recent years. These have included inclusionary housing requirements, the Safe Parking Site, and the opening of the city’s low-barrier shelter, the Buena Creek Navigation Center.
However, she said the city needs to offer more services before it can enforce an encampment ban.
“I’m really grateful that we are making strides toward resolving homelessness and preventing homelessness. But clearing encampments is like putting the cart before the horse,” Herring said. “I dont think it’s right. Just because we can doesn’t mean we should, necessarily.”
Contreras said she would be in favor of the ordinance if the council could bring back a discussion to clarify the definition of “camping,” raising concerns about people simply napping or having picnics in the park.
She also said the city should discuss citations and misdemeanors for those violating the encampment ordinance further, as these could hurt their chances of obtaining housing or employment in the future, which would be counterproductive.
“Without that, I cannot do that. There are just too many questions and too many ways for folks who are already hurting to continue to be hurt,” Contreras said. “I’m also afraid that the progress that we have made in outreach and the successes that we have seen could be in jeopardy because of something like this.”
Councilmember Katie Melendez shared similar concerns, saying she does not want to see people placed in jail due to having an encampment.
Chung said he is not aware of any citations issued in the city for homeless encampments since March 2020, when the Centers for Disease Control advised cities not to clear encampments to prevent the spread of disease.
Mayor John Franklin emphasized that continuing to offer shelter and services to unhoused individuals is crucial. However, he said the city needs to use jail as a tool to convince people to accept services and that the state also needs to provide funding for treatment facilities to assist those living on the street with substance abuse issues and severe mental illness.
“The people who are unsheltered are not mentally well enough from substance use disorder or mental illness to accept the help we are offering,” he said. “We have, for some reason, stopped using compulsory process and involuntary treatment.”
The discussion ended on a tense note, as Franklin began to state emphatically that women are “raped every day” in encampments. Contreras became upset and reminded him that there were children listening to the meeting and said the conversation had “gone beyond” its original focus.
Franklin appeared to become more agitated, saying he was trying to protect the children and asking Conteras, “You think you’re the only one who cares about the children?”
Contreras then briefly left the chamber and did not vote on the item.
1 comment
Look out Encinitas – here they come!