The Santa Monica City Council will consider the local impact of the Supreme Courts recent ruling.
By Jorge Casuso
August 1, 2024 - Two months after a June 28 U.S. Supreme Court ruling gave governments the go ahead to clear homeless encampments, the City Council will weigh the local implications at a meeting later this month.
State and local governments across the country are already staking out positions and taking action. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom instructed State agencies to develop plans for clearing the encampments on State land.
In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed has instructed police to start cracking down on encampments, while LA County Supervisors have said Newsom's approach criminalizes homelessness.
On August 27, the Santa Monica City Council will take up options presented by City Attorney Doug Sloan "to amend the City's Municipal Code that are consistent with the ruling," according to a Councilmember item approved July 9.
"It's going to be a huge fight," said Mayor Phil Brock. "The City Attorney is going to give us three options. I'm going to go with the toughest option.
"An active rule doesn't mean you enforce it to the upmost," Brock added. "We are compassionate in Santa Monica."
Brock said Newsom's resolution has no impact in Santa Monica outside of the State's freeway embankments, which the City must sometimes press Caltrans for weeks to clear.
"Hopefully the State will let that go faster now," he said.
The question the Council will take up on August 27 is what the city can or can't do on its own public land.
That debate is expected to highlight the deep division between the two Council factions when it comes to tackling homelessness and crime, the top issues in the November 5 race for four open Council seats.
The Council majority -- which includes three Change Councilmembers seeking reelection -- have taken the tough on crime approach that was at the heart of their 2020 campaign platform.
The Council minority, which is backed by Santa Monica's political establishment, has echoed the concerns expressed by homeless advocates and County Supervisors, who oppose the get-tough approach.
Both sides staked their positions when the council debated the item placed on the July 9 agenda by Councilmembers Lana Negrete and Oscar de la Torre, who along with Brock and Christine Parra are running in November.
Negrete noted that "surrounding cities are getting tougher" and could drive homeless individuals to Santa Monica "if we don’t move at the same pace."
Brock said he wanted the City Attorney to return with a clear understanding of the term "encampment" to determine if it can include people laying on sidewalks or in front of store entrances.“Is an encampment just when someone puts up a tent?” Brock asked. “Or is an encampment the person who’s laying in front of a store on the Promenade?”
Santa Monica residents, he said, are "angry" and "frustrated" and have been left "wondering why more can’t be done.""I think we need to have the obligation to come back to our residents with a clear understanding of what can be done, what should be done, or if we continue as is,” Brock said.
Councilmember Caroline Torosis noted that Santa Monica's municipal code already prohibits camping in public areas that include parks, beaches, the Pier, streets and alleyways, landscaped areas, educational facilities and government buildings.
She also noted that the City already prohibits people from "sitting or lying in doorways at night."
"I think we have a very sufficient municipal code to address this issue," Torosis said.
City Attorney Sloan noted that the City added an exception for people sleeping with a blanket to abide by the 9th District Court ruling successfully challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court by the City of Grants Pass, Oregon.
"That exception," Sloan said, "can be removed."
"So now you're saying we're going to remove blankets from people?" Torosis shot back.
“I know people are frustrated here, I get that, I hear that every single day," Torosis said, "but I don’t think we can criminalize our way out of homelessness.”
To tackle the issue, Torosis said, Santa Monica needs "to build more housing, more supportive housing and more affordable housing."
The original piece can be found HERE.
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