Following last week’s executive order from Gov. Gavin Newsom ordering state agencies to clear homeless encampments — while assisting those living in them — the L.A. County Board of Supervisors is set to hear a report on Tuesday on how the county is preparing to do just that.
The executive order came nearly a month after the Supreme Court ruled on City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, saying that bans on homeless encampments are not violations of the Eighth Amendment’s constitutional protections against excessive bail, fines or any cruel and unusual punishment.
In announcing the order, Newsom said, “there are simply no more excuses” and “it’s time for everyone to do their part.”
“This means that cities are no longer prohibited from punishing unhoused residents through citations or arrests for camping, sitting, sleeping, or lying in public spaces, even if no shelter beds or other resources exist,” reads the board’s motion co-authored by 1st District Supervisor Hilda Solis and 3rd District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.
The motion identified the city of Palm Springs as an example of a jurisdiction that has already passed an ordinance allowing for new power to police to arrest people who build encampments or sleep in public areas.
“Arresting people for sitting, sleeping, or lying on the sidewalk or in public spaces does not end their homelessness, and will only make their homelessness harder to resolve with a criminal record and fines they can’t afford to pay,” the motion reads. “Moving people from one community to another does not resolve their homelessness. Our homelessness and housing crisis is regional, and will only be solved with a coordinated, unified response, and resources for housing and services.”
While now legally allowed to break up encampments, the board is directing county agencies to affirm a “care-first” approach to encampment resolution and clarify that county jails will not be used to hold people arrested due to such enforcement. The newly formed county Executive Committee for Regional Homeless Alignment would also lead a convening of cities to minimize the “disparate impact of the Grants Pass ruling across all the jurisdictions in the county.”
The board is also asking the county to expand partnerships with cities to address encampments more thoroughly and monitor data to determine the impact, if any, to the number of encampments in unincorporated areas of the county.
A report is due back to the board in 120 days on “any recommendations to better address encampments, cross-jurisdictional coordination, and policy alignment across the county.”
Set to speak on Tuesday are a representative from the Homeless Initiative, the county’s legal counsel, Sheriff Robert Luna and the executive director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
According to Newsom, the enforcement would be bolstered by a “newly available $3.3 billion in competitive grant funding from Proposition 1,” which is meant to expand on the behavioral health continuum and provide appropriate care to individuals experiencing mental health conditions and substance abuse disorders.
Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the Santa Clarita Valley, said in a prepared statement last week that she supports the urgency behind Newsom’s order.
“I applaud Gov. Newsom’s emphasis on urgency. He rightfully points out that local government remains at the helm of homeless encampment removals,” she said in the statement. “Cities have an obligation to develop housing and shelter solutions in tandem with support services provided by county government. This formula, which is largely based on partnerships, is how we can deliver permanent results. No single entity can achieve that.”
Locally, Santa Clarita Mayor Cameron Smyth said this order addresses an important issue.
“As the governor mentioned, local governments have been really limited due to the courts,” he told The Signal last week, “and now that the Supreme Court has ruled, it frees up local government to take the necessary action on homeless encampments.”
Tracy Sullivan, community preservation manager for the city, said last week that no specific changes have yet been made as a result of the governor’s executive order.
“The city collaborates with the Sheriff’s (Department) on an ongoing and consistent basis to address homeless encampments citywide, including the use of a third-party contractor to abate encampments and keep our riverbed clean,” she wrote last week in an email. “Our next scheduled cleanup is taking place the first week of August.”
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Capt. Justin Diez said any large-scale changes to how homeless encampments are enforced in the city would have to come from the Sheriff’s Department. He said any changes would likely come from a process that involves multiple county agencies.
