'Trash, Needles and Human Waste': CA's New Plan To Fight Homeless Encampments

Unhoused people living on streets or sidewalks in California could be charged with a misdemeanor under a newly proposed piece of state legislation.

Senate Bill 1011 would prohibit camping within 500 feet of schools, open spaces and major transit stops as well as on streets or sidewalks if a homeless shelter is available on the grounds that such behavior is a public nuisance. The bill clarifies existing law, under which lodging in a public or private place without permission or willfully obstructing free movement on streets, sidewalks and public places both constitute a misdemeanor.

“Californians should not have to tolerate the encampments that now fill our open spaces with trash, needles, and human waste,” Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, a Republican from San Diego and the legislator who introduced the bill, said in a news release.

“It’s dangerous, inhumane, and unhealthy for homeless individuals to live on sidewalks, near our schools and transit stops, and in our open spaces. It’s also not safe or fair to nearby neighbors and local businesses.”

The bill is modeled after San Diego’s Unsafe Camping Ordinance and would give potential violators a 72-hour warning and require officers to provide them with information about services, shelters and other options for people experiencing homelessness. Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor or infraction at the prosecutor’s discretion.

“Public spaces are not living spaces,” state Sen. Catherine Blakespear, a Democrat from Encinitas and the bill’s principal co-author, said in the news release. “People deserve to live inside, and the public deserve to use their parks, sidewalks and streets as they were designed. This bill is a step toward creating that reality.”

'Trying to live my own life'

Ellen Mannella, a retired nurse, has been trying to get Los Angeles officials to clean up a homeless encampment blocking the sidewalk near her Studio City home for months. With the changes in weather, the encampment migrates from the sidewalk near the Ventura (101) Freeway and her condo complex’s covered guest parking area.

“They were actually living in our guest parking area’s sheltered area. It takes them two minutes to set up their encampment, and it takes months and months to get them moved out,” Mannella said. “That seems to be the problem.”

Mannella and her neighbors spent months asking the city for help moving the encampment. When the encampment finally migrated to the sidewalk, Mannella put on heavy-duty gloves and found herself picking up human feces, lighters and tin foil drug paraphernalia, she said.

She began spending her Sunday mornings picking up trash from the encampment while passersby honked in support.

“I’m new to the area — this is my second year living here,” said Mannella, a widow from New York. “I am embarrassed to think that this is where I chose. I hope that working together we can make a difference.”

Calls to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ office along with the rest of the City Council, and the Los Angeles Police Department have had little impact, she said. Rarely does she even get a return phone call from the city.

Recently, the encampment moved back to her condo’s guest parking area.

Mannella said she has sympathy for people living on the street, but she and her neighbors want to be able to walk to the library or nearby El Pollo Loco without having to step into the street or sidestep people actively using drugs.

“I think most of these people have mental illness or drug addiction,” she added. “Somebody has to help a little more than throwing a sandwich at them on Sunday morning. Something has to be done for my safety. I am trying to live my own life.”

There were over 180,000 unhoused people in California as of 2023 — more than anywhere else in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. California also accounted for 49 percent of unsheltered people across the country, with 123,423.

The state has spent over $22 billion during the last four years on housing and homelessness initiatives, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Awaiting Supreme Court clarification

The new bill will likely be affected by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Grants Pass vs. Gloria Johnson, an Oregon case that could decide if cities can ban people from sleeping on streets, the Times reported. The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found a Grants Pass ordinance dictating such a ban to be unconstitutional, according to the newspaper.

“California has invested billions to address homelessness, but rulings from the bench have tied the hands of state and local governments to address this issue,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said last month in a prepared statement about the Supreme Court's decision to review the case.

The governor filed an amicus brief in September urging the court to clarify that state and local governments can take reasonable actions to address homelessness.

“The Supreme Court can now correct course and end the costly delays from lawsuits that have plagued our efforts to clear encampments and deliver services to those in need,” Newsom said.