Agreement Reached in Lawsuit Over Homeless Arrests In Sonoma Co.

SONOMA COUNTY, CA —Homeless advocates, the County of Sonoma and the City of Santa Rosa have reached a one-year agreement regarding protocols for citing or arresting homeless people for violating ordinances against camping on public property. An order issued Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria halts a lawsuit filed in April 2018 by Homeless Action and three homeless people against Sonoma County, its Community Development Commission and Santa Rosa.

The suit was filed after the closure of a homeless encampment at the Dollar Tree store parking area on Sebastopol Road in Roseland and on the Joe Rodota Trail parallel to state Highway 12.

The lawsuit claimed the city and county failed to reasonably accommodate homeless peoples' disabilities with adequate shelter placements before displacing them from public property.

In a press release, the City of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County said they "deny any wrongdoing and maintain their actions were well within the law and necessary to address escalating health and safety concerns."

The city and county claimed they ensured the homeless received extensive notice of the planned closure of the encampments, made outreach and assessments efforts to get people into shelter or supportive housing that would meet their needs and made efforts to store people's property whenever feasible.

Judge Chhabria denied Homeless Action's earlier temporary restraining order to stop the closures and said the closures could proceed, Santa Rosa and Sonoma County said.

The judge also allowed Homeless Action to widen the scope of their lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of practices by Santa Rosa police and Sonoma County Regional Parks rangers located in city limits.

Homeless Action said under the preliminary injunction, the county and city agreed that before the Regional Parks rangers or Santa Rosa police enforce anti-camping laws against a homeless person within city limits, they must work with homeless outreach workers to offer an adequate shelter bed and reasonably accommodate verified disabilities.

The adequacy of the shelter will depend on each individual's circumstances, disabilities, possession of service animal or pet and religious or ethical convictions.

The adequacy also depends on the conditions of the facility, including whether it presents health or safety risks, and must be available day and night for 30 consecutive days or more, according to Homeless Action!.

County and city officials said the injunction serves as a pilot program in effect until June 2020 and is subject to modification by the judge.

If a homeless person is facing citation or arrest for illegal camping on public property, the injunction requires police to give reasonable notice, confirm the availability of a suitable shelter bed and provide for storage of personal belongings that are moved when the person is not present, the city and county said.

The injunction does not prohibit enforcement of laws on private property or restrict officers from arresting or citing homeless people for other violations of the law.

Homeless Action spokeswoman Adrienne Lauby said the preliminary injunction order "will prevent the criminalization of homeless people, which only makes it harder for them to get off the streets."

"We're happy the city and county understood the human rights issues and have been acting in good faith. There are benchmarks and specific procedures to develop, but this means a change for the better.

"When the yearlong experiment ends, the parties will either make a more detailed agreement, or square off in court again," Lauby said.

Santa Rosa Mayor Tom Schwedhelm said he hopes the agreement on the injunction serves as a model for other cities who are trying to balance two fundamentals.

"First, the status of homelessness is not a crime and those who are experiencing homelessness must be treated with dignity and respect, and second, that while a person's status as homeless is not criminal in nature, one's acts, conduct and behavior if, in violation of the law, is not exempt
from enforcement merely because one is experiencing homelessness," Schwedhelm said.

"While we must manage the safety and health issues presented by these encampments, the County and City take seriously our responsibility to address the shortage of affordable and supportive housing for our low-income and vulnerable residents," Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt said.

The injunction does not apply to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, which was not named in the lawsuit, or to unincorporated areas outside the City of Santa Rosa or other communities in Sonoma County.

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• VOICES Pledges To Raise $10K For Homeless Foster Youth

—Bay City News Service