Santa Cruz Council Axes Bill To Regulate Street Camping: Reports

SANTA CRUZ, CA — The Santa Cruz City Council killed a proposal to ban street camping during the day and regulate the places and manner in which unhoused residents can camp at night, multiple news outlets reported.

The council was originally slated to hear and vote on an amended version of the proposed ordinance Tuesday night. Instead, Mayor Donna Meyers, who has spoken to residents across the city about her concerns, moved to hold public comment on the matter and talk about suspending the ordinance, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported.

The ordinance was a difficult one to craft, and the proposal resulted in more confusion, Meyers said, acknowledging that the proposal missed the mark, the paper reported.

Many council members including Meyers apologized to the community for failing to gather public input on the front end, Lookout Santa Cruz reported. City staff will return May 11 with a stripped-down ordinance that may include bits and pieces of the first proposal, the outlet reported.

Known as TOLO, or temporary outdoor living ordinance, the measure sought to ban daytime camping in areas such as downtown and city beaches. The ordinance also would have done the following:

• Establish 150 safe-sleeping sites for campers.
• Make it illegal for campers to start fires, deemed a public safety hazard, or leave belongings beyond a 12-by-12-foot space.
• Declare certain spots off-limits for overnight camping, including downtown, beaches, neighborhood parks, public parking lots and certain bike and pedestrian paths.

The proposal came two years after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the landmark Martin v. Boise case that Boise police could enforce the city's ban on sleeping in public only if there were enough shelter beds to accommodate every homeless person in the city. The Martin v. Boise ruling forced Santa Cruz to scrap its previous ordinance and look for a new solution.

But when a draft of the TOLO ordinance was unveiled in February, it was immediately met with public outcry and sparked protests organized by people on both sides of the issue. Hundreds of pages of public comment were received, city staff said in a report to the council.

Homeless advocates said it went too far and punished a population in need of compassion. Residents near areas cleared for overnight camping said it didn't go far enough to protect them from the threat of property crime and wildfires started by campers.

An estimated 1,200 homeless people reside in Santa Cruz, which has a population of about 65,000.

Read the most recent city report on the ordinance in Tuesday night's city council agenda packet.

Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel and Lookout Santa Cruz.