Santa Cruz Mulls Day Street Camping Ban: 7 Things To Know

SANTA CRUZ, CA — The Santa Cruz City Council will consider an ordinance Tuesday that would effectively ban camping in many public places such as beaches and downtown and limit camping hours in select areas from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

An estimated 1,200 homeless people reside in Santa Cruz, which has a population of about 65,000. Mayor Donna Meyers, city planning and homelessness response Director Lee Butler and Santa Cruz Police Chief Andrew Mills publicly discussed the plan and its enforcement Friday.

Meyers said the proposal seeks to answer "a decades-long question of how we solve homelessness, but more importantly ... how do we as a community work together" and come to an agreement around the conditions, time and manner that officials manage encampments in Santa Cruz.

"Definitely these issues are very visible in our community right now," she said.

Things have gotten so bad at the intersection of state Routes 1 and 9 — which are managed by the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans — that Meyers wrote Gov. Gavin Newsom asking him to direct Caltrans to conduct a sweep of the area, citing safety concerns and a possible threat to endangered species in the nearby San Lorenzo River. The city has footed the bill for daily trash cleanup in the area but hazards such as open-air drug deals and human waste remain at the site.

Meyers also asked for emergency funding to create new temporary shelters for homeless campers, among other requests.

"Even though we are a small city, we still have overwhelming big-city problems," the city wrote in the letter to the governor.

The proposal comes 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 existing ordinance and look for a new solution.

Here are seven key facts you should know about the city's proposal.

1. Homeless camping areas would be defined and could include sidewalks outside of prohibited areas (see below) and open spaces that are not within 75 feet of trails. Select city officials may be able to designate certain areas such as parking lots for homeless campers.
2. Some areas of Santa Cruz would be off limits to homeless campers because of cleaning and health and safety, maintenance and environmental concerns. That includes (see map) neighborhood and community parks; city-owned oceanfront areas and beaches; downtown Santa Cruz; public parking lots; Neary Lagoon; Jessie Street Marsh; Arroyo Seco Canyon; areas within 75 feet of trails in open space areas, bike and pedestrian paths along the San Lorenzo River; areas that contain city equipment, pose a safety hazard or need to be accessible by first responders; or areas with species that are endangered or special status. The city could also deem other areas as closed if necessary.
3. Campers would also be expected to abide by certain rules such as not starting any fires, keeping belongings confined to a 12-by-12-foot space per person, keeping the environment in good condition and following trash, litter and storage limitations, including not leaving out needles, car tires, bike parts and gas or generators.
4. More cars could park at safe sleeping sites at local businesses and religious institutions.
5. Increased penalties could be given to those who ignore the order, including for misdemeanors.
6. There are exceptions to the 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. camping rule. Camping would be allowed outside of those hours if the it's raining or if a person has a disability that prohibits them from being able to move often.
7. A storage program for the property of displaced homeless campers would be created. Similar programs exist in other cities that wrestle with homelessness and allow campers to pick up their belongings after an encampment is swept.

Mills said police plan to focus enforcement efforts to keep campers out of prohibited areas and ensure homeless campers follow behavioral expectations such as not starting fires or storing bike parts around their camp.

Officials seek to reduce the size of encampments and ensure that they don't stay too long in a single location, Mills said. Open spaces should be accessible to all.

Change may not come overnight, but police hope that with time the proposed ordinance could make a difference for those who are open to getting help, Mills said.

"We fully recognize that this will not solve homelessness," he said. "We also recognize that there are people who need help and want help, and we will provide those resources to them without fail every time we approach people."

The council is slated to consider introducing the proposal at its Tuesday meeting at 5:30 p.m. The ordinance would go into effect 30 days after its approval, which would happen if the council votes twice to approve the ordinance.

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Read more about the city's efforts to address homelessness here, and view the proposal in its entirety here.