City of Santa Cruz moves forward with an ordinance to address homelessness transport concerns

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV): The city of Santa Cruz is moving forward with an ordinance to address homeless transport concerns.

This follows an incident where a disabled homeless person was transported and dropped off in Santa Cruz by police officers in Hanford.

Santa Cruz city council members voting unanimously on Tuesday to pass an ordinance to prevent homeless people from being transported to their city under specific guidelines.

"I am supporting this because I'm opposed to the forced displacement by any agent of the states, a local, a national forcibly moving a person," city council member sandy brown said. "I think that's something we should all be concerned about as well."

The city says with this ordinance, it would make it illegal for any law enforcement or governmental entity to drop off homeless individuals within Santa Cruz without proper support or shelter arrangements.

"It can't be up to us, people can't be brought here against their will and left for us to solve the problems of other jurisdictions," Vice Mayor Renee Golder said.

During the meeting, the city mentioned a homeward bound program to relocate homeless individuals.

The city is emphasizing this and similar programs as the appropriate method for cities to transport homeless people, if needed, instead of just dropping them off.

“ This is a case where none of that was in place and really to prevent anything like that happening again," city council Sonja Brunner said. "I think this is an important step to really ensure support for the person who is unsheltered as well as a community that has very limited resources already to begin with."

The new ordinance would not only criminalize such actions but also ensure that the Santa Cruz police department adopts policies that align with these regulations.

"It is essential we hold other jurisdictions accountable for their actions, and especially when these actions negatively impact our residents and especially when they impact our residents who are most in need," Santa Cruz city council Scott Newsom said.

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