Newsom issues order on clearing homeless encampments

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an order Thursday to state officials instructing them to dismantle homeless encampments.

The news was first reported by The New York Times .

In a statement, Newsom called on officials across the state to "do their part."

“This executive order directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them — and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same. The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets. There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part.”

Why now

This comes after a recent Supreme Court ruling opened the door for cities to dismantle encampments and ban outdoor sleeping without offering shelter.

After the Supreme Court ruling, Newsom issued a statement saying that "California remains committed to respecting the dignity and fundamental human needs of all people and the state will continue to work with compassion to provide individuals experiencing homelessness with the resources they need to better their lives.”

It’s important to know that many of these decisions fall under the jurisdiction of local cities — which means the governor can’t force them to act.

What does this mean for L.A. County and city?

The governor is staking out a different position from L.A.’s top elected leaders at the county and the city level. Though different views are emerging among county supervisors.

L.A. County Supervisors’ Chair Lindsey Horvath has called the Grants Pass decision “unconscionable” and ineffective, and called for continued efforts to add more shelter and affordable housing. At a news conference hours after the ruling, she said the solution “is not arrest. It is not pushing people from community to community.”

“I want to be crystal clear,” she added. “The criminalization of homelessness and poverty is dangerous. It does not work, and it will not stand in Los Angeles County.”

She and Supervisor Hilda Solis have proposed a policy of not allowing L.A. County jails to hold people arrested for violating anti-camping ordinances. Many local cities have very small jails, and rely largely on the county jails.

That proposal is up for discussion and approval at the supervisors’ meeting next Tuesday, with Horvath’s office inviting local city officials to participate in the discussion. Horvath did not have immediate comment on Newsom’s order.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger is applauding Newsom’s order. “He rightfully points out that local government remains at the helm of homeless encampment removals,” Barger said in a statement.

“Cities have an obligation to develop housing and shelter solutions in tandem with support services provided by County government. This formula, which is largely based on partnerships, is how we can deliver permanent results. No single entity can achieve that.”

And in the city of L.A., Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement on Newsom's order saying, "For the first time in years, unsheltered homelessness has decreased in Los Angeles because of a comprehensive approach that leads with housing and services, not criminalization. Strategies that just move people along from one neighborhood to the next or give citations instead of housing do not work. We thank the Governor for his partnership thus far and hope that he will continue collaboration on strategies that work.”

At the news conference where Horvath spoke about the Grants Pass ruling, Bass called the decision “unfortunate,” saying she believes it “will usher in a new wave of criminalization” elsewhere. Bass slammed the court's ruling saying it should “not be used as an excuse for cities across the country to attempt to arrest their way out of this problem or hide the homelessness crisis in neighboring cities or in jail.”

“This is a rehash of the 1990s, when we couldn't figure out how to deal with a social problem, like addiction and gang violence, we just decided we were going to lock everybody up,” Bass said at the news conference.

Shayla Myers, a leading attorney in L.A. for unhoused people who works at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, criticized Newsom's directive shortly after it was announced.

“This order pushes jurisdictions to clear encampments, without doing anything to fix the root causes of homelessness," Myers said in an email to LAist. "We need true leadership to prevent cities from leaning into cruelty, and instead, Governor Newsom is pushing strategies that have been proven to make our homelessness crisis worse.”

What does this mean for Orange County?

In Orange County, Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, who chairs the county’s Commission to End Homelessness, reacted to Newsom's order saying: "Our focus must remain on sustainable, long-term solutions that include increasing the inventory of affordable housing, ensuring access to quality universal healthcare, and establishing pathways to benefits and living wages.

"Arresting and eventually releasing unhoused individuals without addressing the root causes is a short-sighted approach that merely moves the problem from one area of the county to another, perpetuating a cycle with no long-term resolution in sight," Sarmiento continued.

After last month's Grant's Pass ruling, Sarmiento said it would have “no immediate impact on the County or its system of care for people experiencing homelessness.”

Don Wagner, chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, issued a statement, saying that even though Newsom has authority to implement a homelessness response for the state, "there is no reason counties and other local governments should follow his lead given his track record.” Wagner cited "an explosion" in numbers of unhoused people throughout California, which he noted happened under Newsom's leadership of the state.

"I'm happy that the Governor has decided to not dictate to Orange County how we will address clearing out the homeless encampments in our jurisdiction and allow us to tackle this issue without being micromanaged by the state," Wagner continued.

"We will do what we believe is appropriate for our local communities, both by being compassionate to the homeless, and giving reprieve to the law-abiding citizens who have for far too long been forced to tolerate this unacceptable situation in their neighborhoods and communities.”

In a statement from Supervisor Katrina Foley, her office compared Newsom's order to a 2019 Catholic worker settlement agreement with Orange County and the cities of Costa Mesa, Anaheim, Santa Ana, and others. That settlement, according to Foley, is a "successful model" for dealing with encampments.

“I applaud Governor Newsom’s executive order that builds upon our local anti-camping policy and directs state agencies and departments to clear encampments through aggressive caseworker outreach, public notice, and dignified storage of personal belongings for those who refuse shelter," Foley said. "It’s the moral imperative of local leaders to use all tools available to move our citizens living in public spaces into stable housing and shelter.”

Where things stand

Homelessness has been on the rise in L.A. County in recent years, with the number of unhoused people up 40% in the past 5 years, including 46,260 in the city of L.A. The most recent count reported a flattening of that number, and a 10% decline in people sleeping outdoors in the city of Los Angeles. There were some notable exceptions in the county , however, with a steep increase continuing in the Antelope Valley.

In Orange County, homelessness has also been on the rise . The most recent survey in January, found more than 7,322 people were experiencing homelessness in Orange County, more than half of whom were unsheltered.

Tell LAist: What's changed in your neighborhood?

We also want to hear from Angelenos . Do you feel like homelessness has increased or decreased in your neighborhood over the past year and a half?

This is a developing story. We're updating it as we get new information.