<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2U3LXb_0v6EGwRf00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2U3LXb_0v6EGwRf00" width="1476" height="984" ><figcaption>The atmosphere in San Clemente was dramatically different in 2019 (above), when the city installed tents in a maintenance lot on Avenida Pico, a makeshift outdoor shelter where homeless campers were required to stay at the time. Though Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order last week allows local authorities to clear encampments, San Clemente and Dana Point plan to continue to emphasize outreach programs to deal with the unhoused. Photo: SC Times</figcaption></figure>Months after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson, delivered on June 28, the San Clemente City Council unanimously approved the introduction of an ordinance that will align the city’s Municipal Code with the Grants Pass ruling.Specifically, the San Clemente Municipal Code will be amended to remove requirements for the city to determine if alternative shelter or publicly provided campsites are available prior to enforcing the city’s anti-camping law, to provide such shelter or “transitional camping.” The SCMC would also be changed to remove exemptions that state all personal property stored in relation to public camping isn’t abandoned and provide different abatement requirements than other types of illegal personal property storage.The council’s action follows previous changes to the Municipal Code that succeeded the ruling in Martin v. Boise, which prevented cities from enforcing anti-camping ordinances when individuals lack alternative shelter.“The City may enforce the SCMC without available shelter, although the City is free to continue offering available shelter and a variety of other services it currently offers to homeless campers, which it can continue notwithstanding changes via this proposed ordinance,” read the agenda report. “For the reasons discussed herein, the City Council may wish to introduce and later adopt the attached ordinance to conform the SCMC to be consistent with Grants Pass and to provide available tools necessary for the protection and improvement of public peace, health, safety and welfare.”Matthew Silver, Code Compliance Legal Counsel, told the council that the proposed ordinance, informed by the newest ruling, would remove the “all or nothing” component previously associated with enforcement. He added that he believes the city will continue to offer services and shelter to unhoused people through its Community Outreach Workers and partnership with other organizations.Mayor Victor Cabral said he felt the ordinance would accomplish exactly what the city desired, treating people equally under the law. The city has found the right balance for advocating on behalf of the unhoused and enforcement of its statues, he continued.“You can’t have one without the other,” he said.Cabral also mentioned statistics relating to the remaining unhoused population, which was information relayed to him by the Community Outreach Workers, that 90% of remaining people are “service-resistant.”Adam Atamian, Community Development Director, clarified that the number fluctuates, and that for the chronically unhoused who have been in the city for a significant period of time, roughly 85% have declined an offer for shelter or other services.Continuing on, Cabral said no one in San Clemente wanted to condemn the decisions made by those who are unhoused and may be dealing with extenuating circumstances, borne out by the city’s choice to send out people to assist others. The Grants Pass outcome shows that any hint of cities being responsible has been eliminated, and the onus is on counties and the state to address homelessness, he said.“I was at the oral arguments, and that was one of the key issues; (it was), ‘Does every city have to have housing?’ ” said Cabral. “I think the resounding answer is no.”The idea of enforcement as sending people to jail is not a long-term solution, said Silver. He added that in circumstances involving a service-resistant person or someone ineligible for services, getting into the court process when unavoidable opens doors for people.He mentioned his role as a prosecutor, which involved collaboration with public defenders, the UC Irvine School of Law, and other involved persons such as judges to solve problems.Councilmember Steve Knoblock said the proposed ordinance has the city headed in the right direction, as San Clemente needs to look at homelessness “compassionately but intelligently.”Councilmember Rick Loeffler added that he didn’t think much of the status quo in town would change following Grants Pass, as he said there aren’t many people currently sleeping on public property night after night. Law enforcement will have discretion, he continued, stating he doesn’t think people seeking to sleep will be “criminalized.”The concept of discretion is built into the ordinance, according to Silver. A new component introduced by the latest ruling is the new definition of shelter, in which all shelter qualifies, unlike previously in which organizations such as the OC Rescue Mission wouldn’t qualify, he added.“The issue where someone is outside purely by necessity, meaning there is nowhere to go, is—as the Supreme Court pointed out in the Grants Pass ruling—still a valid defense,” Silver continued.In the case where a situation reaches the court process, his job is to get them situated somewhere, meaning he is working to benefit the unhoused people in the court process. He also mentioned the growth of CARE Court, of which CARE stands for Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment, in which the prosecution can request the appointment of a conservator over a mentally ill person in the worst case scenario.“That is just getting rolled out county by county, in our state, but that’s one that will be a tool for us,” Silver said.Mayor Pro Tem Mark Enmeier referred to Martin v. Boise as a ruling that positively forced cities to readdress how they deal with homelessness, but swung the pendulum too far away from cities using tools similar to a hammer and toward restrictions on other potential tools.“My hope is that with Grants Pass, we get those other tools back in our toolbox, but we don’t dismiss the new ones,” he said.Enmeier called it encouraging to hear from Silver that the city will still positively address homelessness as much as possible and use enforcement as a last resort.The ordinance will return to the council for adoption on second reading at a future meeting.</div></body>

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Council Seeks to Align Municipal Code with Supreme Court’s ‘Grants Pass’ Ruling

Months after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson, delivered on June 28, the San Clemente City Council unanimously approved the introduction of an ordinance that will align the city’s Municipal Code with the Grants Pass ruling. Specifically, the San Clemente Municipal Code will be...

Council Seeks to Align Municipal Code with Supreme Court’s ‘Grants Pass’ Ruling

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