Fresno officials latest to move on removing homeless encampments

Valley Remnants & Rolls owner Ed Noriego has seen his business’s share of negative interaction with homeless people. He has even been threatened with a pipe for asking individuals to leave the front of his Blackstone Avenue showroom.

He’s careful to not have his employees there by themselves early in the morning or evening. Most just move on when asked to leave, but some get belligerent. Surely frustrated, Noriego is also sympathetic to the addiction and mental health issues running through the homeless community.

“They don’t have choices in what they do,” Noriego said.

Sympathy — but with a harder edge — was a common refrain Friday as the City of Fresno became the latest municipality to announce the introduction of a ban on homeless encampments made possible by a recent Supreme Court Decision.

On Thursday, Fresno County officials announced they introduce their own ordinance, and Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order for homeless encampments to be removed from state property.

Fresno’s ordinance from Councilmember Miguel Arias, Tyler Maxwell and Garry Bredefeld will be introduced at an emergency meeting Monday. It could return for a. final vote on Aug. 15 and take effect Sept. 15.

Under the ordinance, no person may sit, lie, sleep or camp in public places at any time. Violations include a $1,000 fine up to a year in jail upon a misdemeanor conviction.

Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz said his office will prosecute the cases to the full extent of the ordinance, with no intentions of striking plea bargains.

Councilmember Arias said after millions of dollars in investment and five years of work in alleviating the homeless crisis in Fresno, the community has had enough of problem behavior from what city officials acknowledge is a small part of the homeless population — maybe 20%.

“Being poor does not give you the right to steal from others or ruin their own hard work,” Arias said.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said he is hopeful that the court system will represent another opportunity for homeless people in violation of this ordinance to get help in lieu of jail time.

The City’s efforts in the last 3 ½ years have led to around 7,000 homeless people in Fresno placed in emergency shelter, with about half of them integrating into permanent shelter. An estimated 1,500-1,600 remain on the streets, Dyer said He added the ordinance will target the worst offenders — people who refuse to leave public property or habitually return.

It is the unhoused themselves who are often victimized by other homeless people in serious crimes including robbery, assault, rape and murder, officials said.

Businesses are also prime locations for vagrants to gather. Noriego with Valley Remnants & Rolls, a carpet and flooring provider, said it wasn’t such a problem the 30 years they spent on McKinley Avenue near Fresno City College. But in five years near Blackstone and Dakota avenues, it’s gotten so bad he has considered relocating again — a moved that cost him $150,000 before.

But the new reality, he said, is that all parts of the city are experiencing this problem.