The ink may scarcely be dry on Fresno’s new ordinance banning homeless camping on sidewalks, parks, railroad rights of way and other public land that will take effect in mid-September.
Now the Fresno City Council has taken the first step toward adopting a second law that targets loitering and trespassing at private businesses, closing a loophole that backers say exists in the city’s current laws.
Councilmembers Garry Bredefeld, Mike Karbassi and Tyler Maxwell introduced an ordinance at Thursday’s council meeting to strengthen the ability of local businesses to compel trespassers to leave when they’re asked. It received a unanimous 7-0 vote, and will be up for final approval on Sept. 12. If it passes, it would take effect in mid-October.
Violations of the ordinance would be considered a misdemeanor that carries a fine of up to $1,000 or one year in jail.
The newly proposed ordinance comes two weeks after the City Council adopted a new law that prohibits sleeping or camping on sidewalks and in “sensitive use” areas, such as schools, parks and libraries, for example. The sponsors of that ordinance said the measure is aimed at homeless people who habitually defy requests to move their makeshift camps and refuse offers of social services or other assistance.
The no-camping rule and the adoption of a similar ordinance by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors covering unincorporated areas of the county, came on the heels of two recent developments regarding homeless encampments:
The newest proposed law discussed Thursday states that “no person shall willfully remain upon any business premises, whether indoors or outdoors, after being notified by the owner, lessee or other person in charge to leave.” It would also forbid a person from entering the business premises without the express or implied permission of the owner if they have already been told to stay off or stay away from the business.
The ordinance only applies during business hours, Maxwell said Thursday. A violation would be deemed a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or by a jail term of up to one year, or both.
“The loophole really was during business hours in places where the public had access, even through it’s private property,” City Attorney Andrew Janz told the council. Prosecutors, he said, have been challenged because of how judges have interpreted public access to private property.
Janz added that Fresno’s proposed ordinance is based on similar laws in other cities that have not been legally challenged. Because violations would run afoul of the city’s municipal code, it would be his office—not the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office—that would prosecute the cases in court.
Why is it needed?
In introducing the ordinance, the council members sponsoring the law said that even after passing the no-camping ordinance on Aug. 15, they have received ongoing complaints from business owners about homeless loitering on their private property.
Bredefeld said the proposal is intended to “address businesses on private property doing business with the public, and not allowing people to abuse their property, harass their customers, in essence trespass, specifically when they’re asked to leave and they don’t.”
“This gives the opportunity for the property owner to notify the police to remove these folks who are creating this kind of mayhem.”
Karbassi added that the law targets problem behavior, not the homeless.
“Being homeless is absolutely not a crime, but there are certain behaviors that are unacceptable,” he said. “This is the right thing to do. We’re not criminalizing anyone for being homeless, but we are holding people accountable if they exhibit behaviors that threaten the liberty and economic opportunity of other innocent Fresnans.”
Maxwell said private property such as homes that are not open to the public are protected by “very clear loitering and trespassing laws.
“For whatever reason, that same policy does not apply to private businesses that are open to the public,” he added. “If they have the same sort of trespass and vagrancy issues and people refuse to leave, you can call 911, but there’s no assurance that (police) are going to be able to help because we don’t have anything on the books to enforce.”
On Thursday, Bredefeld asserted that many of the homeless “absolutely reject help and live on the streets” and create problems for businesses, their employees and their customers.
“It’s our job … to ensure that the rights of private property owners who do business with the public are respected and protected,” said Bredefeld, who also was a sponsor of the no-camping ordinance.
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