Sacramento homeless advocates vow more port-a-potties are coming to city, county land
Sacramento civil rights attorney Mark Merin has dropped his port-a-potty lawsuit against the city, but says he expects more of the portable toilets to begin popping up on city and county land as advocates heed California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call for action on the state’s homelessness crisis.
“The group has gotten stronger and they’re meeting and deciding on their next sites for placement,” Merin said Thursday, one day after he dropped his federal lawsuit against Sacramento city officials. “I think what the city and the county can expect is they will be seeing more port-a-potties placed in locations where homeless are gathered.
“And, at the same time, they’ll be requesting official endorsements of the placement of these facilities and hopefully encourage both the city and the county to recognize that the public is served when people have access to restroom facilities. Maybe we’ll get some (funding) for the placement of these facilities, especially given Newsom’s emphasis and the mayor’s emphasis on homelessness.”
Merin’s comments come after Sacramento-area residents have taken it upon themselves to rent portable toilets and place them at sites near homeless encampments. One has been erected on county land along the American River Parkway after the county issued a permit, and county officials said Thursday they would not object to additional ones.
“If a private citizen is interested in placement of a port-a-potty on county parklands, the Regional Parks Department will work with that individual upon submission of a permit application for review,” Liz Bellas, the Sacramento County Director of Regional Parks, said in a statement. “That review will ensure that port-a-potties are placed in appropriate locations to best protect our natural resources and allow regular service.
“The permit would also outline the requirements for service levels and response to vandalism.”
City officials had a similar comment.
“The city appreciates the opportunity to resolve reasonable public requests through our existing permitting processes in lieu of litigation,” Assistant City Manager Chris Conlin said in an emailed statement.
The city had been in a legal fight with Merin over the placement of two port-a-potties on North B Street near a homeless camp that had been put there without a permit. Police originally ordered the removal of a portable toilet from the site, but two Sacramento women ordered two more delivered there for use by homeless campers.
Merin sued the city in federal court, seeking an order to allow them to remain in place. A judge rejected that request, saying the claims in the suit did not rise to a federal level.
But Merin said he expects to file new suits to press the issue, including one that will focus on human waste polluting Sacramento-area waterways.
“We’re probably going to refashion the lawsuit to focus on the water issues, the E. coli and how you comply with the federal requirement to make clean water available to all citizens,” Merin said. “We may also file in state court, which gives us some other arguments.”
Janice Nakashima, an artist who lives in the Pocket, joined with longtime friend Robin Kristufek, a retired public health nurse, to rent the toilets for about $360-a-month for the camp, and she said others have said they want to help with the placement of more.
“We’ve gotten a lot of response, and there’s a lot of people that want to do it,” she said.
The city originally responded to Merin’s lawsuit earlier this month with a court filing that said allowing individuals to place toilets anywhere on city land could create “chaos.”
But the city has yet to move to have to devices taken away from the camp, and Merin said he wants to see a policy created that would allow the city to issue permits for the placement of port-a-potties where they are needed.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 2:02 PM.