A homeless measure will be on the Sacramento ballot in November. Here’s what it will do
City of Sacramento residents in November will vote on a measure that could significantly change the way the city responds to its homeless crisis.
The measure, spearheaded by a top aide to former Mayor Kevin Johsnon and business groups, would require the city to create shelter beds for 60% of its homeless population or face lawsuits.
City Manager Howard Chan scheduled an emergency meeting of the council Wednesday to put the measure on the ballot in order to get the group to drop a different version of the measure that has collected over 20,000 signatures — about half the number needed to qualify.
That version, which would have required the city to create shelter for 75% of its homeless population, and on a tighter timeline, could have bankrupted the city, Mayor Darrell Steinberg said.
The city estimated providing that kind of capacity would cost about $192 million a year. Today, the city spends about $33 million a year to provide about 1,100 shelter beds.
“I believe this compromise is imperfect but right,” said Steinberg, who first came up with the idea in 2019 to legally require cities to build homeless shelters and housing. His effort appeared to stall.
Several council members complained that proponents for the measure insisted the council vote on it just three days after a downtown mass shooting that killed six people and injured 12.
“I do not feel prepared,” said Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela, who represents the central city. “I have not been able to consult the community because right now my community is trying to heal.”
Daniel Conway, who was chief of staff to former Mayor Johnson, led the effort. He said council members have known about the measure for months.
After four hours of debating, the council voted 7-2 to put the measure on the ballot, with two minor amendments. Valenzuela and Councilwoman Mai Vang voted against putting it on the ballot.
“This measure will devastate our city,” said Valenzuela. “We are letting a small few with resources dictate policy.”
Conway, along with the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Region Business, The River District, the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, Visit Sacramento, and the Sacramento Police Officers Association are backing the measure, called the “Emergency Homeless Shelter and Enforcement Act of 2022.”. Their coalition is called “Sacramento for Safe and Clean Streets and Parks,” which is the language on the petitions gathering signatures.
What the measure would do
In addition to requiring the city to create more shelter beds and spaces, the measure also contains language that would make it illegal to have an encampment on public property.
“Sacramento will become the first city where it’ll be illegal to live in public spaces,” Conway said during a press conference Wednesday at Golden 1 Center flanked by business leaders. “Sacramento doesn’t continue to have to be the place that allows people to live and die on our streets every day.”
The measure would create a new definition for “encampment” in city code — four or more unrelated people camping within 50 feet of each other on public property without permitted power, running water and bathrooms. In those situations, if the measure is in effect, police could tell people to move, even without offering a shelter bed, Conway said.
That could conflict with a 2018 decision known as Boise vs. Martin at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that generally bars cities from citing homeless individuals for camping on public property without first offering shelter.
The measure language is unclear, prompting Steinberg to ask City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood how the city would enforce it.
“(If the measure is enacted), you can manage encampments to make sure they’re clean, but you can’t move people unless (you offer them shelter), correct?” Steinberg asked Alcala Wood during the meeting.
“Correct,” she replied.
The measure also includes language that classifies storing hazardous waste, including garbage, debris and used needles, on public or private property as a misdemeanor, which the city could charge with civil or criminal penalties. It also prohibits private property owners from allowing homeless people to sleep on the property for more than one night.
Shelter in every Sacramento council district
Though they do want more shelter, activists say the measure could harm the unhoused, especially because it’s by backed by business groups that have urged the city sweep encampments and tow homeless vehicles being used as shelter.
“This proposal is an obvious attempt to circumvent the Boise decision and we feel it is unconstitutional,” said Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness.
Valenzuela and Vang proposed a list of substantial amendments, but those failed. The council added minor amendments to the final measure to require the city open shelters in each council district, and to nudge the county to follow suit.
Because the measure would create a new ordinance, not a change to the city charter, the council would be able to take actions down the line to amend certain details, Alcala Wood said. But the ballot measure language itself cannot be changed.
County Supervisor Patrick Kennedy plans to bring a similar ordinance to the board after the new “point in time” homeless count numbers are released later this year, he told The Bee.
The numbers from the count will be used to determine how many beds the city needs to open. The last count in January 2019 found more than 3,000 people living in the city on any given night. The new numbers are due out later this year.
This story was originally published April 7, 2022 at 6:50 AM.
