Sacramento leaders ban homeless camps from sidewalks, American River Parkway and more
Homeless people will soon be prohibited from camping along the entirety of the American River Parkway, and also from blocking city of Sacramento sidewalks and business entrances.
City and county elected leaders voted unanimously Tuesday on three separate ordinances that collectively ban encampments from many public spaces. The measures do not commit the agencies to providing more shelter. They will take effect in 30 days.
Starting in late September, people can be cleared from the parkway and sidewalks — two of the most common locations for camps.
Under a measure passed by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, they can be cleared from the parkway, even if officials cannot offer them a shelter bed.
Under an ordinance passed by the Sacramento City Council, homeless people can also be cleared from the sidewalks, but in that case, they would need to be given another location to go. It’s unclear what type of location that would be.
Applause erupted in the newly reopened Sacramento City Council chambers after the vote, including from home owners who said their children will not be able to walk to school if the camps are not cleared with at least a four-feet-wide walkway. They also said people in wheelchairs cannot use the sidewalks when they are blocked by camps.
“This is not acceptable, city sidewalks are the most basic amenity,” said Jenna Abbott of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. “We’re not trying to penalize people who are homeless, but we are trying to make our city a better place.”
Homeless activists criticized the elected officials for passing enforcement measures before opening the roughly 7,000 more shelter beds or housing units that researchers say are needed on any given night.
“The actions of the city and county are an admission of their failures,” said Bob Erlenbusch of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness. “They say these are tools, but they are only hammers! Where is the shelter, where is the housing, where are the services?”
After hearing concerns from activists, Mayor Darrell Steinberg introduced a companion resolution that said that although violating the ordinance would be a misdemeanor, homeless people will not be jailed or fined “to the fullest extent practical.”
The language allows the city attorney’s office and police department to fine or jail those “only in those extraordinary circumstances where there’s danger,” Steinberg said. “That is the intent.”
The council approved that measure.
Camping banned on river parkway
Meanwhile hours prior, county supervisors adopted ordinances to prohibit camping along the entire American River Parkway, Dry Creek Parkway, as well as on flood levees, fire risk zones and near homeless shelters, schools and libraries. Between 2,000 and 3,000 homeless people camp in the parkway alone, the American River Parkway Foundation estimates.
Although the language would allow a crackdown on camps, several supervisors have said the county will not initiate major sweeps after the ordinances go into effect.
The American River Parkway Foundation has asked for the area to be cleared. The Sacramento chapter of the Sierra Club also called for local governments to remove the camps and provide more shelter for homeless people, citing increased fires on the parkway.
“None of us are anti-homeless we are simply pro environment,” said Crystal Tobias, who is on one of the many volunteer teams that cleans abandoned trash, debris, needles and mattresses off the parkway. “Eighty percent of the water in Sacramento comes from our creeks and tributaries.”
While the board listened to public comments, the Sacramento Fire Department tweeted a video of multiple vegetation fires along the lower American River Parkway. The fires are believed to be human caused, but it is unclear if the person was homeless, said Fire Department Spokesman Capt. Keith Wade.
Sacramento City Council members Angelique Ashby and Sean Loloee criticized the county for banning camps from the parkway. They spoke at the evening City Council meeting.
“If the county continues to take actions like this, without working with us, all our problems will get worse,” Ashby said. “It’s frustrating they would take a vote to shuffle people when they have the resources.”
The comments were part of an ongoing rift between the city and county over how to address homelessness. City leaders want the county to commit to spend more resources on homelessness, while county supervisors say they are taking steps to provide more shelter.
Roughly 9,300 people are homeless in Sacramento County and any given night, according to the most recent federally mandated point-in-time count. The city provides 1,100 shelter beds and spaces, and the county funds 1,400 indoor shelter beds.
Sacramento voters to see homeless measure
The American River Parkway Foundation, which requested the parkway ordinance months ago, after the meeting urged the county to open more shelter beds.
“We’re experiencing environmental and humanitarian crises we’ve never seen before. But focusing only on enforcement will lead to whack-a-mole and never truly address the issue,” said Dianna Poggetto of the foundation in a statement after the meeting. “More shelter space and services will help the unhoused get off the streets.”
A ballot measure that would empower city officials to clear more encampments is set to go to Sacramento voters in November, unless a lawsuit is successful at removing it. The council amended it earlier this month in such a way that if voters approve it, it would only go into effect if the county signs an agreement to increase homeless services.
City Manger Howard Chan urged the county to provide services to individuals that the city clears from the sidewalks. The county’s budget is roughly six times the size of the city’s and includes staff for mental health and substance use services.
The city is currently prohibited from clearing tent encampments from public property at least through Thursday — the result of a Sacramento Homeless Union lawsuit.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 8:34 PM.
