Sacramento residents sick of homelessness may get to take their anger to the ballot box
A ballot measure seeking to compel the city of Sacramento to aggressively police the negative impacts of homelessness on neighborhoods and businesses was filed Tuesday and could go before voters in November.
Called the “Emergency Temporary Shelter and Enforcement Act of 2022,” the measure would amend health and safety codes with the goal of forcing the city “to take immediate steps to enforce its laws and protect the interests of all of its citizens,” according to the filing.
The measure was submitted by Daniel Conway, who was once chief of staff to former Mayor Kevin Johnson. Conway is now a Sacramento-based policy advisor to the LA Alliance for Human Rights, a nonprofit and a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit seeking to force Los Angeles officials to create shelter space for homeless people on city streets there. Rivkah Sass, the recently retired director of the Sacramento Public Library, is also signed on to the effort.
Conway said he expects a “broad coalition” of yet-unnamed businesses and labor groups to finance the signature-gathering effort to qualify the measure for the November ballot.
Regardless of where one stands on homelessness, the most divisive issue in Sacramento today, this measure is a novel approach.
The ballot measure provides residents a chance to bring a claim against the city for failing to maintain public spaces. The measure would also place homelessness reforms in the hands of city voters via a process that is arcane but interesting. If it’s passed, city codes would be sharpened with specificity that is currently lacking and often leads to ham-handed and inhumane enforcement.
The divisive issue of public camping is addressed directly by language in the measure that would make it “unlawful” to camp on any public property unless it’s designated for emergency shelter. The measure would also make it unlawful to dispose of hazardous waste, including needles and garbage.
The measure would also establish benchmarks the city would have to follow. For example, within 60 days after the measure takes effect, the city manager would have to identify and authorize shelter space equal to at least 75% of Sacramento’s total homeless population.
The measure prescribes a whole series of actions for the city manager and would empower him to create emergency shelter, including space for people with disabilities or pets.
The city code for abating nuisance properties would also be strengthened.
The timing of the measure coincides with hardened divisions over homelessness in Sacramento. In December, Mayor Darrell Steinberg was harshly criticized by business leaders for the proliferation of the problem. Last weekend, a public meeting at McKinley Park to discuss the proposed Sutter’s Landing Regional Park safe ground became tense as residents hurled expletives and jeered at city officials.
Conway praised Steinberg for his efforts to create capacity to deal with homelessness under the mayor’s $100 million comprehensive plan, but he also acknowledged that delays in creating such space — and opposition to it — have left Sacramento more divided than ever.
Conway said the measure was essentially born when Steinberg was being blasted by allies and homeless advocates alike after a high-profile vehicle encampment eviction at Commerce Circle in December.
Will it be popular with voters? Will it create more division? Can it achieve what has been missing as homelessness has proliferated in Sacramento: more housing and capacity for safe shelter?
No one can answer that definitively right now. But it isn’t surprising that the homelessness issue has splintered Sacramento to this degree, with citizens like Conway stepping into a leadership void.
The compassion that carried Steinberg’s comprehensive plan has been replaced with animosity in the absence of progress. We’ve grown so divided over this issue, and we attack anyone with an opposing view. Meanwhile, the number of homeless people only grows, along with the frustration over that growth.
This measure is a reflection of how desperate homelessness has become in Sacramento.
This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 4:30 PM.
