Camping ordinances looking to expand
Several area cities working to establish own rules, regulations for camping
Yuba City, Marysville, Live Oak and Wheatland have been working with Sutter and Yuba counties for several months to come up with camping ordinances all similar to those passed by the counties in recent weeks, according to Sutter County public information officer Chuck Smith.
On Tuesday, the Sutter County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an ordinance that prohibits camping and storage of personal property on private and public property in certain unincorporated areas of the county. The urgency ordinance went into effect immediately. Yuba County had passed the ordinance Nov. 12.
Smith said the county worked to get the urgency ordinance in place before the rainy season arrives to protect the levee and reduce the risk of flooding. The
sheriff’s office is putting together a task force to notify those staying in areas prohibited by the ordinance.
“We’re not looking at trying to make matters worse,” Sutter County Sheriff’s Office Captain Chad Niswonger said at the board of supervisors meeting. “We’re trying to help people out and at the same time protect the public safety.”
He said the ordinance does not criminalize homelessness and that there is “no intent to have a mass roundup of homeless.”
“Our position is that it’s a reasonable set of rules,” Smith said
In addition, an ad hoc committee made up of two members of the Yuba City city council and two Sutter County supervisors, was created to discuss possible locations for people to go to after leaving prohibited camping zones, according to Smith.
After receiving a letter from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, the board of supervisors added an amendment that extends the notice for removal from 48 hours to 72 hours.
The letter urged supervisor to vote no on the ordinance. Laura Ferree, directing attorney in Marysville for California Rural Legal Assistance also voiced her belief at the meeting that the ordinance should not be passed
“We believe that the proposed ordinance violates the law and still effectively criminalizes being homeless,” Ferree said.
Ferree cited the lack of “sufficient shelter beds” in the county as the reason for the ordinance
violating the law. That was in reference to a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said if a city, in this case Boise, didn’t have enough shelter beds available enforcement of camping bans violated the Constitution.
Smith said the decision has been appealed to the Supreme Court and Sutter County has joined over 30 other counties and cities in supporting the appeal. Smith said support of the appeal is not an endorsement of criminalization of homeless but a desire to have a clearer understanding of what can and can’t be done about the issue.
“The ruling doesn’t make it clear on what you can do,” Smith said.
Yuba City Police Chief Robert Landon said there is a possibility that a similar ordinance could be voted on at a City Council meeting on Dec. 17 but that date is not finalized. The ordinance is currently with the city’s attorneys who are reviewing the ordinance before it is considered.
Despite Yuba City not having an ordinance in place, Landon was not concerned that the city will see an increase in homeless population because Yuba County has not started enforcing its new ordinance and there are other ordinances already on the books in Yuba City that deal with similar issues.
Yuba County public information officer Russ Brown said the county is currently working on educating the public and those who could be affected by the ordinance and has not started enforcement and said there is “no desire to bring a hammer to this.”
Brown said the county was not trying to criminalize homelessness
with the ordinance, pointing out its broad nature that affects people across the board who are camping.
Brown said Yuba County’s efforts to help the homeless population has been copied by other counties in California.
“We show a huge commitment to address homelessness,” Brown said.
The director of the Marysville Homeless Union, Bryan Brown, said his organization will be holding a press conference Thursday at 10 a.m. in front of Marysville City Hall where a list of demands for the two counties will be read out.
He said the goal is to meet with county and city officials to hear from them what will be done to help the homeless population affected by the ordinances.
“The bottom line is we’re trying to get them to the table,” Brown said. “We need to know where they (the homeless) have to go.”
If the demands are not met, Brown said a lawsuit would be filed against both counties with the help of Sacramento attorney Mark Merin.
Merin could not be reached for comment.
“They (the homeless) have a lot of family here and they don’t want to leave,” said Raelynn Butcher who works with Brown. “Most of them were born here.”
Sutter County will be holding a community meeting on homeless issues at 6 p.m. Thursday at Veteran’s Hall located at 1425 Veteran’s Memorial Circle in Yuba City. There will be an update on Better Way Homeless Shelter and updates on other issues involving homelessness in Sutter County.
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