Image by ddmeyer on Flickr

It sure looks like California is splitting into two groups. One, cities and counties taking heed of Gov. Newsom’s call to ameliorate the unsafe conditions in homeless encampments, as enabled by the recent SCOTUS decision. And two, those who remain stuck in the pre-Grants Pass world. Fresno Bee continues its superior reporting and suggests that Fresno County has opted for #1.

The Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the first reading of an ordinance that bans camping and authorizes fines and arrests for violations in unincorporated areas of the county. The city of Fresno introduced a similar ordinance on July 29.

The county law, which will be up for final approval on Aug. 20 and take effect 30 days later, prohibits people from camping:

• On public property that’s not intended to serve as a campsite.
• On private property that’s not otherwise zoned for camping, or without permission of the property owner.
• On areas that would obstruct streets, sidewalks, alleys, trails, driveways by sitting, lying or sleeping or storing personal property.
• On any street, alley, sidewalk or other public property or right of way within 500 feet of schools, parks, playgrounds, child-care facilities or libraries; within 500 feet of railroad tracks or railroad property; within 100 feet of roadway over- or underpasses, freeway off- or on-ramps, tunnels or bridges; within 50 feet of a fire hydrant or designated fire lanes; or within 10 feet of driveways or loading docks.

In addition, the ordinance forbids bathing in public fountains or other public water features, or urinating or defecating on public property.

A violation would be treated as a misdemeanor crime punishable by up to six months in jail or a fine of up to $500, or both. But the law provides that “as an alternative to a fine or jail sentence, the county would encourage (courts) to grant diversion or probation with a condition that the offender complete a rehabilitation program or treatment plan.”

The Board of Supervisors’ 5-0 vote comes eight days after the Fresno City Council adopted its own ordinance that carries fines of up to $1,000 or one year in jail.

Both measures come on the heels of recent developments regarding homeless encampments: a recent Supreme Court decision that civil and criminal penalties for camping in public areas do not represent “cruel and unusual punishment” for homeless individuals under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; and an executive order issued in late July by California Gov. Gavin Newsom for state agencies to adopt policies to clear homeless encampments on state property and encouraging local city and county agencies to do the same.

Fresno County’s ordinance was proposed by , whose District 2 represents much of northeast and northwest Fresno. It is similar to an anti-camping ordinance that he sponsored and won approval for in 2017 as a member of the Fresno City Council. That measure, however, “was quickly put on a shelf” because of two court rulings — one in Idaho, the other in Oregon, Brandau said Tuesday. The recent Supreme Court decision overturned those two cases.

Supervisor Steve Brandau {who proposed the ordinance} said the county ordinance isn’t intended to be a wholesale rousting or harassment of the homeless.

“This isn’t about sweeping people off the street,” he said. “This is about a very small subset of very obstinate people who do things that hurt our businesses. They hurt parents who have to send their children down the street to school, to walk alone down the street.”

“We have to say to them, ‘Wouldn’t you prefer to go down and begin the process, as challenging as it is, to take advantage of some of these (social) services?’” Brandau added.

Read the whole thing here.

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