LA Bans Homeless Camps Near Schools While Sacramento Prohibited from Removing Homeless on Public Property
A tale of two cities
By Katy Grimes, August 3, 2022 9:36 am
The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to approve an ordinance prohibiting homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and day care centers.
Also on Tuesday, a federal judge issued an order forbidding Sacramento police and city officials from clearing homeless tent encampments on public property until Aug. 25.
Several “homeless individuals” and homeless activists filed the lawsuit against the city and county of Sacramento in June seeking the federal court to compel the City and County of Sacramento to open many more buildings as emergency weather shelters in summer temperatures.
Yet many taxpayers ask why it is the responsibility of taxpayers to subsidize drug addicts who illegally live on the streets, in public parks, along the rivers and freeways.
The Los Angeles ordinance amends a city law regulating where homeless encampments can be. Municipal Code 41.18 bans sitting, sleeping, lying or otherwise obstructing the public right of way in multiple areas, Fox News reported.
As for Sacramento’s homeless living on public property, “Judge Troy L. Nunley issued the preliminary injunction Thursday in response to a lawsuit filed by the Sacramento Homeless Union and three unhoused individuals in the U.S. District Court for Eastern California,” the Sacramento Bee reported. “The lawsuit, filed in June, also asks the court to force the city and county to open more homeless cooling centers during the hot Sacramento summer months. The judge did not grant that request.”
Sacramento’s latest smack down is self-inflicted. Not that LA is Shangri-La, but at least the LA City Council addressed the homeless camps near children.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg has been a very busy proponent of providing tiny homes, apartments, renovated motel room and houses for the 11,000 drug-addicted, mentally-ill street vagrants residing on city streets, in parks, along golf courses and freeways.
The Globe recently reported on what was serving only as a respite center for the homeless, with the begrudging approval of the nearby residential neighborhoods, is being turned into an actual shelter, and without the approval of City Council members or the nearby neighborhood groups – primarily because it is so far away from City Hall and from the residents of the city.
Sacramento’s homeless has even surpassed San Francisco’s. “Within the city limits of Sacramento, just over 5,000 unsheltered people… were counted in a new homelessness report, compared with about 4,400 people in San Francisco. But with Sacramento’s population of 525,000 versus San Francisco’s 874,000, that works out to a rate of 952 per 100,000 in Sacramento versus 503 per 100,000 for San Francisco,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported in July.
The City of Sacramento is spending more than $44 million to provide eight homeless shelters and camping options, most not yet built or ready, and three Project Homekey motel conversions, the Globe reported in April. According to city officials, “most of that comes from state and federal grants that are not certain year to year.”
However, the city is creating 1,050 “safe spaces, beds, tiny homes and motel rooms each night” for at least 11,200 homeless – not even a dent in the homeless living on the streets.
In April we also reported, Sacramento County has more than 11,200 homeless living on the streets and in the parks, and all shelter beds and spaces are full on any given night. And those were numbers provided by Sacramento Steps Forward, which received $25,990,012 from the State, and $23,349,292 from the Federal government (above) in 2019-2020. Most of the nearly $50 million was earmarked for housing. They spent nearly $802,000 on “administration.”
But this latest homeless shelter is right next door to the Children’s Receiving Home, a home for children and young adults who have suffered abuse and neglect.
The decision may have been a practical one, given that the city already owns the defunct science center building and nearby neglected properties. “We have a city-owned piece of property and a building that is being underused at the same time that we have more than 9,000 people living unsheltered in Sacramento,” Steinberg said. “I cannot just let this resource lay fallow when so many people need help.”
The “Outreach and Engagement Center soon will be open daily as a place where up to 50 people can come inside regardless of the weather and receive help from social workers, clinicians and housing coordinators,” the City says, “for people experiencing homelessness.”
Nearly $50 million earmarked for housing in Sacramento, and we still have more than 11,000 homeless drug addicts living on the streets? How is this possible? And how is it possible to spend $802,000 on “administration” unless there are some fat salaries and benefits being paid?
It’s as if the Mayor likes the homeless crisis… it is a cash cow that keeps on giving.
The city and county continue to ignore actual successful, proven programs to help change the lives of the homeless, drug addicted and mentally ill. We have several in Sacramento including the Union Gospel Mission and St. John’s Center for Real Change. San Antonio Texas is home to the Haven For Hope, which also has astounding success in getting homeless addicts and mentally ill off the street, triaged and into proper programs for treatment and recovery… Or ongoing treatment.
Here are some of those Sacramento “people experiencing homelessness:”
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I wonder what would be happening in Sacramento with this issue if the feckless Mayor Darrell Steinberg were on the ballot in November, which he is not. Would there be law enforcement and city sanitation services out in force to clean up this unacceptable mess up pronto, place people in the actual helpful rescue missions and services, and return the city to a manageable state, as the taxpayers who live there deserve to have and enjoy?
Meanwhile I’m cynical about even L.A. City’s effort, because I see it as a useless token one designed (by 90% of L.A. City Council) to bolster Dem Karen Bass’ mayoral candidacy by trying to give an appearance of Dem Mayor Eric Garcetti’s effectiveness on this issue as he rides off into Political Nowhere Land at the end of his term, having been thoroughly disgraced. Sure, bar homeless camps within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers. Sounds like something, but is it anything? The vagrants are still free to wander around by those schools and daycare centers. That’s why “NIMBYs” (God bless them) don’t want a “wet” shelter —- drugs and alcohol still allowed —- anywhere in the vicinity of their neighborhoods. They have common sense and they know it means vagrants, drugs, alcohol, crime, filth, mental illness coming in just the same as if the “wet” shelter were two doors down.
We’ve watched as City of L.A. has cleared out and cleaned up and moved elsewhere homeless encampments lickety-split when the Academy Awards show rolls out their red carpets for celebs down at Union Station (the Metro) or on Hollywood Blvd. and vicinity. Bad optics for a worldwide TV audience, you know? If they can do it for that occasion, they can do it now. But they don’t, and they won’t —- will they. And the County Supes recently passed something for the November ballot that allows them to fire Sheriff Villanueva whenever the mood strikes them. Imagine that: The ONE person who has called the homeless and crime meeting to order and the supe majority is trying to throw him out of (elected) office.
Time to re-read Edward Ring’s classic article “The Homeless Industrial Complex” I guess. It is posted here at the California Globe. Then you’ll remember what is actually motivating these maniacs who call themselves our civic “leaders.” Hint: $$$$$$$
Federal Judge Troy L. Nunley issued the order forbidding Sacramento police and city officials from clearing homeless tent encampments on public property. Nunley is black and Obama had nominated him to be a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Is anyone surprised that a leftist activist Democrat judge like Nunley would issue such a stupid ruling? Maybe a homeless encampment can be relocated on the public sidewalk in front of his residence?
Oooooooo… Racist much, Miss Sam?
SMH thinks it’s racist to point out that judge Troy L. Nunley is black? Maybe SMH is under mistaken delusion that black judges cannot be called out for their activist rulings that are stupid? Judge Troy L Nunley deserves to have a homeless encampment on the sidewalk in from of his residence with his stupid ruling.
So now just mentioning that someone is black is racist? Oh, brother. Please. But what do you expect from a troll who is desperately scouring the internet for tiny scraps of perceived offenses to pounce on.
You know, Samantha, I have to say I think what you suggest would do the trick!
This is what happens when you stop the war on drugs. You have addicted thieves. LA looks like a Third World country now. There was a time when L.A. was gorgeous. Keep voting left LA. Let’s see how bad it can get.
Sacramento is awful. We are a total embarrassment and CA is the laughing stock state. We have the dumbest Politicians I’ve ever seen! They must be making money off crime is all I can say! I want to move away from this entire state it’s become landfill and nobody in office cares.