Laws regulating how cities and counties can roust people who are sleeping outdoors have ping-ponged radically over the past few years. A Supreme Court decision in 2018, known as Boise, required that an alternative shelter must be available. Last summer, a different Supreme Court removed that requirement in the Grants Pass case. During meetings in October, December, and this Tuesday, Santa Barbara County supervisors reviewed county staffs’ efforts to arrive at a blend of compassion and practicality for homeless encampments in riverbeds, recreational vehicles parked alongside farm fields, expanding the safe parking program, and using tents to rapidly house people when necessary.
“Though we are not bound by Boise,” said Supervisor Joan Hartmann, “we want to provide some kind of safe accommodation for people.” Jesús Armas, director of Community Services, agreed, saying that they preferred to work within the spirit of Boise and would identify available shelter before removing an encampment.
It wasn’t easy. According to Armas, when an encampment was broken up, those living there were told about available services and shelters. About one-third of the camp’s residents utilized them, but the rest moved on, and a few always returned.
At the supervisors’ request, Armas and his team met with many in the homeless outreach community and other service providers. Decisions were made among his office, law enforcement, Public Works, Public Health, Parks, and General Services.
The supervisors voted on the proposed procedures on Tuesday:
- Encampments may not be removed without alternate shelter available, unless it’s in a waterway or presents a threat to public health and safety, such as an approaching rainstorm endangering a waterway encampment or people using flammables in dry brush.
- A notice to clear a waterway encampment or one that poses a public threat may be delivered before an alternative shelter is identified. The notice period could be reduced to 48 hours from the current 72. Possessions scooped up during removals would be stored for 60 days, rather than the current 90 days, as they rarely go unclaimed for that long.
- In the interests of flexibility, parking restrictions may be changed through resolutions, rather than the lengthier ordinance procedure. The road commissioner, who is the director of Public Works, may restrict parking adjacent to row crops.
- Most cities in Santa Barbara County have a Safe Parking Program, areas where people can park and sleep in their vehicles, often a church parking lot. The exception is Santa Maria. Staff is to return with plans to increase participation.
- One way to increase shelters is the Safe Sleeping Program, which had successfully paired tents with services in San Diego to quickly house homeless camps.
Another avenue being explored was state-owned parking lots, such as the DMV or the unemployment office. A letter to that effect had been sent to Assemblymember Gregg Hart and State Senator Monique Limón, who had contacted the state’s equivalent of General Services. “That’s moving forward,” said Armas.
