Sacramento County to vote on clearing homeless camps from American River Parkway

Sacramento County this week could move toward clearing hundreds of homeless people living in encampments along the entire American River Parkway, stepping up enforcement in a public space but potentially displacing vulnerable people without first providing more options for shelter.

The Board of Supervisors on Wednesday is expected to vote on two anti-camping ordinances that would represent a major change in how Sacramento County manages its homeless crisis. One would allow county officials to remove encampments on the parkway; the other would allow officers to remove tents from a range of public spaces, such as schools, libraries and government buildings.

The proposals are not explicitly connected to providing new shelter for homeless residents. The county in June adopted a budget that set aside $5 million for a potential American River Parkway homeless shelter, and county supervisors recently voted to open two tiny home shelters in south Sacramento that would house up to 145 people.

“We’re going to (increase) our capacity for sheltering but at the same time, we have to start holding people accountable,” said Supervisor Patrick Kennedy said. “Whether you’re homeless or not, you still have to abide by societal norms and the law. And what we see happening on the parkway when you go downtown, it’s just not acceptable.”

But the enforcement-first proposals expose a rift in how the city of Sacramento and the county want to address homelessness.

City voters in Novembers are expected to see a business-backed ballot measure that would allow officials to remove certain encampments and compel the city to provide about 1,000 more shelter spaces. City officials reportedly have told supporters of the initiative that they could amend it or pull it from the election because county supervisors have not placed a companion measure on the ballot.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg criticized county leaders for moving toward an ordinance that would clear camps without also requiring itself to open more shelter beds. He declined to comment on whether he wanted to change the homeless ballot measure.

“Passing enforcement-only measures will do nothing to solve the issue of unsheltered homelessness as long as people don’t have anywhere to go, and it will actively encourage more people to move encampments into the city limits,” Steinberg said. “We need their partnership to provide mental health, substance abuse treatment and other services to people experiencing homelessness in the city, where the majority of unsheltered people in the county are located. Our neighborhoods and businesses need relief, but enforcement alone is a false promise.”

Outdoor advocates and people who live near the American River Parkway have pressed Sacramento to do more about the encampments there for years. The American River Parkway Foundation estimates 2,000 people are living along the parkway.

In January, the foundation urged the county to turn over control of part of the parkway. In February, the slaying of 22-year-old Emma Roark on the parkway alarmed the river’s neighbors. In April, the Sierra Club’s Sacramento chapter released a report connecting a rise in fires on the parkway to homeless camps.

Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, this year introduced state legislation to allow the county to clear camps off the parkway. Sheriff-elect Jim Cooper, meanwhile, has pledged to increase patrols on the parkway when he takes office next year.

Supervisor Don Nottoli said there wouldn’t be a surge of people from county to city.

“We are not going to rapidly be moving people, because we want to go out there and help people find housing and services,” said Nottoli, who represents the Rancho Cordova section of the parkway.

If the board votes in favor of the ordinances Wednesday, the final vote will take place on Aug 23. They would go into effect in late September.

Homicides on American River Parkway

Like other local governments in the West, Sacramento is limited in how it clears homeless tents by a 2018 federal ruling known as Martin v. Boise. It holds that governments cannot cite people for camping on public property when there is no shelter bed available.

The proposed county ordinance argues that crime, fires, and damage to the levees caused by some of the camps have created an urgent emergency where an exception to the Boise ruling is needed.

The ordinance would also apply to the Dry Creek Parkway, which passes through Antelope, Rio Linda and Elverta. The ordinance would also prohibit anyone from using a flammable liquid or generator without a permit. It would ban anyone from being on the parkways between the first hour after sunset and sunrise.

Last year the county removed 1,300 tons of garbage and debris from the parkways. About 300 acres were burned in about 150 fires — more than double the amount from 2017, the staff report said. Last year, six unhoused people were killed on the parkway.

“The status quo is not serving the people who are in those camps either,” Kennedy said. “They should not be expected to live under these conditions.”

Homeless seek safety in groups

While some camps are dangerous, others provide safety in numbers. A longstanding camp of about 60 seniors on an island near Discovery Park would also be cleared under the ordinance, county spokeswoman Janna Haynes said.

Twana James, the unofficial mayor of the camp, said getting swept without being given housing would be “devastating,” especially if they had to go somewhere that lacked privacy.

“There’s things happening out there on the other side, where I used to live, rapes and stuff,” James, 53, said. “We make sure we monitor who comes in who comes out. We try to keep it safe for people, including women.”

Sacramento Homeless Union President Crystal Sanchez said the county should not restrict where people can camp until they open thousands more shelter beds.

“This will literally leave nowhere to go but to be displaced in direct heat and back into neighborhoods and in front of businesses,” Sanchez said.

Sacramento’s growing homeless population

There are an estimated 9,287 homeless individuals in Sacramento County on any given night, a recent count found — nearly double the amount from January 2019 and more than San Francisco.

The city in recent years has opened about 1,100 shelter beds and spaces, while the county funds about 1,300. The beds are all full on any given night.

Both the City Council and the Board of Supervisors regularly hear from constituents who want them to do more about the region’s homeless encampments. Backers of the city’s homeless measure last week held a press conference to urge leaders to follow through with the initiative, which the council in April voted 7-2 to put before voters.

“For the city of Sacramento to not honor what they said to the public … is reprehensible,” Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Amanda Blackwood said during a press conference Thursday.

Some homeless advocates want they city to withdraw the ballot measure. They protested at the press conference, with some holding signs that read, “SWEEPS KILL. HOUSING NOW.” They argue the measure wouldn’t require the city to build housing, just open more sanctioned tent encampments that do not get people indoors.

Civil Rights attorney Mark Merin said he plans to sue the city if it moves forward with the measure. If the county approves the ordinance to clear the parkway, they would likely be sued as well, Sanchez said. A federal judge recently barred the city from clearing tent encampments until at least Aug. 25 in response to a lawsuit from her organization.