Comments
CAL MATTERS - Gov. Gavin Newsom today ordered state agencies to remove homeless camps throughout California, his first major show of force since the Supreme Court granted state and local authorities more power to clear encampments.
Newsom’s executive order mandates that state agencies and departments adopt policies to clear camps on state property. It also encourages local governments to do the same.
“This executive order directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them — and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same,” Newsom said in a news release. “The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets. There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part.”
The move comes almost a month after the U.S. Supreme Court upended six years of protections for residents of homeless encampments in California and other western states. Previously, cities were prohibited from punishing people for sleeping outside if they had nowhere else to go. As a result, local courts ordered several cities, including San Francisco, to halt or pause encampment sweeps.
Reversing that precedent in Grants Pass v. Johnson, the justices last month found it is not unconstitutional for a city to ban homeless encampments, even if there is no shelter available. The ruling, which Newsom cheered, gives city leaders broad authority to crack down on camps.
In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass, who opposed the Grants Pass ruling last month, also was critical of Newsom’s new order.
“Strategies that just move people along from one neighborhood to the next or give citations instead of housing do not work,” she said in an emailed statement. “We thank the Governor for his partnership thus far and hope that he will continue collaboration on strategies that work.”
Some of Bass’ peers were more supportive.
“We’re eager to work with the state to responsibly and quickly remove encampments from state property in San Jose, especially those adjacent to neighborhoods and in dangerous areas along our freeways and on- and off-ramps,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement.
Business interests also applauded the governor for taking action.
“Getting our many thousands of unhoused residents indoors and out of unsafe, unhealthy and inhumane outdoor encampments is critical to ending California’s homelessness crisis,” Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the business-backed public policy group the Bay Area Council, said in an emailed statement.
Per Newsom’s new order, state agencies are to model their encampment policies around one that Caltrans has used for several years to remove camps on highway on and off ramps, under overpasses and on other land maintained by the transit agency. State agencies should warn residents at least 48 hours before clearing a camp. They also are required to store residents’ belongings for at least 60 days, and to request services for displaced residents from local organizations. If an encampment poses an “imminent threat” to life, health, safety or infrastructure, the agency can remove a camp immediately.
Caltrans has cleared 11,188 encampments since July 2021, according to the governor’s office. Newsom has personally attended some of those cleanups, wearing a baseball hat and gloves to help pick up trash left behind.
But Caltrans has faced backlash for the way it handles encampment cleanups. In 2020, the agency agreed to pay $5.5 million to settle a lawsuit that accused it of destroying property belonging to homeless Alameda County residents.
Newsom took a softer tone with local governments, urging them to voluntarily adopt policies similar to the one used by Caltrans. He also promised the state, via the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, will provide guidance and technical assistance to help local leaders set up programs.
Clearing, also known as “sweeping,” encampments is a controversial strategy for dealing with homelessness. Without moving people into housing, all sweeps do is make homelessness less visible without actually solving the problem, Assemblymember Alex Lee, a Democrat from Milpitas, said on X in response to Newsom’s order.
“You get your highway off ramp clean for a moment only,” he said.
It’s unclear how the order will be enforced, and whether there will be any penalties for cities and counties that don’t ramp up efforts to clear homeless camps. Newsom could withhold funding from local governments that he feels are not meeting his expectations, as he’s done in the past. In 2022, he briefly rescinded $1 billion from cities and counties after accusing them of failing to take big enough steps to reduce homelessness.
This month, Newsom’s office clawed back $10 million that had been allocated to San Diego County to set up 150 tiny homes for homeless residents. The county took too long to come up with a plan for the tiny homes, according to the governor’s office. Those 150 tiny homes were supposed to be part of a larger effort to deploy 1,200 state-funded tiny homes throughout California. In May, CalMatters reported that delays and about-faces had stymied the program, and only 150 of the small dwellings had been purchased.
(Marisa Kendall covers California’s homelessness crisis for CalMatters. With more than six years of experience navigating this complex topic, Marisa has won multiple awards for her sensitive, comprehensive coverage. She strives to provide nuanced, in-depth reporting that both explains convoluted California policy and highlights the stories of people on the street affected by Sacramento’s decisions. This article was first published in CalMatters.org.)
