Eureka City Council Plans to Strengthen Control Against Community Camps and Homeless Recreation, Streamline Local Ordinances Related to Homelessness | Outpost of the Lost Coast

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In a special meeting Tuesday, the Eureka City Council considered possible changes to two ordinances that limit unauthorized homeless encampments and the homeless in public places.

After more than three hours of staff presentations and at times heated public comment and debate, the City Council directed staff to consolidate Regulations on camping and Ordinance on sitting or lying on sidewalks into a single simplified resolution with “more teeth”. The proposed changes would give officers “more tools” to combat homelessness and allow the Eureka Police Department to increase enforcement of the ordinance by increasing the penalty from a misdemeanor to a misdemeanor.

Push to streamline city ordinances on homeless comes in response to 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decision Grants Pass vs. Johnson a decision that gave cities more power to prosecute, fine and arrest people for sleeping in public places. The ruling effectively overturned the Ninth Circuit’s decision Martin vs. Boise a ruling issued in 2018 that ruled that local governments cannot punish someone for sleeping outside.

Appearing via Zoom, Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery explained that the City Attorney’s Office reviewed the two ordinances following the Supreme Court’s latest decision and determined that both documents “need significant revision.”

“(The ordinances) are very similar in certain ways, and we felt like the two needed some revision based on past practice and what we’re doing now,” Slattery explained. “We thought it would also be a good time to provide an update on our Homelessness Action Plan, which is related to this, and to review the milestones related to this.”

Over the next hour and a half, the City Council received detailed presentations about the city’s ongoing efforts to address homelessness. City Attorney Otem Luna, Sergeant EPD John Omi, Managing Mental Health Clinician Jacob Rosen and Special Program Manager Jeff Davis addressed the board.

Luna’s presentation mostly focused on the history of homeless ordinances in Jurica and the council’s decision in 2021 to move to a “violation-only model” under Martin vs. Boise.

“The impact of this decision was quite profound,” she said. “We abolished the ability to write reports on misdemeanors and to prosecute for misdemeanors. The only violation of the no-camp ordinance at this time is a monetary fine, and there are several levels of that monetary penalty, but they are all relatively small.”

Omi, who heads EPD Community Safety Team (CSET)said the enforcement actions allowed under the city’s current ordinance limit the department’s ability to “help people overcome homelessness.”

“Based on my experience, most of the people we deal with in the camps are willing to comply,” Omi said. “They will collect things when we tell them about a complaint or other problem. However, there is a small percentage of people who refuse to comply in such situations. …(T)here comes a point where we must balance the needs of the community with the needs of the environment (and) the needs of the actual non-compliant individual.”

Rosen’s presentation focused on a city-based approach to treatment and the importance of balancing accountability and enforcement while “fostering compassion.” One such tool is the city’s Law Enforcement Alternative Diversion (LEAD) program, which diverts people facing arrest to local services instead of incarceration. The program was launched in 2020 but never caught on, Rosen said.

“As you can imagine, between some of the challenges of missing a bunch of teeth, combined with this thing called COVID … it didn’t take off,” Rosen said. “(We’re) interested in reintroducing (the program), especially if the option the board chooses is to make the violation a misdemeanor, because that would add the teeth needed to get some of that motivation to help people.”

Increasing the penalties from a violation to a misdemeanor would increase accountability, Rosen said.

“(D) Developing the LEAD program at the local level will really improve (EPD’s) ability to work with CARE (Eureka Alternative Crisis Response) as well as Uplift and get people connected when they have anosognosia or their substance use disorder prevents them from developing an understanding of their situation,” he continued. “It’s really going to add the tool that we need to be able to work with people who are resistant to treatment, who are otherwise unengaged.”

Davis, who oversees the Public Access Project for Eureka (CAPE) and Exaltationprovided an update on the city’s Homeless Action Plan and progress made in addressing the local homelessness crisis. Over the past two years, the city has made tremendous strides in increasing shelter and resettlement capacity, Davis said.

“We have housed over 200 people through our rapid resettlement program,” he said, adding that the city is preparing to open Uplift Eureka Community Resource Center in the city assembly hall. Also, the city is preparing to open its temporary housing stock for 40 places on the street Crowley’s site on Hilfiker Lane. “What we’re doing here at Jurica is really way ahead of the curve, and we’re continuing to expand and improve what we’re doing. There are big cities that have worked harder and longer — sorry, not harder, but longer — on this (issue) and really, we’re way, way, way ahead of most cities in providing social services.”

During public comment during the meeting, volunteers with community cleanup crews and several members of the Humboldt Trails Council raised concerns about the environmental impact and safety issues associated with the homeless encampments.

One local steward, who gave her name only as Susan, called on the city council to do more to tackle safety issues and litter on local trails. “(P)eople who are homeless are a wide range of people,” she said. “Some of the people who camp there now come out to help us on our work days. Others of them shout at us. … The city is doing a lot, but we need to do more, and very, very soon. I hope that this will lead to positive changes.”

Other commentators called for more compassion and accused the city of “criminalizing” homelessness. Eureka resident Caroline Griffith said the city will “create criminals” by increasing penalties for people who violate local ordinances.

“I think it’s really important to note that not everyone who is homeless is a thief,” she said. “Not everyone who is homeless is a criminal. When we create a pathway for people to start getting these tickets…we are tacitly creating a criminal class. … We need to make sure there are places where people can actually exist before we start excluding them from everywhere.”

Griffith also spoke about her experience working with the homeless community through various local programs and urged the city to treat homeless people as individuals. “I mean, the number of people who are homeless is the same as the number of people who are,” she said. “We have seniors who are homeless because of health care costs. We have people who are parents. We have children, veterans, people with very severe mental problems. We have people with substance abuse problems.”

During council discussion, Councilwoman Kathy Moulton asked how increasing the penalty from a violation to a misdemeanor would affect a person experiencing homelessness. Luna noted that violations are “only monetary fines,” while misdemeanors “carry the possibility of imprisonment.”

“There is also the possibility of other programs that we could and intend to implement along with this,” she said, referring to the LEAD program. “Traditionally, prison terms are the ‘teeth’ that you talk about when you talk about criminal prosecution.”

Moulton acknowledged that issuing a violation report “doesn’t matter much” when a person doesn’t have money. “But they have their freedom, so if you threaten to take it away, it’s more of a consequence, more of a motivation,” she said.

“That’s the idea,” Luna said, noting that the money recovered for the breach is “close to zero.”

Council member H. Mario Fernandez, who was late to the meeting, asked if and when staff could start the LEAD program and if the city had enough resources to do so. Slattery confirmed that the resources are there, adding that the city could theoretically launch the program “tomorrow” because the framework is already in place.

“We could literally do it tomorrow (but) I think we need something in place to allow us to have the authority to do that,” he said.

Fernandez asked if he was referring to the proposal to make the violation a misdemeanor, expressing concern that it would effectively “criminalize” homelessness in Jurica.

“First of all, I make exceptions, saying that this is criminalization. Let’s keep it in context,” Slattery said. “Taking a camping ticket as a misdemeanor is no different than giving someone a ticket for being drunk in public. They are misdemeanors. Calling it criminalization, I think, is a bit out of context. … If it wasn’t a felony right now and it ended up being a misdemeanor, a person could be charged with that misdemeanor tomorrow, and before going to court or being prosecuted by the city attorney, they could complete a diversion program.”

Councilwoman Leslie Castellano expressed her appreciation for city staff and local nonprofits that offer support to the homeless community. Even so, she acknowledged that the city is “struggling to find a solution.”

“There are things that haven’t improved despite the amount of resources — which are quite a lot — that we’ve put into it,” she said. “I hear people on the trail board saying it’s getting worse again. I admit it. …I also trust our city attorney. She wants to change people’s lives, not criminalize people’s lives, for the better.”

Councilman Scott Bauer acknowledged that the city cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach to law enforcement, but stressed that there is a “criminal element” in some homeless encampments.

“Basically, unfortunately, it takes a little bit of tough love,” he said. “A different tool is needed, and our law enforcement officers are not going to use it as a hammer. It will be used delicately. I truly believe it will be used when needed to get people help.”

As the meeting neared its three-hour mark, Luna assured the board that staff would take their feedback into consideration as it develops the streamlined ordinance with enhanced enforcement. The draft ordinance will come back to council in the next few months.

The Board agreed to receive and file the presentation in the absence of Board Member Renee Contreras-Deloach, but took no further action.