One of the most ranked bans on stray bearings in the Bay area has just passed. What will he do? – the chronicle of San Francisco

Eastern Bay City has passed one of the harshest camping laws in the region, which makes illegally homeless people put tents in public property and anyone to help them do so.

Despite the opposition of the defenders of the homeless and service providers, Fremont’s Municipal Council voted 6-1 on Tuesday to adopt an ordinance forbidding people from camping and keeping personal belongings for all public property. He also states that anyone who “helps” or “encouraging” such activities can be persecuted. Violators can be fined up to $ 1,000 and six months in prison.

City authorities said that the intention of the law, which comes into force after 30 days, is not to quote or arrest anyone, but to give them the opportunity to do so if they need it.

The new legislation is the latest in a series of moves of the fourth largest city of the Bay area to deal with the homelessness crisis of last year’s US Supreme Court decision gave broad power to expel people out of camps.

The law was passed despite the progress reached by the city to deal with homeless homelessness. The number of people living in tents, vehicles or on the streets in Fremont has dropped by 29% in the last two years, from 866 to 612, according to the city’s forecasts. The campsite has already been banned in Fremont’s parks, and at the end of last year, the city banned parking for recreation vehicles in all residential areas.

But for many residents and city officials, there has not been enough improvement. For example, before the pandemic, there were less than 500 people who were sleeping outdoors or in Fremont vehicles.

“We are trying to find the right balance for our anxiety with the protection of common sense for our neighborhoods,” said Fremont Mayor Raj Salvan during the Tuesday night. “Parks, libraries, public places belong to all.”

During the weeks leading to the vote, legal experts and service providers expressed fears that the provision of the law could prevent their ability to help people living in camps. The City Code of the city states that the application of any violation must also include “causing, resolving, supporting, maintaining, suffering or concealing any violation of the code. This applies to the new regulation on the fighting of camping in the city, as well as all other urban laws.

Fremont’s city lawyer Rafael Alvarado, Jr., tried to quell fears on Tuesday, saying that “there will be no basis for pursuit of criminal implementation to someone who hands out some other food or clothing.” This will only apply to those who help someone create an illegal structure or store public property.

However, many people said that the city’s actions were misled and the loss of critical resources.

“This criminalizes people that they are not restless,” said Jenna Dauchrtyi., The leader of the low Fremont organization for all. “This is uniquely cruel and can open us to expensive lawsuits. We must continue to fund and expand our existing resources and not accept regulations that staff said would not reduce homelessness anyway. “

Residents and merchants who spoke in support of the ban said the scattered tents for homeless and vehicles made them feel dangerous, reduced their quality of life, made them worry about the risks of fire and have a negative effect on their business S

David Gutierrez said he had a small business near a large concentration of entertainment vehicles. He said they were creating a dangerous situation for motorists, causing an increase in waste and debris and making the patrons question the safety of the area.

“Something has to change immediately,” he said during the meeting.

Fremont police officers have not arrested anyone for violating a camping ban in city parks, and police chief Sean Washington said he expects such a lack of official penalties issued under the new ordinance.

“The intention will never be someone’s arrest for being uninitiated and in fact our policies forbid us to do this,” Washington said. “This Ordinance is another tool for achieving some balance to the place where there is a conflict or danger or concern for safety in our community and only in those extreme situations where we are unable to obtain voluntary observance, would we escalate until the use of This Ordinance. ”

The use of penalties, as a last resort, was the approach taken by San Mateo County last year after the employees there made a crime for homeless people to refuse an available shelter bed.

According to the measure of San Mateo County, which was called reliable horizons, someone in a camp that refuses a shelter must receive two written warnings before the law enforcement agencies issued a citation of crimes. During the year, as this policy came into force, the employees did not issue quotes or made any arrests.

“It is necessary to ensure a compassionate, safe path forward for these people, and I think the hope horizons does this,” said San Mateo County CEO Mike Callagi in an interview on Wednesday. “We are committed to working with people, so when we have beds available, we can help those who want to get out of the streets and get into safe, humane places to live.”

Reach Maggie Angst: [email protected]; X: @maggiegst; Bluesky: @magiengst.bsky.social