Palm Springs City Council votes to pass homeless encampment regulation ordinance
The City of Palm Springs voted to pass an ordinance that will establish a process for reducing homeless encampments on public property in a 3-2 vote at the city council meeting tonight.
The city sites public health and safety issues as the reason behind the ordinance that will prohibit anyone to sit, lie, or sleep in public areas like sidewalks or bus stops at any time.
The city’s ordinance follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Martin v. Boise ruling, which previously banned the enforcement of criminal restrictions on public camping if a homeless individual did not have access to adequate shelter.
The ordinance will direct homeless individuals to available shelter at the Palm Springs Homeless Navigation Center or other options like a hotel voucher.
According to the city, denial of assistance could lead to fines and even jail time.
The acting president of Well in the Desert, Matthew Naylor, says that this ordinance poses harm to the homeless population that he serves.
"How can you remove them and arrest them when basically they have no place to live? And once they are arrested, then they have fees that go associated with that, then they're arrested again and fees arrested and fees. And there's a vicious cycle," said Naylor.
Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills says that connecting homeless individuals with housing options, like the Palm Springs Navigation Center, will continue to be a priority before any legal action is taken.
"We're not interested in doing the enforcement unless we're made to by the people who are refusing the help that is offered to them...now is the time for people to get healthy. Now is the time for people to take, up city government on the on those options," said Chief Mills.
