Homeless Can Sleep On Church Steps
Jun 1, 2006

by J. Grant Swank, Jr.

As a result of a recent federal court ruling, some City Council members fear Richmond's controversial homeless ordinance may be too tough and have asked that it be reviewed.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that cities cannot enforce any laws that broadly ban sitting, lying or sleeping in public unless there are available shelter beds.

The ruling challenges Richmond's no-camping ordinance, which makes it illegal to sleep in public areas including parks, parking lots and streets.

On any given night, Richmond has an estimated 293 unsheltered homeless, the largest number in the county, according to Contra Costa Health Services Homeless Program. Currently the city has about 85 emergency beds, all of which are occupied most nights.

The imbalance means that Richmond could be vulnerable to lawsuits if the city continues to enforce its no-camping ordinance, said Elisa Della-Piana, an attorney with the San Francisco-based Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.

Councilman Jim Rogers, who voted for the ordinance in 2001, said he called for its review because of the circuit court ruling. "That case made it clear that we do not have a legal ordinance," he said. "We need to have an ordinance we can enforce and in order to enforce it, we need to have a legal number of beds."

Mayor Irma Anderson sent the ordinance back to the public safety committee, where it will be reviewed for possible amendments. Anderson, who was a strong supporter of the ordinance, said she would like to see data on how it has been enforced.

"There is an assumption that we are putting people in jail," she said. "I would like this discussion to include the chief of police so he can give us some data about the number of people arrested."

Richmond's no-camping ordinance is much more severe than the Los Angeles statute, which was challenged in last month's circuit court case, Della-Piana said. Richmond's ordinance goes beyond Los Angeles' by outlawing sleeping in cars and carrying camping equipment in public areas.

"This is law is so broad it covers people sitting in a park with a backpack," Della-Piana said. "Basically it's a tool to harass anyone who is homeless in public spaces and it's unconstitutional."

Richmond Vice Mayor Maria Viramontes, who was the only council member to oppose the ordinance in 2001, said it should be repealed.

"The federal court has already thrown it out," she said. "The only reason for us to keep it would be to make a statement, and we should really think about what that statement is."

Contact John Geluardi at 510-262-2787 or at jgeluardi@cctimes.com