Law enforcement in Stanton has more ability to cite or remove pedestrians and homeless people hanging out on street medians or in drive-thrus.
It comes after the Stanton City Council approved an ordinance in October preventing people from sitting, standing or lying in the areas.
That’s also following a California law passed last January that decriminalized jaywalking.
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At a September city council meeting, city staff presented an informational report showing a growing concern for incidents involving pedestrians and vehicles.
The report outlines that Stanton has had 134 incidents between pedestrians and moving vehicles from 2018 to 2023 — 24% of those incidents have resulted in fatalities, according to the city staff report.
Stanton Mayor David Shawver said at the Oct. 10 meeting that the city has seen more deaths in pedestrians and vehicle accidents than most cities of a similar size, and the lack of local laws in place will continue to harm residents.
“This [ordinance] would bring back a protection for health and safety for our community,” Shawver said during the meeting when the council gave final approval to the law.
The ordinance prevents pedestrians from remaining on a street median, walking up and down the median and distracting drivers. According to the staff report, residents and business owners have complained to the city about individuals standing, lying or sitting within a drive-thru lane at retail and service businesses.
Targeting Homeless, Mentally Ill?
The changes could be seen as targeting the city’s homeless population and pushing them off city streets. But City Manager Hannah Shin-Heydorn emphasized that the ordinance is not aimed at the homeless.
She said the ordinance was considered because of what she described as Stanton’s “proactive and progressive” approach to supporting its homeless population.
“This isn’t [going to] solve the problem, but at least it puts something in place if we see an unsafe condition related to our medians,” Shin-Heydorn said in a phone interview on Oct. 18. “We have a tool now where we can help educate and inform.”
Councilmember Hong Alyce Van added that there is language in the ordinance to emphasize pedestrians can continue to use the street median for a brief moment to actively and safely cross the street.
“Senior citizens who might be on wheelchairs and can’t make the full length of Beach Boulevard in one light might go to the median and just take a quick break,” Van said at the meeting. “And then when the next light goes on, they can continue their journey.”
Shawver emphasized that this ordinance does not target mentally ill residents who may jaywalk or walk on medians repeatedly.
“There are so many people that have mental issues, they’re walking down our medians, walking against red lights in our crosswalks, and hanging out in areas of high traffic,” Shawver said. “This ordinance will give us the ability to at least reach out to them and help them to be safe and to protect them.”
Weston Rowland, an attorney who advocates for the unhoused, said that medians are a critical place the unhoused use to communicate about their lives and seek donations.
“This [ordinance] provides another tool by which Stanton can criminalize the unhoused,” Rowland said in a Nov. 11 email interview.
Out of the 10 incidents that have occurred so far in 2023, four have ended in fatalities, according to the staff report. That’s the highest percentage of fatalities Stanton has experienced in the past five years.
“A lot of people have been taking advantage of prior legislation as far as jaywalking goes in the state,” Councilmember Carol Warren said during the meeting, “and several people have died from it.”
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