Orange County supervisors are set to speak with their lawyer behind closed doors today about two of the most controversial homelessness lawsuits in the county’s history as they chart a course for the future of how to address people sleeping in the streets.
The discussion comes after the Supreme Court overturned a case requiring cities to offer shelter for homeless people before they were allowed to push them off the streets.
Now, Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling for cities and counties to clear out the camps in an executive order.
[Read: Gov. Newsom Calls on Local Leaders to Clean Up Encampments – Will They?]
Last Thursday, Newsom showed up in Los Angeles County to help clear out homeless encampments after county leaders opposed his executive order, warning other local leaders that if they don’t cooperate they could see their funding pulled.
“We had a simple executive order – do your job. There’s no more excuses.” Newsom said at a Thursday news conference. “If we don’t see demonstrable results, I’ll start to redirect money. I’m not interested in status quo any longer.”
When asked about Tuesday’s scheduled closed door meeting, OC Supervisor Katrina Foley said they’ve “periodically” had discussions about the case since it was settled – especially when there’s a change in homelessness law.
She also said the case is technically still ongoing since U.S. District Judge David Carter has oversight of the county’s implementation.
“There’s ongoing discussions even though there’s a settlement, the settlement governs the parameters, procedures, enforcement,” Foley said. “It’s not the same as a settlement for money and you don’t talk about it anymore, the judge retains jurisdiction over this matter.”
Meanwhile, a couple of Orange County cities – Santa Ana and Aliso Viejo – are considering increasing crackdowns on homeless camps – a move that’s drawing concern from local advocacy groups in what could become a “race to the bottom.”
[Read: Is An Anti-Camping Crackdown Coming To Santa Ana?]
“If every city engages in these practices, then people literally have nowhere to go and it becomes an ineffective strategy if the callous purpose is to make unhoused people disappear,” said Eve Garrow, a policy analyst from the ACLU.
“These cities seem to be taking a page out of the playbook that will allow them to increase enforcement while at the same time, according to them, help them avoid legal liabilities,” she added.
So far, most city and county leaders in Orange County haven’t publicly said if they’ll move forward with clearing encampments.
Many elected officials said they support the Supreme Court ruling that gives them the power to clear out camps, but they don’t want to default to that without offering services.
[Read: What Does The Future of Homeless Camping Enforcement In Orange County Look Like?]
“While Governor Newsom holds authority to implement a homeless response for the state in the wake of the Grants Pass decision, there is no reason counties and other local governments should follow his lead,” said Don Wagner, chair of the board of supervisors, in a statement last month.
“We will do what we believe is appropriate for our local communities.”
But the county is also working under rules from legal settlements county supervisors agreed to years ago to let them clear homeless encampments so long as they guaranteed housing for the homeless.
A Historic Court Battle
The issue started in the Santa Ana River in 2018, when county leaders sought to clear out a large homeless encampment built up along the riverbed.
But they were sued by several nonprofits on behalf of homeless people, arguing that under a then-new ruling dubbed Martin vs. Boise that barred cities from clearing homeless encampments unless they also offered them a shelter bed to go to.
[Read: Lawsuit Seeks End to Santa Ana Riverbed Homeless Evictions; County Says It Won’t Stop]
Those lawsuits eventually grew to include multiple cities like Anaheim and Costa Mesa, and ended up as one case in front of Carter.
That case was settled in 2019, giving county leaders the power to clear out encampments in areas like county parks, libraries, and the riverbed, but it also required them to figure out new plans on how to deal with homeless residents and direct them toward county services.
But with Martin vs. Boise now no longer in effect after a Supreme Court ruling overturned it, there’s an open question about how cities will tackle homelessness.
Both Garden Grove and Aliso Viejo have put forward new rules to increase crackdowns on homeless encampments, with Aliso Viejo approving the new rules last week and Garden Grove leaders set to discuss them tonight.