Bay Area County Looks To Criminalize Homeless Encampments

REDWOOD CITY, CA — San Mateo County leaders will take up a proposal Tuesday that could significantly reshape the approach to homelessness on the Peninsula by criminalizing unsanctioned encampments on public property.

In a news release, the Board of Supervisors said the goal of the proposed ordinance is to promote and incentivize shelter use, "making homelessness brief and rare," while addressing safety hazards on public lands.

"The effort — formally known as the 'Hopeful Horizons: Empowering Lives Initiative' — is aimed at mitigating fire risks, unsanitary conditions and public safety and health hazards for the benefit of both those living in an unregulated encampment and the surrounding community, with a goal of moving individuals into shelter," officials wrote.

According to the county, the proposed ordinance would permit people experiencing homelessness to be charged with a misdemeanor after receiving two written warnings and declining two offers of shelter. The ordinance defines an encampment as any "tent, makeshift structure or collection of belongings" located in an area not meant for habitation and with no set plans to move.

As the San Francisco Chronicle notes, homeless advocates argue sweeps create further instability and trauma for those living unsheltered and note that people decline shelter for an array of reasons, including rules that ban pets. The latest proposal follows a 2022 appeals court decision prohibiting sweeps and citations when no shelter is available and a later injunction that curtailed encampment removals in San Francisco. The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up the issue.

San Mateo County's proposal stipulates that encampments cannot be dismantled unless the county has enough shelter beds for each person living there, and that beds must be held for 72 hours from the decision to clear the area. Officials said people cited with misdemeanors will qualify for diversion programs to avoid jail time.

"This ordinance is not meant to criminalize homelessness or penalize those who believe there are no other options," said Warren Slocum, the Board President, in a statement. "Rather our intent is to encourage our neighbors experiencing homelessness to accept our offers of shelter and support. We also want to be mindful of the public hazards that illegal encampments on sidewalks and elsewhere can create."

Last year's One Day Homeless County recorded more than 1,800 people experiencing homelessness throughout San Mateo County on a single day in 2022, including more than 1,092 living on the streets, in cars, RVs, tents or encampments. The county will conduct this year's count on Thursday and officials anticipate the figure will have grown.

The Board of Supervisors said ending homelessness remains a top priority and pointed to several steps taken in recent months to increase capacity, including opening a new Navigation Center in Redwood City. Officials said San Mateo County has added 146 permanent supportive housing units and 409 individual units since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The supervisors will consider the ordinance during a public meeting Tuesday morning in Redwood City. If the proposal moves forward, it will require a final vote and take effect 30 days after approval.