POWAY, Calif. (CNS) - A Poway homeless encampment ban ordinance that will allow county sheriff's deputies to cite people for sleeping on public property if they refuse a shelter bed, and confiscate unlawful personal property within 24 hours' notice, takes effect Thursday.
Formally passed by the Poway City Council on July 19, the ordinance will "allow the (San Diego County) Sheriff's Department to abate illegal encampments in the city with 48 hours' notice," according to the city of Poway. Before removing an encampment from public or private property, deputies will offer a homeless person an available shelter space.
According to the city, "offering resources will always take priority over enforcement," but the ordinance will let the sheriff's department remove unoccupied encampments, such as tents.
The Poway ordinance covers what type of camping is allowed, unlawful storage, parking, removal of personal property, declaring a public nuisance, penalties, enforcement and violations.
According to an earlier city agenda report, the ordinance would allow the city to ensure public areas "are maintained in a clean, sanitary, safe and accessible condition, to adequately protect the health, safety, environment and general welfare of the community, and to ensure public property is used for its intended purpose and remains accessible to all citizens, businesses and visitors in the city."
"Nothing in the proposed ordinance is intended to interfere with otherwise lawful and ordinary uses of public property," according to the city.
Recently, Mayor Steve Vaus and Councilman Brian Pepin asked staff and the City Attorney's Office to review how Poway could "protect its public spaces for safe use by all, before any significant problems develop," City Attorney Alan Fenstermacher wrote in the agenda report.
On Tuesday, Pepin said he is confident the city and local law enforcement will be able to enforce the ordinance in an effective manner. "Poway doesn't have a large homeless population like the city of San Diego, but we do have a growing problem," he said. "I do feel we need to get ahead of this problem before it continues to get worse."
During the June 6 council meeting, Pepin said that in late April, two parents told him that a number of recreational vehicles and campers on Pomerado Road were rapidly becoming a homeless encampment near a school.
Pepin added his proposal "is a reasonable way for us to have an additional tool in the tool kit."
Vaus said that while public safety is always the top priority for city leaders, it's also important for residents and visitors to feel safe as they use Poway public spaces and trails.
Lt. David LaDieu, Sheriff's Department spokesman, on Tuesday said via email that Poway deputies "have been educating the unhoused population on the new ordinance and when it will take effect."
"We will continue to provide resources to the unhoused population in our effort to get them any assistance they may need," LaDieu said.
He added that the department has resources needed to enforce the ordinance, and does see it affecting law enforcement response. The San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless reported that there were 23 homeless people living in Poway as of last year. So far in 2023, the task force counts two people, a 91.3% decrease.
There is no homeless shelter located in Poway, but the city partners with the North County Bridge to Housing Shelter Network, an affiliate of the Alliance for Regional Solutions, with the latter group offering a program "that provides shelter, meals, and case management support for the North County homeless population, including families," Poway spokeswoman Rene Carmichael said in an emailed statement.
Carmichael added that contributions from Poway "help fund year-round operations and enhanced services with an emphasis on bridging each individual and family out of homelessness and into permanent supportive housing."
For fiscal year 2021-22, the shelter program served 683 people, including men, women and children with 167 shelter beds in five facilities, Carmichael said.
In an Aug. 10 Poway News Chieftain article, the sheriff's department "would only confiscate property if a person is arrested for a crime," according to Capt. Nancy Blanco.
Blanco told the News Chieftain that "the property will either be stored safely or taken with the person to a local detention facility."
Poway council members followed their San Diego city colleagues, who in June approved a proposal banning tents on city sidewalks.
According to the recent News-Chieftain article, Poway resident Maria Hernandez said housing options in her city are few, due to a waitlist for most affordable housing units.
A steering committee representative of the nonprofit Residents United Network, Hernandez added that homeless residents in Poway live in their cars, city parks or behind shopping centers.
"If there's nowhere for them to go, how is that going to help them?" Hernandez told the News-Chieftain. "I just wish the city of Poway would take care of their homeless."
Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.
