2.-Y. ID 24-1045 ***BILL-23 (Intro'd July 29, 2024) (For Adoption) - Amending Sections 10-1703(a), 10-1707, 10-2101, 10-2204, 10-2205 of the Fresno Municipal Code, Relating to the Prohibition of Camping in Public Places (Subject to Mayor's Veto)
This is injustice to the homeless community in Fresno. There should be more programs financed to the helpless instead of placing them in custody. There should be compassion for those needed most to the homeless. Place yourself in their shoes, how would you be treated if anything was to happen to you all. We don't know their hardships. We must care for the Fresno community homeless or not.
I absolutely oppose this ordinance. Homelessness IS NOT a crime. Simply existing in public IS NOT a crime. This ordinance shows that our city council members would rather criminalize an entire group of residents than look for real options to help end homelessness. Realistically, the Fresno County Jail will release individuals who are booked on this ordinance. There is not enough space in the jail, this is well known! The ordinance will also impose a fine of $1,000 on a person who is experiencing homelessness?? The city should not expect that they will receive any money from those who are charged for violating the ordinance. So then what is the point of this ordinance? The point is to tell a specific group of Fresnans that their presence in our city is not welcome. If the city council thinks this is going to change the homelessness crisis, they are wrong. This is a political move to help all these members get re-elected. Our homeless population matter, they are not invisible, and they should not be used as pawns in local politicians' games to stay in power. This ordinance is ridiculous, and I strongly oppose it.
As a Fresno Resident, I strongly oppose this ordinance. This is a misguided approach that could have devastating consequences. Fresno is a large city with insufficient resources for our community members who are living on the streets. We should focus our efforts and dollars towards building resources for our community, not sending more people to jail. The fact that we have such a large population of unhoused residents is a failure on the city and county's part, not the people themselves. This is a complicated issue. Those in power should approach it that way, and not as a one-size-fits-all approach. Please vote against this ordinance. Let's do the work to support our community, even when it is difficult, instead of criminalizing our most vulnerable.
The majority of our nation’s Supreme Court in Grants Pass v. Johnson pretended to be unable to decipher the meaning of the clearly-written 8th Amendment of our Constitution, but I write it here in hopes that your ethics may step in where theirs did not.
“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
As you see, pretty succinct. Two clauses apply: the “cruel and unusual punishments” clause, and the “excessive fines” clause.
Firstly, this is cruel and unusual, because every human needs sleep and rest. Fresno nonprofits have clearly stated that they do not have enough beds for everyone, and their waiting lists are hundreds of people long. In lieu of these shelters, and if not allowed in public or private spaces, where can unhoused folks legally go? This ordinance would condemn them to repeated punishment for an unavoidable need.
Secondly, “excessive fines” applies, as the fine is neither justified nor within an unhoused person’s ability to pay.
Also, this ordinance would resolve nothing about our current housing crisis, creating a vicious/ineffective cycle with either punishment: a jail sentence will further impact someone’s ability to find employment and housing, and a fine will only add to financial burden, making stable housing further away. Additionally, what happens to families if a parent is jailed?
This ordinance is inhumane and counterproductive. It does not address the root causes of homelessness but rather punishes those who are already vulnerable. Instead of criminalizing individuals who lack housing, we should focus on and prioritize providing support, resources, and affordable housing solutions to help them rebuild their lives. We can address homelessness more effectively through compassion and support, not by criminalizing poverty.
This ordinance is directly targeting the houseless population in Fresno without giving them an actual path back to housing. Despite what those on the city council and on the police force may say, I do not think that this ordinance will fix the problem or even help the problem. This law is at best a temporary, small solution to a much bigger problem and at the worst of times, another way for the police to brutalize unhoused people, destroy what little belongings they have and add to the pile of unending problems that prevent these people from being able to attain and keep housing, employment and assistance.
This ordinance really only serves the people who feel disgusted when they see unhoused people living on the street. But instead of trying to help them and building more housing, our political leaders would rather remove these people and throw them in jail along with imposing fines and the costs of their own transportation to imprisonment. Unhoused people live on the very edges of our society, already struggling with many other problems and this ordinance would only be another problem for them.
How does this ordinance do anything other than add to unhoused peoples' problems? Why focus on meaningless punishments while ignoring that the problem is a lack of affordable housing and barriers of entry to employment.
Fresno would rather sweep the problem under the rug than address the actual systemic underlying problems
This does nothing to solve the homelessness problem in Fresno or the plight of the unhoused. As we all know, it will just be a rotating door at the jail than actually doing anything substantive. Rather than hiring more law enforcement officers to arrest the unhoused, we need to get more social workers and services out in the streets. We need more in-patient substance abuse and mental illness treatment options instead of more jails.
I am ashamed of the Freno City Council for even proposing such legislation. In a time of economic upheaval, nothing is more evil than further criminalization of poverty and homelessness. When the residents of other states talk badly upon ours, it is legislation like this that they use as ammunition. Instead of making policy to help our most vulnerable and exploitable demographics, such as lowering barriers to entry in the work force or increasing workers' rights and protections under our crushing neo-capitalistic system, the city has opted to further punish those who have already lost at the game of a system we have created. All this legislation will do is cause homeless encampments to constantly move and relocate throughout the city, making it harder to keep areas clean and harder to keep track of vagrants. It will also feed the prison system and make money for any privatized prisons that end up housing anyone who violates this new ordinance. But hey, maybe that all this is really for- another way to a make money off of the easily exploited.
The newly build West Annex Fresno County jail that cost taxpayers $100 million sits empty. From the beginning of construction my fear has been that this building would be used to incarcerate homeless people. On the cusp of its opening, we see this county ordinance that could be utilized by law enforcement to do exactly that. Incarceration is not the way to fix our unhoused population. Homelessness is caused by a combination of poverty, mental illness and addiction. Homelessness is not a crime. Our society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable people. The United States of America already incarcerates more people per capita than any other country on the planet. How can we call our country "the land of the free" when we continue to lock up so many of our people? I strongly oppose this ordinance.
I oppose this item because it does nothing to solve the true issues that cause homelessness. Prohibiting camping in public places without offering an alternative is setting the most vulnerable of Fresno's people for failure.
This is insane and inhumane. If the homeless has no place to go and no one that will help them, and no government funding for assistance, exactly what do you think they will do? Vote against this foolishness.
This ordinance is nothing short of a ruse by the City of Fresno to displace and penalize the most vulnerable members of our community. Even worse they do so while violating the very liberties and rights they are entitled to as citizens because it is clear that the ends justifies the means to our City representatives. If our representatives truly wanted to solve the issue of homelessness they would dedicate resources to addressing the cause, not the symptom.
As someone who previously worked alongside Tyler Maxwell, Nelson Esparza, and Andrew Janz when I was an 18-19 year old student at Fresno State, and as someone whom they wanted to help garner support and involvement of young voters, I am embarrassed to think we once shared the same politic. I personally feel they should be ashamed of themselves for proposing, supporting, and publicly stating they will fully prosecute an ordinance that only serves to actively harm people. As a defense attorney, if this tragically passes--so long as clients are in agreement--I will take each an every case where this is charged to trial. The ordinance is overly broad and will be enforced in a discriminatory matter that will further perpetuate harm on the most vulnerable members of our community. The Fresno City Council does not seem to care about people. It seems they care about maintaining some semblance of power. The only people this ordinance serves is the council members themselves who are trying to hide people they don't want to see because it's not convenient for them. I strongly oppose the proposed ordinance.
This ordinance is unjust and inhumane. Criminalizing persons who are unhoused without ensuring there is enough housing, shelters, and beds is inhumane. This ordinance is extremely ineffective as it does not even touch the root of the problems surrounding homelessness. Homelessness can arise from a number of issues such as housing shortage, disabilities preventing persons from working, and substance abuse & addiction. This city has failed to address these issues before criminalizing those who are unhoused. Not only has the city not addressed the underlying issues that cause homelessness, this ordinance will be ineffective on its face. The irony of imposing a fine up to $1000 to someone who is unhoused? Imprisoning them up to a year? And also imposing payments for the actual costs of transporting and storing property of the "violator"? These unhoused persons don't have the finances to house themselves or provide themselves with the essential necessities, yet imposing unnecessary fines will absolve the homelessness crisis in Fresno? The City and Council members are neglecting to see that this ordinance will snowball into a bigger financial burden for taxpayers. Imprisoning the unhoused will overcrowd not only the jail, but the courts as well.
There are better ways to solve this crisis but this ordinance is not it. I deeply oppose this ordinance and hope our elected leaders show more compassion to our community.
Vehemently oppose this ordinance. Criminalization of homelessness and homelessness and the horrific “offense” of existing in public spaces is inhumane, particularly in Fresno where there are not enough resources to serve the population at issue.
Our unhoused population have a right to basic human dignity, and this ordinance flies in the face of that right.
This is inhumane. To criminalize existing in public spaces goes against the idea of public spaces and puts vulnerable populations with nowhere else to go in jeopardy of being sent to jail over just existing. Anyone in support of this, lacks basic human empathy and has a moral compass that is way out of touch. This ordinance should not be passed under any circumstances.
This is an absolutely ridiculous action by the City Council. The Council does nothing to provide services to homeless folks - there are not enough beds in inpatient treatment facilities, and other centers require backbreaking physical labor, in this Fresno summer heat, to justify continued space in a bed. Our courts are already overburdened by the DA's zeal in overprosecuting criminal cases to the point that every single day people are released from jail based only on the fact that the jail is overcrowding. The jail is in ruins, people are beaten and die in jail at a constant rate. This is such a terrible way to deal with the fact that housing in Fresno has skyrocketed and there has been no effort from the City Council to provide support for those at the bottom end. Every single person on this Council is far closer to resembling our homeless peers in Fresno than the millionaire and billionaire politicians who sponsor these inhumane resolutions, yet the Council acts as though people unable to afford housing are not members of our community. This effort is misguided, inhumane, and evil. I strongly oppose.
1. The ordinance is unjust.
So in addition to it being wrong it will be costly when the city sued trying to uphold it. Why would any random person sitting somewhere get arrested? Who decides who is and is not violating the ordinance? Seems to expect a prejudiced approach.
2. It’s not enforceable. We don’t have officers or jail space to arrest people.
3. It’s inhumane. What alternative is being offered for unhoused folks? Claims of available bed space are not reality. Sure there are shelters and sure they welcome folks. But they also turn them away daily for lack of space. And housing vouchers do not get people a place to stay. You have the stats on how many available units there are and how many more people (3 times? More?) have vouchers but aren’t able to use them.
4. Your constituents are not in favor of this. Read the comments. Not one is in favor. What we are in favor of is using resources to make a practical difference in shelter space, affordable housing, and resources.
Use your position of leadership to bring the experts to the table, craft a plan together, and then resource it!
This legislation will not achieve what it sets out to do. Its bad public policy. Shameful scapegoating. Further evidence of our inept city government.
This is injustice to the homeless community in Fresno. There should be more programs financed to the helpless instead of placing them in custody. There should be compassion for those needed most to the homeless. Place yourself in their shoes, how would you be treated if anything was to happen to you all. We don't know their hardships. We must care for the Fresno community homeless or not.
I absolutely oppose this ordinance. Homelessness IS NOT a crime. Simply existing in public IS NOT a crime. This ordinance shows that our city council members would rather criminalize an entire group of residents than look for real options to help end homelessness. Realistically, the Fresno County Jail will release individuals who are booked on this ordinance. There is not enough space in the jail, this is well known! The ordinance will also impose a fine of $1,000 on a person who is experiencing homelessness?? The city should not expect that they will receive any money from those who are charged for violating the ordinance. So then what is the point of this ordinance? The point is to tell a specific group of Fresnans that their presence in our city is not welcome. If the city council thinks this is going to change the homelessness crisis, they are wrong. This is a political move to help all these members get re-elected. Our homeless population matter, they are not invisible, and they should not be used as pawns in local politicians' games to stay in power. This ordinance is ridiculous, and I strongly oppose it.
As a Fresno Resident, I strongly oppose this ordinance. This is a misguided approach that could have devastating consequences. Fresno is a large city with insufficient resources for our community members who are living on the streets. We should focus our efforts and dollars towards building resources for our community, not sending more people to jail. The fact that we have such a large population of unhoused residents is a failure on the city and county's part, not the people themselves. This is a complicated issue. Those in power should approach it that way, and not as a one-size-fits-all approach. Please vote against this ordinance. Let's do the work to support our community, even when it is difficult, instead of criminalizing our most vulnerable.
The majority of our nation’s Supreme Court in Grants Pass v. Johnson pretended to be unable to decipher the meaning of the clearly-written 8th Amendment of our Constitution, but I write it here in hopes that your ethics may step in where theirs did not.
“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
As you see, pretty succinct. Two clauses apply: the “cruel and unusual punishments” clause, and the “excessive fines” clause.
Firstly, this is cruel and unusual, because every human needs sleep and rest. Fresno nonprofits have clearly stated that they do not have enough beds for everyone, and their waiting lists are hundreds of people long. In lieu of these shelters, and if not allowed in public or private spaces, where can unhoused folks legally go? This ordinance would condemn them to repeated punishment for an unavoidable need.
Secondly, “excessive fines” applies, as the fine is neither justified nor within an unhoused person’s ability to pay.
Also, this ordinance would resolve nothing about our current housing crisis, creating a vicious/ineffective cycle with either punishment: a jail sentence will further impact someone’s ability to find employment and housing, and a fine will only add to financial burden, making stable housing further away. Additionally, what happens to families if a parent is jailed?
Do the right thing here. Thank you.
This ordinance is inhumane and counterproductive. It does not address the root causes of homelessness but rather punishes those who are already vulnerable. Instead of criminalizing individuals who lack housing, we should focus on and prioritize providing support, resources, and affordable housing solutions to help them rebuild their lives. We can address homelessness more effectively through compassion and support, not by criminalizing poverty.
This ordinance is directly targeting the houseless population in Fresno without giving them an actual path back to housing. Despite what those on the city council and on the police force may say, I do not think that this ordinance will fix the problem or even help the problem. This law is at best a temporary, small solution to a much bigger problem and at the worst of times, another way for the police to brutalize unhoused people, destroy what little belongings they have and add to the pile of unending problems that prevent these people from being able to attain and keep housing, employment and assistance.
This ordinance really only serves the people who feel disgusted when they see unhoused people living on the street. But instead of trying to help them and building more housing, our political leaders would rather remove these people and throw them in jail along with imposing fines and the costs of their own transportation to imprisonment. Unhoused people live on the very edges of our society, already struggling with many other problems and this ordinance would only be another problem for them.
How does this ordinance do anything other than add to unhoused peoples' problems? Why focus on meaningless punishments while ignoring that the problem is a lack of affordable housing and barriers of entry to employment.
Fresno would rather sweep the problem under the rug than address the actual systemic underlying problems
This does nothing to solve the homelessness problem in Fresno or the plight of the unhoused. As we all know, it will just be a rotating door at the jail than actually doing anything substantive. Rather than hiring more law enforcement officers to arrest the unhoused, we need to get more social workers and services out in the streets. We need more in-patient substance abuse and mental illness treatment options instead of more jails.
I am ashamed of the Freno City Council for even proposing such legislation. In a time of economic upheaval, nothing is more evil than further criminalization of poverty and homelessness. When the residents of other states talk badly upon ours, it is legislation like this that they use as ammunition. Instead of making policy to help our most vulnerable and exploitable demographics, such as lowering barriers to entry in the work force or increasing workers' rights and protections under our crushing neo-capitalistic system, the city has opted to further punish those who have already lost at the game of a system we have created. All this legislation will do is cause homeless encampments to constantly move and relocate throughout the city, making it harder to keep areas clean and harder to keep track of vagrants. It will also feed the prison system and make money for any privatized prisons that end up housing anyone who violates this new ordinance. But hey, maybe that all this is really for- another way to a make money off of the easily exploited.
The newly build West Annex Fresno County jail that cost taxpayers $100 million sits empty. From the beginning of construction my fear has been that this building would be used to incarcerate homeless people. On the cusp of its opening, we see this county ordinance that could be utilized by law enforcement to do exactly that. Incarceration is not the way to fix our unhoused population. Homelessness is caused by a combination of poverty, mental illness and addiction. Homelessness is not a crime. Our society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable people. The United States of America already incarcerates more people per capita than any other country on the planet. How can we call our country "the land of the free" when we continue to lock up so many of our people? I strongly oppose this ordinance.
I oppose this item because it does nothing to solve the true issues that cause homelessness. Prohibiting camping in public places without offering an alternative is setting the most vulnerable of Fresno's people for failure.
This is insane and inhumane. If the homeless has no place to go and no one that will help them, and no government funding for assistance, exactly what do you think they will do? Vote against this foolishness.
This ordinance is nothing short of a ruse by the City of Fresno to displace and penalize the most vulnerable members of our community. Even worse they do so while violating the very liberties and rights they are entitled to as citizens because it is clear that the ends justifies the means to our City representatives. If our representatives truly wanted to solve the issue of homelessness they would dedicate resources to addressing the cause, not the symptom.
As someone who previously worked alongside Tyler Maxwell, Nelson Esparza, and Andrew Janz when I was an 18-19 year old student at Fresno State, and as someone whom they wanted to help garner support and involvement of young voters, I am embarrassed to think we once shared the same politic. I personally feel they should be ashamed of themselves for proposing, supporting, and publicly stating they will fully prosecute an ordinance that only serves to actively harm people. As a defense attorney, if this tragically passes--so long as clients are in agreement--I will take each an every case where this is charged to trial. The ordinance is overly broad and will be enforced in a discriminatory matter that will further perpetuate harm on the most vulnerable members of our community. The Fresno City Council does not seem to care about people. It seems they care about maintaining some semblance of power. The only people this ordinance serves is the council members themselves who are trying to hide people they don't want to see because it's not convenient for them. I strongly oppose the proposed ordinance.
*All opinions are my own.
This ordinance is unjust and inhumane. Criminalizing persons who are unhoused without ensuring there is enough housing, shelters, and beds is inhumane. This ordinance is extremely ineffective as it does not even touch the root of the problems surrounding homelessness. Homelessness can arise from a number of issues such as housing shortage, disabilities preventing persons from working, and substance abuse & addiction. This city has failed to address these issues before criminalizing those who are unhoused. Not only has the city not addressed the underlying issues that cause homelessness, this ordinance will be ineffective on its face. The irony of imposing a fine up to $1000 to someone who is unhoused? Imprisoning them up to a year? And also imposing payments for the actual costs of transporting and storing property of the "violator"? These unhoused persons don't have the finances to house themselves or provide themselves with the essential necessities, yet imposing unnecessary fines will absolve the homelessness crisis in Fresno? The City and Council members are neglecting to see that this ordinance will snowball into a bigger financial burden for taxpayers. Imprisoning the unhoused will overcrowd not only the jail, but the courts as well.
There are better ways to solve this crisis but this ordinance is not it. I deeply oppose this ordinance and hope our elected leaders show more compassion to our community.
Vehemently oppose this ordinance. Criminalization of homelessness and homelessness and the horrific “offense” of existing in public spaces is inhumane, particularly in Fresno where there are not enough resources to serve the population at issue.
Our unhoused population have a right to basic human dignity, and this ordinance flies in the face of that right.
This is inhumane. To criminalize existing in public spaces goes against the idea of public spaces and puts vulnerable populations with nowhere else to go in jeopardy of being sent to jail over just existing. Anyone in support of this, lacks basic human empathy and has a moral compass that is way out of touch. This ordinance should not be passed under any circumstances.
Absolutely oppose this ordinance. It is a clear constitutional violation and criminalizes individuals who are just trying to survive.
This is an absolutely ridiculous action by the City Council. The Council does nothing to provide services to homeless folks - there are not enough beds in inpatient treatment facilities, and other centers require backbreaking physical labor, in this Fresno summer heat, to justify continued space in a bed. Our courts are already overburdened by the DA's zeal in overprosecuting criminal cases to the point that every single day people are released from jail based only on the fact that the jail is overcrowding. The jail is in ruins, people are beaten and die in jail at a constant rate. This is such a terrible way to deal with the fact that housing in Fresno has skyrocketed and there has been no effort from the City Council to provide support for those at the bottom end. Every single person on this Council is far closer to resembling our homeless peers in Fresno than the millionaire and billionaire politicians who sponsor these inhumane resolutions, yet the Council acts as though people unable to afford housing are not members of our community. This effort is misguided, inhumane, and evil. I strongly oppose.
1. The ordinance is unjust.
So in addition to it being wrong it will be costly when the city sued trying to uphold it. Why would any random person sitting somewhere get arrested? Who decides who is and is not violating the ordinance? Seems to expect a prejudiced approach.
2. It’s not enforceable. We don’t have officers or jail space to arrest people.
3. It’s inhumane. What alternative is being offered for unhoused folks? Claims of available bed space are not reality. Sure there are shelters and sure they welcome folks. But they also turn them away daily for lack of space. And housing vouchers do not get people a place to stay. You have the stats on how many available units there are and how many more people (3 times? More?) have vouchers but aren’t able to use them.
4. Your constituents are not in favor of this. Read the comments. Not one is in favor. What we are in favor of is using resources to make a practical difference in shelter space, affordable housing, and resources.
Use your position of leadership to bring the experts to the table, craft a plan together, and then resource it!