In Brief...

  • The Santa Ana City Council voted unanimously to ban any type of encampment and prohibits those unhoused from sleeping in public right-of-ways. The law will take effect a month after another vote in January 2025.
  • The way it'll be enforced will comprise of the Santa Ana Police Department, the City's Quality of Life Team, Santa Ana Multi-Disciplinary Response Team (SMART), and city code enforcement officers, but primarily gives officers the discretion of issuing citations, infractions, or arrests.
  • What does this means? Essentially, the Council passed an ordinance that, in efforts, strives for the quality of life that resembles Irvine's or Newport Beach's bougie neighborhoods. A blanket law that covers everyone, regardless of financial or housing status.
  • What happens if you violate it? You may face citations, fines, criminal charges, removal of belongings, or other enforcement actions depending on the severity of the violation (Prop. 36 is in effect).
  • What is the protocol for approaching homeless in Santa Ana? From what The Santanero understands, SAPD is the lead agency when responding to a call on a homeless and is usually accompanied by QOLT and SMART teams. The officers cites or detains the person after the person denies help and is taken Downtown, meanwhile QOLT cleans up the person's items and discards them.

CITY HALL — The Santa Ana City Council voted unanimously to ban encampments and persons obstructing public right-of-ways in public spaces.

Although the ordinance doesn't contain the word "homeless," those opposed say it still targets those living in the streets, specifically those who refuse help. Moreover, anyone obstructing a public right-of-way, whether they're homeless or not, is subject to a citation or arrest depending on the officer.

The new ordinance won't take effect until a month after the second reading is passed in January 2025.

With the recent Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson, Proposition 36, and the combined task force the City has established, residents could witness more forceful removals of "nuisances" that put a negative perception on the city.

Councilmember Bacerra speaking on Item 22, 12/17/2024. (City of Santa Ana)

Councilmember Phil Bacerra grilled the County for failing to provide homeless service under their Orange County Outreach & Engagement (OCO&E) team, adding Santa Ana shouldn't keep paying for its own services when one exists already.

Councilmember David Penaloza agreed with Bacerra, but insisted "not pulling the rug out" to ensure that the teams the City has can run efficiently.

CityNet, a.k.a. Kingdom Causes, Inc., is a partner organization that provides outreach services, connecting unsheltered individuals to resources like housing, shelters, mental health care, and social services. Rather than having Santa Ana Police officers answering the call alone, CityNet will, so police can focus other calls.
Image by CityNet.

City Manager Alvaro Nuñez elaborated the renewal for CityNet is a year, with the option to renew for another year of funding, but since the budget year end in June and the new one in July.

How many homeless agencies or departments does Santa Ana have?

CityNet - A partner organization that provides outreach services, connecting unsheltered individuals to resources like housing, shelters, mental health care, and social services.

QOLT - Quality Of Life Team "addresses homelessness-related issues, working with city departments and county resources to address unauthorized encampments and abandoned property and providing outreach, including shelter and mental health services, to those experiencing homelessness."

HEART - Homeless Evaluation Assessment Response Team includes some Santa Ana Police officers that have training in mental health training. They join partner agencies as they interact with homeless to offer services, but not all the time.

PERT - Psychological Emergency Response Team is a partnership between the Orange County Health Care Agency and SAPD and stands as a mental health and law enforcement response team to assist individuals with mental health issues, but their visibility is unconfirmed to The Santanero, pending confirmation until City Hall reopens.

There could be more that The Santanero has not mentioned. See callout on the bottom of this article.

Councilmember Lopez speaking on Item 22, 12/17/2024. (City of Santa Ana)

"If you want more to be done, this is one item where we can do more than baseline county services," said Councilmember Lopez. "CityNet serves a specific purpose of being able to go out into our community."

Councilmember Thai Viet Phan voiced her opposition to the wording and definitions of terms used in the original ordinance brought forth to the Council in November.

"Is it not your fault for having mental health crises, is not your fault to being addicted to drugs, however it is your responsibility to get help, to accept help, and to go out and not harm others," said Phan.

"We all deserve to be safe," said Amezcua. "We all deserve to be able walk at night, we all deserve to live in a place where its quiet and we can get some sleep, we all deserve to not go into our car in the morning and find its been broken into."

Breaking down the ordinance

Why? The Council has taken action before on removing homeless and unhoused addicts by enforcing the Public Intoxication and Substance Abuse Enforcement (PISAE) ordinance passed in summer 2023. This tasked officers to arrest those publicly inebriated, passed out on the street, or obstructing the public right-of-way by either sleeping, trespassing, or doing drugs. With a shortage officers, overtime expenses have significantly increased at the police department, and with budget cuts looming, the City is working to offset some of the extra pay.

Now with the Grants Pass decision, the City looked at what other cities were doing regarding homelessness and essentially mimicked what Irvine and other bougie cities have done: a blanket ordinance that bans nuisances in public areas, whether you're homeless or not.

What is illegal? You can't camp or loiter in public streets, sidewalks, alleys, parks, public right-of-ways, the Civic Center, public restrooms, and bus benches. This includes sitting, lying, or sleeping in these areas or storing items within certain distances. Essentially, if Irvine doesn't allow it, neither does Santa Ana anymore.

Also illegal to have in the Civic Center are tents, makeshift shelters, furniture, and propane tanks, along with uncapped needles (unless authorized by a medical specialist). The ordinance has capped the number of animals a person can own or keep to 3 animals (excluding service animals).

What if I'm just sleeping in my car or taking a nap at a park? The Council has had and put a lot of faith in Santa Ana Police officers to make the decision of whether or not to cite a person violating the new ordinance. Based on the officer's judgement, it will determine if you get a citation or arrest or nothing.

If your car appears to look like you're living in it, you can expect an officer to issue a citation or take you in on misdemeanor charge.

Even if you're napping before entering your shift at work, under the ordinance, it states under section 10-402 & 10-403 that it is unlawful to use a vehicle for "human habitation" in public places, including streets, public parking lots, medians, or other public areas.

The ordinance also bans people from sleeping on bus benches when the buses aren't running (specifically between 2-4 AM as Bristol and Harbor buses run about 22 hours a day).

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The Santanero has contacted City Hall staff to explain the homeless response from top to bottom since The Santanero has identified five different departments tackling homelessness and although their descriptions of them are present, it is unclear what their role is when interacting with homeless. A new article, including the new ordinance, will be posted after City Hall reopens.