Ukiah moves toward encampment ordinance that doesn’t require shelter-bed availability

The Ukiah City Council has given unanimous initial approval to an ordinance that follows state guidance about unhoused people camping in public spaces and removes a requirement that encampments can only be cleared if shelter space is available.

At its Sept. 17 meeting, the City Council approved introducing the ordinance amendment that will follow Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent guidance on how local jurisdictions should address homeless encampments. The council is expected to give final approval at a later meeting.

Earlier this year, Newsom released a model ordinance that “intends to provide a starting point that jurisdictions may build from and adjust in creating their own policies.” This includes providing advance notice of removals and partnering with service providers and shelters to help unhoused people.

The proposed changes to the city’s ordinance stem from the 2024 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, which stated that criminal punishment of people camping in public spaces is not considered “cruel and unusual” under the Eighth Amendment.

The change to the ordinance will remove the requirement that police may intervene in homeless encampments only if shelter space is available and a person refuses to move to the shelter. This means local authorities can take action even when no shelter beds are available.

The other change requires the Ukiah Police Department and other city officials to make efforts to help people in violation of the ordinance find shelter. The police chief may also delegate enforcement authority to other city officials.

Lastly, the amendment explicitly prohibits camping in the public right of way in a manner that blocks a pathway, in accordance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

Enforcement as a last resort

At the meeting, council members discussed how the ordinance could help reduce encampments in the city and strengthen the relationship between local authorities and the Mendocino County Department of Social Services. Council members said law enforcement would be used as the last resort in mandating that homeless people leave public streets.

“The ordinance is just one tool in the toolbox,” said Assistant City Attorney Darcy Vaughn during the council meeting. “The enforcement of the ordinance would really be a last resort. There’s a strong preference to work with individuals who are living in encampments or who are living in public spaces and to get them to leave their camping site voluntarily, to help them collect their belongings, and to make sure they have a place to go to.”

Councilmember Heather Criss is an administrator for Mendocino County’s Homekey program, an offshoot of the state Department of Housing and Community Development’s program that helps provide housing for people experiencing homelessness.

Criss, who has extensive experience working with homeless people, explained that while she thinks using law enforcement is not a perfect solution, the city of Ukiah is handling the situation better than it did many years ago.

“There’s a strong preference to work with individuals who are living in encampments … to leave their camping site voluntarily, to help them collect their belongings, and to make sure they have a place to go to.” Darcy Vaughn, Assistant City Attorney

“It’s not perfect, but it’s better than it used to be,” Criss said.

She also added that housing should ideally be accessible for all people, saying, “I do believe that housing is a human right. Unfortunately, that’s not where our society is right now. Some of the things people suggest the city do are beyond the city’s scope or expertise.”

Criss also spoke about several public comments submitted online to the City Council that expressed opposition to the ordinance, stating it would harm homeless community members who have nowhere to go. One of these comments came from Megan Wolf, one of the co-organizers of a community-oriented Instagram account called “mendosjbulletinboard,” which stands for Mendo Social Justice Bulletin Board.

Wolf, a library assistant at the Ukiah Branch Library in downtown Ukiah, has seen firsthand the struggles homeless people face in the community. During public comment, she said pressuring homeless people to leave Ukiah’s public streets will only push them closer to incarceration.

A pathway to jail

“What the community has been speaking up about in the past 24 hours is the rule that encampments can only be cleared if shelter space is available, and the proposal to remove that requirement,” Wolf emphasized. “If you remove this requirement, people will get cited, and they’ll end up in jail.”

Wolf said that she and others she has spoken with through the Mendo Social Justice Bulletin Board would like to ask the City Council to reverse its decision on that requirement.

“That’s specifically what we’re asking. Like you said earlier, we don’t know who’s going to be in power next, so I’d say don’t put that in the books. Let’s think about the future,” Wolf added.

The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Oct. 15 at 5:15 p.m. at the Ukiah Civic Center at 300 Seminary Ave. Residents can also participate virtually via a Zoom link at the top of the agenda when it becomes available. Public comments can be emailed to the city clerk’s office or called in at (707) 463-6217.