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Ordinance Adding Article XIV to Chapter 10 (Crimes and Miscellaneous Law Enforcement
<br />Provision) and Amending Related Sections in Chapter 31, Chapter 33 and Chapter 36 of
<br />the Santa Ana Municipal Code
<br />November 19, 2024
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<br />property, both public and private, by the disabled, elderly, families, children, and visitors
<br />to the City of Santa Ana. The Police Department is primarily responsible for the
<br />enforcement of the laws and the Public Works Agency collaborates with the Parks,
<br />Recreation, and Community Services Agency to maintain the cleanliness of all public
<br />areas, including the parks.
<br />The City has taken proactive measures to address the underlying issues leading to
<br />unlawful camping and the storage of personal items on public property, including, but
<br />not limited to, the implementation of two outreach and engagement teams to address
<br />needed resources for unsheltered persons. On June 12, 2022, the City opened the
<br />Navigation Center, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing 200
<br />beds for men, women, couples, and families, a commercial kitchen, and an outdoor
<br />area for participants and their pets, to provide shelter to homeless persons in the City of
<br />Santa Ana. Despite these efforts, the challenges persist.
<br />In May of 2024, the County of Orange released its 2024 point in time count and
<br />estimated a total of 7,322 individuals experiencing homelessness living in Orange
<br />County, a 28% increase from two years prior. During the same count, it was estimated
<br />the City of Santa Ana has 871 unsheltered persons living in the City, a significant
<br />increase from 2022, where it was estimated the City had 508 unsheltered persons living
<br />in the City.
<br />The City of Santa Ana has adopted regulations to address interference and access to
<br />public areas and continues to look for ways to provide necessary resources to the
<br />unsheltered in order to provide a multi-faceted and holistic approach to ensuring the
<br />safety, health, and general welfare of all of its residents. However, the public continues
<br />to express concern that access to public and private property is being impeded or
<br />prevented by people camping on public property, by the storage of personal items on
<br />public property, and by people using the public rights-of-way to sit, sleep, and lie down.
<br />In 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued new law addressing the enforcement
<br />of laws regarding sleeping, camping, and storing personal property in public parks and
<br />public places in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, et al., 144 S. Ct.2202 (2024)
<br />(“Grants Pass”).
<br />Based upon the court’s ruling, City Staff recommends adding to and amending the
<br />Santa Ana Municipal Code to provide additional enforcement mechanisms to
<br />complement and enhance existing efforts to the on-going Quality of Life challenges
<br />experienced by our residents, visitors, and businesses.
<br />ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
<br />There is no environmental impact associated with this action.
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