PLACER COUNTY, Calif. — The Placer County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve a camping ordinance.
The camping ordinance bans camping on specific county properties, except for those camping by necessity when there are no shelters available.
The ordinance also includes provisions that would not allow people who are camping to use public utilities, obstruct sidewalks and harass people accessing county property among other activities.
The next steps include developing an implementation plan and policies. The new ordinance would take effect 30 days after a second vote on March 22, according to Deputy County Executive Officer Bekki Riggan.
Lt. Connie Schmidt with the Placer County Sheriff's Office made a presentation breaking down some of the data from March 2021 to Feb. 2022.
Schmidt said in Auburn 7% of Placer County Sheriff's Office resources are used for transient-related calls. This is compared to North Auburn where 30% of the sheriff's resources are used for transient-related calls.
"The team, like I said, their primary goal is to go out and help people. We don't go out there with the intent or focus of putting handcuffs on these people and taking them to jail. They go out there, they talk to them, they get to know them — they know their challenges, they know them by name and they treat them with dignity and respect every single day," Schmidt said.
The Chief Probation Officer, Marshall Hopper, also made a presentation on some of the programs the probation department is efforting to help people change.
"One of our biggest leverage points that we have is the ability to utilize the justice system through citations, crimes, arrests, probation — the whole gamut is to, I would say, sort of push these individuals into programs or services that they may not want to have," Hopper said.
Some of the programs Hopper discussed include Placer Re-entry Program (PREP) and the probation outreach vehicle.
Watch the full Placer County Board of Supervisor's meeting.
Many passionate people spoke during public comment at the meeting sharing their thoughts on how to address homelessness in the county.
Retired Placer County Judge Richard Couzens spoke at the meeting and said there needs to be some sort of transitional housing for people who are starting to receive services.
"Its a combination of the ordinance plus the compassionate disposition while these people are trying to move on that I think is the key for this," Couzens said.
Roy Warren spoke at the meeting and said he is experiencing homelessness.
"I'm not moving anywhere. You want to take me to jail, take me to jail. I have been here for 63 years. I'm not giving up my place to live," Warren said.
Other community members from the Auburn area shared stories of their experiences with unhoused people.
"We have to get them to a spot where they are receptive to making changes or that we can identify those who aren't, and they need to be encouraged to immigrate somewhere else," said a community member who said she worked at the Auburn Jail for 17 years.
Jane Haproff, the president of Placer People of Faith Together, said the organization cannot support the ordinance.
"All of the problems people have identified here in crime, this ordinance doesn't solve, it simply pushes it to a different place," Haproff said.
Riggan said after the board approved the ordinance that the county intends to start the task force to implement the ordinance immediately.
Previous versions of the ordinance would have made it illegal for anyone to camp on public property during the daytime hours, aside from adverse weather conditions.
Resources
- Homeless Resource Helpline Placer County: Call 2-1-1 or call (833) 375-2237
- Homeless Resource Helpline Nevada County: Call 2-1-1
- North Auburn shelter operation-related questions: Call 530-885-8108
- Learn more about housing vouchers in Placer County HERE
- Learn more about housing programs in Placer County HERE
- Learn more about whole person care HERE
Read the full ordinance HERE.
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