SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will vote on an ordinance Wednesday that would ban camping along the American River Parkway.
County leaders say the increase in homeless encampments over recent years has become a safety hazard, citing the uptick in fires at camp sites.
“We’re going on fires related to the parkway several times a day, sometimes upwards of five times a day,” Capt. Parker Wilbourn of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said.
Homelessness in Sacramento has jumped more than 60% since 2019, according to data complied by Sacramento Steps Forward. Wilbourn says responding to frequent fires on the Parkway, which is often difficult for trucks and engines to access, puts both crews and the homeless community at risk.
“The dangerous part is, a lot of the people occupying these spaces are living directly in the fuels that burn, so there’s a lot of times where we’re showing up at these fires and we’re having to go tent to tent to get those people out and make sure they are evacuating,” Wilbourn said. "We’re putting our lives and the lives of the community members at stake.”
Others raise concerns about physical attacks reported along the trail. In February, a 20-year-old woman was brutally killed at the hands of a man experiencing homelessness.
These factors have prompted county supervisors to consider a measure that would allow officers to clear parkway encampments.
“Reducing homelessness throughout our communities is of the utmost importance to me, but we must come up with solutions that help those in need while providing relief to our businesses and neighborhoods from the negative impacts of encampments,” Supervisor Rich Desmond said in a statement. “We must strike the right balance between providing more sheltering and housing capacity while limiting where encampments are allowed!”
However, homeless advocates argue there must be alternative housing options made available and a camping ban is not the solution. Back in June, the Board of Supervisors approved a $5 million budget for a new American River Parkway Homeless Shelter, but the timeline for that project remains unclear.
“There will be about 2,000 people displaced along the parkway that will have no where else to go,” Joseph Smith, Loaves & Fishes Advocacy Director, said. “That’s going to lead them to come into the city, into the streets and into the neighborhoods.”
The uncertainty leaves people living in homeless camps like Dee Vanady wondering where they will sleep at night.
“I’m not exactly sure where to go from here," Vanady said.
The board is scheduled to vote on a second ordinance that would allow the removal of homeless camps near sensitive infrastructure like schools and libraries. The vote for both measures is set to take place at 2 p.m. Wednesday, with a final vote schedule for Aug. 23.
If passed, the measures would then take effect late September.
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