The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors moved to expand efforts discouraging homeless encampments on county property with a new proposal during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisor meeting.
The proposed ordinance at the board’s Tuesday meeting bars long-term camping and encampments during the day on any land under the jurisdiction or responsibility of the county. It also removes the ability for people to sleep or rest in their cars for health reasons, though sheriffs may choose not to enforce the ordinance.
The ordinance also states that a person may not camp at any one location for more than one hour or remain within 300 feet of their previous camping location within a 24-hour period.
According to the proposal, the Board of Supervisors may pass the amended ordinance during its Sept. 24 meeting.
“After the recent Supreme Court decision, our board pledged to work with our local law enforcement to clean up and reclaim public spaces in San Joaquin County,” said Chairman Miguel Villapudua in a press release. “This ordinance is one piece of that puzzle to allow our families to once again safely use parks and public facilities.”
Currently, violating the ordinance in San Joaquin County is classified as a misdemeanor, and violators can be fined up to $1,000, face up to six months in jail, or both.
The ordinance is the latest homeless-related enforcement action in San Joaquin County since the Grants Pass Supreme Court decision, which gave cities the authority to enforce punitive measures such as fines and encampment bans.
The SJC sheriff’s office made the proposal following California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s July 25 executive order. During the meeting, SJC Sheriff Patrick Withrow said that the sheriff’s office wanted to act proactively on homeless enforcement in light of recent changes at the state and federal levels.
Similarly, the city of Stockton is also considering expanding homeless encampment enforcement by broadening the language of its camping ordinance to cover more critical infrastructure areas. As of the time of this reporting, the city of Stockton has not put updates to its camping ordinance on the city council agenda.
Jessica Velez of Red Rabbit Advocacy Programs raised concerns about the proposal during public comment, noting that if passed, the ordinance amendment would worsen the homeless situation further throughout the county. Velez called for the county to prioritize funding the social safety net before remove people from the streets.
“How is anyone supposed to actually know when each person on the street has been somewhere for more than sixty minutes,” said Velez. “ We are seeing people who are mentally ill who used to be in encampments and cared for by others are wandering down your street taking things from your porch instead of being fairly safe and secure in their encampment.“
Also during the meeting, the BOS approved $43,000 in discretionary funding for non-profit organizations in three of the five districts in the county. Supervisors utilized what is known as “Supervisorial District Funds,” which the board reapproved in January of last year and included in the 2024-2025 adopted budget to help provide funding for miscellaneous needs in the district that are covered by general budget.
Supervisor District 1, represented by Miguel Villapudua, received the majority of today’s funding efforts, distributing $38,000 across five different organizations, including the Uplift All Foundation, which received $25,000 for an upcoming community fair.
Stockton Police Youth Activity is receiving $5,000 to support the SPYA Boxing Program which helps youths ages 8 through 18 to receive training in teamwork, discipline, mental preparation and boxing. District 3, represented by Supervisor Tom Patti, also gave the organization $5,000 for protective and training equipment for a countywide youth program.
The American Desi Society in District 2, represented by Paul Canepa, is receiving $5,000 to help fund ongoing humanitarian efforts provided by the organization. The organization, which began in 2020, helps coordinate school supply giveaways, product donations and medical supplies in the community.
The Sikhs for Humanity in District 2 are receiving $5,000 for disaster relief feeding services. During the last SJC BOS the organization received $15,000 for funding humanitarian efforts and crisis response across SJ County.
Proclamations
The Board of Supervisors is also dedicating the month of September 2024 as 2024 Yellow Ribbon Suicide Awareness, First Responder Appreciation Month, and National Service Dog Month.
During the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Awareness proclamation, SJC Behavioral Health Services Genevieve Valentine held 11 seconds of silence during the meeting, noting that every eleven minutes, a person dies from suicide.
If you need support or know someone who might need access to suicide prevention resources, you can click here, which will take you to a press release with 24-hour suicide prevention hotlines in San Joaquin County.
Lastly, the Board of Supervisors recognized East Union High School’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in the Manteca Unified School District for placing 13th in the county in the 2024 JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl Championship.