DATE: October 9, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Police Department
TITLE: INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING OCEANSIDE CITY CODE SECTIONS 20.21.1 AND 20.21.2 RELATED TO PUBLIC ENCAMPMENT AND THE STORAGE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY IN PUBLIC PLACES
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff and the Police and Fire Commission recommend that the City Council introduce an ordinance amending Sections 20.21.1 and 20.21.2 of the Oceanside City Code related to the City's regulation of public encampment and the storage of personal property in public places.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
In 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Martin v. City of Boise that prosecuting homeless individuals for sleeping outdoors when no alternative shelter was available violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. This decision meant that cities could not criminally enforce anti-camping laws if adequate shelter options were lacking, emphasizing the rights of homeless individuals to shelter themselves in public spaces under certain conditions. Consequently, on April 21, 2021, the Oceanside City Code was amended to include language making the Oceanside City Code's ban against public encampment enforceable. [see OCC 20.21(g)(1)(c)].
In 2024, the United States Supreme Court heard a similarly appealed case, City of Grants Pass v. Johnson. The Court's majority decision, published on June 28, 2024, overturned the Ninth Circuit's ruling and found that the anti-camping ordinances enacted by both the cities of Boise and Grants Pass did not violate the?Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause. ?
Furthermore, on July 25, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-1-64 mandating California State agencies swiftly address the issue of homeless encampments. The Order encouraged local agencies to adopt policies consistent with the Order "with both urgency and humanity."
Homelessness continues to be a serious so...
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