Turlock stops enforcing regulations against camping in parks

Turlock has temporarily stopped enforcing its regulations against camping in city parks and on other public property after a federal appeals court ruled people cannot be prosecuted for sleeping on public property when they don’t have access to shelter.

The Police Department stopped enforcement last week as Turlock reviews the court decision and considers its course of action.

“Given the court’s discussion of available shelter beds, the city is reaching out to its service providers,” interim City Attorney Jose Sanchez said in a text message. “There may be a need for amendments to the city’s camping ordinance and potential adjustments to practices by service providers.”

Sanchez said in an interview that those adjustments include asking shelters to remove restrictions that can prevent some homeless people from staying in them. The appeals court said those restrictions can include shelter rules that limit how long someone can stay.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Sept. 4 that prosecuting people sleeping outdoors because there are not enough shelter beds or alternatives amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

The panel ruled on a lawsuit brought by homeless people and advocates in Boise, Idaho, challenging the city’s camping and disorderly conduct ordinances, which ban sleeping in public. The court’s jurisdiction includes California.

Boise on Tuesday asked an 11-member panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the three-judge panel’s decision.

Sgt. Russ Holeman, a Police Department spokesman, said it’s too soon to say what the impact has been of Turlock not enforcing the camping ordinance. But he said Turlock continues to enforce all of its other ordinances, including the one that prohibits people from being in a park when it is closed.

When asked whether the police were using the ordinance about being in a park after hours as a way to get around not being able to enforce the camping ordinance, Holeman said: “That’s not how we operate in Turlock.”

He said officers use their discretion in enforcing city ordinances and issue citations as a last resort after trying to connect homeless people to services or gain voluntary compliance.

Stanislaus County Superior Court records show that from June through August, Turlock filed 31 cases against people for violating its ordinance against camping in city parks and other public areas.

City Manager Bob Lawton said their are no immediate plans to increase the number of shelter beds in Turlock. He said the city will continue its work with Stanislaus County and local service providers to find long-term solutions to the homelessness crisis.

The city has two homeless shelters: one operated by the Turlock Gospel Mission, which provides 59 beds for women and children, and one operated by the We Care Program, which provides 49 beds for men.

“In this county, there are not enough beds for all of the people who are homeless,” We Care Executive Director Maris Sturtevant said. “That’s just the way it is.”

This story was originally published September 20, 2018 at 2:57 PM.