City Council Meeting 9-24-02
TO: Mayor
and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Transmittal
of the FY 2001-02 Annual Review of the City=s Coordinated Plan for Homeless Services, Recommendation to
Accept the Report, Hold a Public Hearing, and Recommendation to Introduce for
First Reading Ordinances Specifying Requirements for the Distribution of Food
on Public Property and Prohibiting Sitting or Lying in Downtown Doorways During
Late Night and Early Morning Hours
Introduction
This report
transmits the FY 2001-02 Annual Review of the City=s Coordinated Plan for Homeless
Services and recommends the City Council hold a public hearing on the Plan
pursuant to Municipal Code Section 2.69.030.
(See Attachment 1.)
Additionally, pursuant to Council direction on August 13, 2002, this
report recommends approval of two ordinances, one clarifying permitting requirements
for distributing food on public property and the other prohibiting lying or
sitting in Downtown doorways during late night and early morning hours.
Background
The City has a
deep and longstanding commitment to helping homeless people. Over a decade ago, it sparked an intense
community debate about the best way to express that commitment while, at the
same time, protecting the general safety and welfare by, among other things,
keeping City parks and other public spaces clean, safe, attractive and
available to all.
At that time,
the City was receiving many complaints about the impacts of homelessness upon
the community. City residents and
members of the business community complained that the increasing numbers of
people living in the parks, streets and other public spaces were making those
spaces unsafe for everyone (including the homeless), adversely impacting their
appearance, and monopolizing their use. Some community members complained that
the City=s generous social service programs
and liberal policies, along with its good weather and desirable and readily
accessible location, were attracting more homeless people to the City than the
City could accommodate and assist.
To help address
this issue and advance the debate, the City Council established a Homeless Task
Force, comprised of community members with varying expertise and
viewpoints, to discuss and recommend
municipal policies on homeless services.
That task force worked long and hard.
Ultimately, in 1991, the task force produced a report which recommended
a particular approach. Specifically,
the task force recommended providing long-term services linked to housing and
employment, rather than stopgap measures such as stand alone feeding programs. The Council approved the report in
1991.
In 1994, an
initiative measure addressing these concerns was circulated and submitted to
the City. The City Council considered
and adopted the measure. It mandates
various means of balancing the special needs of the City=s homeless residents with the entire
community=s need to preserve the quality of
public spaces and life in the City.
Included among them are an annual review of homeless services through a
report and public hearing on: (1) the
impact of the City=s homeless population on other City
residents; (2) the delivery of services to homeless persons by the City and
other agencies; (3) the effectiveness and cost of those services; and (4) any
changes which should be made to improve services delivery and reduce negative
impacts upon the community as a whole.
Shortly after the initiative was adopted, the Council also addressed
concerns about private projects distributing food in public parks by
incorporating state and county health standards into the Municipal Code,
thereby clarifying their applicability to food distributions in Santa
Monica.
The Homeless
Task Force Report, the 1994 initiative and other laws, adopted to maintain the
balance between the special needs of the homeless and the general welfare,
establish current City policy on homeless services. That policy recognizes that living in the streets is neither safe
nor healthy and should not be perpetuated or facilitated. Therefore,
the City provides a continuum of care intended to help homeless people
improve their lives by making the transition into housing and employment. Consistent with this policy, the City does not support short-term, stopgap
efforts, including freestanding food distributions on public property. The City=s experience is that food distributions do not help homeless
people change their lives. Moreover,
the distributions have significant
negative impacts upon parks and other public spaces and appear to attract
significant numbers of homeless people to the City without helping solve their
problems. Of course, the City
recognizes that viewpoints on this
issue differ substantially. The City
respects the viewpoints and commitment of those who work in the distribution
projects. Moreover, the City respects
the right of private and nonprofit groups within the City to distribute food on
their own property in a manner consistent with applicable law.
In the years
since these City policies were adopted, the number of homeless people has risen
every year throughout the nation. In
2001, the U.S. Conference of Mayors= annual AReport on Hunger and Homeless@ indicated a 25% increase nationwide in the number of people
seeking food and shelter over the previous year. This national trend is reflected in our local experience. Over the last three years, residents
responding to the annual City Resident Survey have identified Ahomelessness@ as the City=s most pressing issue. During that same time period, 10% of all
citizen initiated calls for police service relate to homeless activity, even
though homeless people probably comprise slightly over 1% of the City=s population.
Most recently,
local agencies report an estimated 25-30% increase in the number of homeless
people seeking services during the last year.
This fact may result, in part, from
the declining economy.
Deficiencies in the mental health care system are also a significant
contributing factor. Police personnel
suggest that the increase may also result from the County=s current policy of incarcerating
only felony suspects and thereby allowing chronic misdemeanants to remain at
large. Whatever the cause, the increase
is evident.
Additionally
residents, members of the business community and visitors have expressed
growing concerns and frustrations about the increased impact of homelessness on
the community. These impacts result
from various circumstances, including large groups gathering regularly in the
parks for food distributions and thereby monopolizing park space, persons
soiling and trashing doorways in the Downtown which they use as a campsite,
aggressive panhandling and exhibiting anti-social or threatening
behaviors. Residents complain that the
parks are no longer a shared resource.
Members of the business community complain of adverse economic
impacts.
There are
increasing adverse impacts on homeless people as well. The Police Department reports an increase in
crimes committed by homeless people against other homeless people. For instance, during the last nine months,
there have been three assaults in this category which were extremely violent.
The controversy
about food distributions in the parks has been particularly heated. Many
complain that food distributions by private organizations are attracting more
and more homeless people to Santa Monica, that the City=s service system cannot bear this
load, that the parks are being unfairly
monopolized, and that other park users are being driven from the parks. Others assert that the food distributions
are charitable endeavors which should
be supported, rather than restricted.
Police personnel
and the City=s Homeless Services Coordinator
confirm that food distribution programs have increased significantly in the
recent past. At present, there are
between twenty and thirty separate groups which regularly distribute food in
Santa Monica on City property. Almost
all of them are from outside the City, and many travel significant distances
from communities including Manhattan Beach, South Central Los Angeles and even
Calabasas and Oxnard. Many of these
groups distribute food in City parks several times a week. They
feed as many as 300 persons at a time on a scheduled basis. This
attracts large crowds to City parks to await the arrival of the food and then
linger after it is distributed. Grounds
keepers, park rangers and police personnel report significant problems with
litter, damage to landscaping, and disturbances of the peace. These food distribution projects tend to
confine their activities to parks in or near the downtown area -- Palisades,
Reed and Memorial. In contrast, most of
the City parks in solely residential neighborhoods are not impacted. However, the impacts upon these three parks,
park users and related City resources are significant.
Besides
impacting the parks and their availability, the food distribution programs pose
safety hazards. The County Health
Department has notified the City that the projects create a significant safety
risk to people receiving food because they usually do not comply with statewide
standards governing preparing and serving food to the public. Those standards
are administered by the County and enforceable through a County-issued
permit. They control both the manner
and frequency of food distributions to
the public. As part of the application
process, City approval is required for the specific location of the proposed
distribution. Moreover, state law makes
failure to obtain a permit or comply with permitting requirements a
misdemeanor.
The Police and
Community and Cultural Services Departments have taken various actions in
recent years and months to address these growing concerns and problems. For example, the Police Department allocates
resources to keeping the parks safe and ensuring that all park users conform
their conduct to the law. Police
personnel working in the Homeless
Liaison Program, commonly known as HLP,
provide referrals to City funded programs which can provide
assistance. Park Rangers and Community
Service Officers are assigned to patrol parks, monitor violations, take crime
and incident reports, and participate
in City and community efforts to solve problems associated with
homelessness. Community and Cultural
Services staff members work to keep the parks clean, neat, inviting and
available to all segments of the community as a shared resource. However, personnel from both departments
report that the demands placed on their resources by the feeding projects and
by the increased number of homeless persons presently in the City exceed
present and foreseeable capabilities.
On August 13,
2002, the City Council heard public testimony on concerns relating to homeless
services, food distribution on public property, people camping in Downtown
doorways near the distribution points, and related matters. After the hearing and deliberation, the City
Council directed staff to develop and recommend methods, including ordinances,
to limit the number, size and frequency of food distribution programs held in
public parks and spaces. Council also
directed staff to make recommendations on related aspects that allow for the
reasonable provision of social services.
Council requested that these recommendations be included with this
annual review of homeless services.
Notice of this
public hearing has been sent to City Boards and Commissions, the Chamber of
Commerce, the school district, Santa Monica College, the Los Angeles Homeless
Services Authority, City-funded organizations, local hospitals, and other
community groups. Additionally,
advertisements were placed in five local newspapers.
Discussion
The annual
review of the City=s Coordinated Plan for Homeless
Services and Related Issues is attached to this report. It details the City=s efforts, over the last year, to
implement its goal of delivering services which will effectively assist
homeless people to obtain greater self-sufficiency through a continuum of
care. As the report explains, the
model works. Over 2500 homeless people received
supportive services. Over 750 people
received shelter and assistance with formulating plans for
self-sufficiency. Approximately 450
homeless people, who were unemployed upon entry to the system, found and
maintained employment. Moreover, notwithstanding
the shrinking supply of low-income housing on the Westside, almost 250 homeless
people were assisted into permanent housing.
However, the provision of this successful continuum of care is costly;
and, as the report also explains, there are limits on what the City can do to
address the nationwide problem of homelessness.
In response to
the Council=s directive that staff propose new
solutions to presently existing problems, staff has formulated a list of
suggestions for steps the City can take to address various aspects of the
current situation. They are as follows:
(1) Assist the
County=s efforts to ensure compliance with
state laws regulating the distribution of food. Members of the Police Department began working more closely with
the County early this year. When County
health personnel indicated that they needed more personnel to enforce current
state laws applicable to food distribution, police personnel began evaluating
the option of training City personnel to assist.
(2) Redirect
Community Development Grant Funding beginning FY 2003-04 to ensure City-funded
homeless service agencies provide daily nutritious meals to program
participants. Presently, City agencies
provide no food on weekends, except to residents of shelters. It is anticipated that providing healthy
meals each day will encourage homeless individuals who are not in the network
to enroll in agencies and will fill any gap which may be left as a result of
regulating private food distribution
projects.
(3) Increase the
police presence on the Promenade and in City parks. This will be done by shifting existing resources and sustaining
an effort to field a full complement of Police Officers and Park Rangers.
(4) Increase
educational opportunities for all concerned community members, including
homeless people and merchants, so that they will be more aware of applicable
laws and procedures and more aware of community services and City
policies. This could be done through
community meetings and by providing information at homeless access centers
about the City=s expectations for appropriate
conduct in parks and other public spaces.
In addition, in
response to City Council direction, City staff has prepared two proposed
ordinances. The first specifies
permitting requirements for distributing food on public property. This ordinance is consistent with the City=s present policy of regulating food
distribution programs by requiring compliance with health standards. The ordinance does not prohibit food
distribution or assembly in public spaces.
Moreover, it does not impose new standards. Rather, it clarifies that persons wishing to distribute meals and
food in parks and on the City Hall lawn must comply with state health standards
and with the City=s Community Events Law. The ordinance also clarifies that public
sidewalks and streets cannot be used for food distribution without City
authorization and would add a remedy of criminal enforcement for that
prohibition.
It is not yet
clear exactly what impact enforcement of current state health standards
would have upon the number or frequency
of food distributions in Santa Monica.
Presumably, enforcement will diminish the number of projects and the
number of distributions by each project
because, among other things,
project participants will be unwilling or unable to comply with the
state and county requirements. Those projects which opt to meet the
requirements will be safer. Once
current laws are effectively enforced,
City staff and the Council will be better able to determine whether
additional restrictions are advisable.
If so, the Council may wish to consider lowering the threshold for the
Community Event Permit requirement in order to ensure appropriate balance in
park usage.
The second
ordinance prohibits sitting or lying down in Downtown doorways. It
would serve to protect private property when owners and tenants are not
present to protect it themselves. It
would also protect public health by reducing sanitation risks and preserve
aesthetics. Additionally, it would
eliminate the hazards attendant upon people sleeping in those unsafe
locations. The ordinance would not
prohibit anyone from sitting or lying in a doorway during a medical
emergency. Moreover, it would not prohibit
anyone from entering or standing in a doorway.
If adopted, this ordinance may be challenged as preempted by the state
trespass laws. However, legal staff
believes that the ordinance would most likely be upheld because it fills a
significant gap in state law; and existing appellate authority indicates that
cities may regulate within the gaps of state trespass law.
Financial/Budget
Impact
On June 19,
2001, the City Council approved City funding of homeless programs for FY
2001-02 in the amount of $1,826,722. These
amounts do not include the HUD Supportive Housing Program grant because the
City acts only as a pass-through agent for those funds. This represents level City funding for
homeless services. Enforcement of the
new ordinances will be addressed with budgeted resources, coupled with an
effort to maintain a full complement of Police Officers and Park Rangers.
Recommendation
City staff
recommends that the City Council accept this report, hold a public hearing to
gain input on the FY 2001-02 Annual Review of the City=s Coordinated Plan for Homeless
Services, and introduce the attached proposed ordinances for first reading.
PREPARED BY: James T. Butts, Jr., Chief of Police
Barbara Stinchfield, Director of Community
and Cultural Services
Julie Rusk,
Human Services Manager
Tracy Scruggs,
Human Services Supervisor
Joel Schwartz,
Homeless Services Coordinator Marsha
Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
Susan E.
McCarthy, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
1.
FY 2001-02 Annual Review of the City’s Coordinated
Plan for Homeless Services
2.
Letters:
Input from the Public and Service Providers (Not available electronically)
4. Ordinance Specifying Requirements for the Outdoor Distribution of Food to the Public