Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Anaheim is latest OC city to dial up homelessness enforcement
A homeless encampment made of tents and tarps lines the Santa Ana riverbed near Angel Stadium in Anaheim in 2018.
(
ROBYN BECK
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
Orange County’s most populous city is joining the ranks of local municipalities to intensify their laws regulating homelessness in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that gives them more power to do so.
This week, the Anaheim City Council voted to make it a crime to lie down or sleep on public sidewalks and benches. People who violate that law can be jailed and prosecuted with a misdemeanor, according to the ordinance.
“The sidewalk belongs to everybody,” Councilmember Jose Diaz said, according to the O.C. Register. “Not to an individual who wants to grab that piece of land. It’s not yours to grab. You either take services from us or you get out.”
The ordinance does not require the city to offer shelter or other services before enforcing the ordinance, which was required under past court rulings.
Support for LAist comes from
The ordinance approved by the council says police officers, if they choose to, can offer to take the person to services for mental health, housing or substance abuse treatment instead of going to jail.
Why now?
The move comes in the wake of a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June, known as Grants Pass, which gave cities and counties the power to arrest and cite unhoused people for sleeping in public without needing to offer shelter.
Since the ruling, cities across SoCal have been re-examining their laws on sleeping and camping in public.
Anaheim isn't alone
Last month, Newport Beach leaders enacted a ban on people setting up tents on public land, such as parks and beaches, or sleeping in public restrooms and lying down or sleeping on public benches. That city’s new ordinance also makes it illegal for people to be in public plazas from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. unless they're passing through.
Santa Ana city leaders also have been looking at stepping up their enforcement.
Support for LAist comes from
And in August, the San Clemente and Aliso Viejo city councils adopted new laws that would allow enforcement of anti-camping laws even when no shelter beds are available.
Orange County supervisors also have been looking at how the Supreme Court ruling affects legal settlements of a 2018 lawsuit that has required services to be offered before anti-camping laws are enforced in certain cities.
Orange County’s unsheltered population jumped 37% from 2022 to 2024 — to 4,173 people this year, according to official counts.
Meanwhile, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has said she would not be changing anything in response to the Grants Pass ruling.
What’s next for Anaheim’s new law?
It’s not final yet. The council has to take one more vote to pass it into law — something that’s usually routine.
If it passes the second time — known as a “second reading” — police would be able to enforce the new law.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars. -
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
Best of LAist