With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
Orange County, ACLU settle lawsuit over homeless encampments
On Feb. 8, Orange County workers help a homeless woman dismantle her camp off Chapman Avenue along the Santa Ana River. Under a settlement reached with the ACLU, the county has agreed to keep gates in the area open to allow homeless people to access food, water and medical treatment.
(
Jill Replogle
)
Listen
1:01
Orange County, ACLU settle lawsuit over homeless encampments
A settlement reached Friday between the ACLU and Orange County opens fencing that had penned in homeless encampments along the Santa Ana River.
Orange County will give homeless people camped on county-owned flood control land another week to move out under a settlement reached Friday with the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU had asked a federal judge to force the county to remove fencing it had erected around homeless encampments along the Santa Ana River, arguing that the people living there were effectively being imprisoned.
Orange County Public Works put up the fences in recent weeks and last week began evicting homeless people in order to store boulders and sand for flood control.
As part of the settlement, the county agreed to keep four gates in the fencing open. People camped within the project area have until February 23 to get their stuff out.
Sponsored message
Any items seized by the county after that will be stored at a Lake Forest maintenance yard for 90 days. Per the settlement, the county must offer free transportation to the maintenance yard and from the yard to anywhere in Orange County except the riverbed.
County spokeswoman Carrie Braun said officials would make vans available to help people collect their belongings from the storage facility.
On Friday, the county posted notices of the settlement along the riverbed.
Brendan Hamme, a staff attorney with the ACLU, said the settlement was "really everything that we asked for and then some." But he stressed that it would do little to solve Orange County’s ongoing homeless problem.
“We strongly encourage the county to make a commitment to fund its 10-year plan and to, as soon as humanly possible, provide permanent supportive housing for the folks in the riverbed and throughout Orange County,” he said.
The county developed a 10-year plan to end homelessness in 2012. Nevertheless, the number of people sleeping on the street on any given night increased by 5 percent between 2013 and 2015, to 4,452, according to the 2015 Point-in-Time homeless count.
Results of the 2017 homeless count are expected later this year.
Sponsored message
A separate legal complaint filed against the county on Feb. 13 over the treatment of homeless people's belongings is still pending, county spokeswoman Braun said.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
