Should homeless encampments be allowed near schools or major transit areas? A bipartisan group of legislators is saying no.
Led by Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-San Diego, legislators introduced a bill last week that would bar homeless individuals from sleeping, sitting or storing personal property within 500 feet of a school, major transit area or open space, according to the bill text. It would also bar people from sleeping on sidewalks or streets if an emergency shelter in the area has available space.
“Californians should not have to tolerate the encampments that now fill our open spaces with trash, needles and human waster,” said Jones. “It’s dangerous, inhumane and unhealthy for homeless individuals to live on sidewalks, near our schools and transit stops, and in our open spaces. It’s also not safe or fair to nearby neighbors and local businesses.”
The idea behind the legislation, said Sen. Catherine Blakespear, a coauthor of the legislation, is to help the unhoused while also ensuring residents can enjoy their public spaces.
“I believe that people have a right to housing, but there’s also an obligation that they use it,” said Blakespear, a Democratic senator who represents southern Orange County communities.
Blakespear says she has deep compassion for those who are unhoused, and she wants to see them sheltered. She also wants, she said, for people to be able to use parks, sidewalks, streets and transit areas as they were designed to be used.
“Public spaces are not living spaces,” she said.
Aside from Blakespear, other OC legislators who have signed onto the bill thus far include Sen. Janet Nguyen, R-Huntington Beach; Sen. Kelly Seyarto, R-Murrieta; Assemblymember…
Read the full article here