FRESNO, Calif. – Despite public outcry, the city of Fresno plans to ban “unlawful outdoor camping” in public spaces.
During a special city council meeting Monday that lasted more than five hours, dozens of unhoused residents and their advocates spoke against the proposed ordinance, which would impose a fine or jail time for anyone found to be in violation.
Many of the residents who went before the council spoke about the lack of affordable housing in the region, as well as limited shelter space and the difficulty of receiving city assistance due to a lack of funding and other resources.
“I've tried the resources [the city] offered,” said Tom Haskell, who’s been unhoused for four years. “It isn’t working. Y'all want to pass this law to fine us for everything, every time we turn around. That isn’t helping. That's hurting us.”
The most recent point-in-time count found more than 4,000 people experienced homelessness in the Fresno-Madera area in 2023. In Fresno alone, after factoring in those who have access to shelters and other resources, about 1,500 of those are considered “unsheltered,” Mayor Jerry Dyer estimated during the meeting.
Supreme Court greenlights actions on homelessness
The proposed ban comes weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Grants Pass ruling – its biggest decision on homelessness in decades – allowed local governments to penalize people who sleep and camp in public places.
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that directed state agencies to “move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them.”
The Fresno ordinance is a revival of the city’s Unhealthy and Hazardous Camping Act of 2017, sponsored by then-councilmember Steve Brandau, which prohibited residents from camping in public and private property. A year after it was implemented, the ordinance was rolled back due to a previous Supreme Court decision from Boise that ruled such ordinances violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
Similar to the ordinance from 2017, a violation would be considered a misdemeanor that carries a fine of up to $1,000 or one year in jail.
Brandau, now a Fresno County Supervisor representing District 2, introduced a similar county-wide ordinance last week, stating that it’s a “step in the right direction.” The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on the measure in early August.
At a press conference last week, Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni said the ordinance and its penalties would be a “last resort” to combat homelessness – and city leaders agree.
“These will be reserved for the most egregious situations,” said councilmember Luis Chavez during the special meeting. “That’s what our community is so frustrated with.”
While City Council President Annalisa Perea acknowledged the city needs to provide more resources for its unhoused community, she still supports the ordinance.
“We have to do more for the other 550,000 residents we have in the city who are asking us for help,” Perea said. “For so long, we have not had the legal tools to do what we needed to do to hold individuals accountable.”
The City Council voted unanimously to support the measure. The council plans to officially introduce and vote on the ordinance on August 15. If passed, it will go into effect in mid-September.
