California Gov. Newsom tells cities to ban homeless encampments
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Gov. Gavin Newsom. Photo: Frazer Harrison/WireImage
Gov. Gavin Newsom asked cities Monday across California to ban homeless encampments, releasing a template policy he hopes they'd adopt but stopping short of conditioning funding on their doing so.
Why it matters: Newsom, who's widely expected to run for president in 2028, is continuing to embrace a tougher approach on homelessness — reflecting increased voter acceptance and a Supreme Court ruling a year ago that cleared the way for cities to crack down on encampments.
State of play: The governor released a model ordinance for cities to adopt, a policy that's generally in line with the one San Diego implemented nearly two years ago.
- Monday's move follows his executive order issued in July, ordering state agencies to clear encampments and asking cities to do the same.
What they're saying: During a press conference, Newsom would not say that cities risked losing discretionary state homeless funds if they pass on the model ordinance, but he said it is a "preview of expectations moving forward."
- He's now saying publicly what he had been telling cities privately, he said.
- "Tents and encampments, it simply cannot continue," he said. "It's not human to let the status quo continue."
By the numbers: Downtown San Diego was home to 2,104 homeless residents in May 2023, two months before San Diego passed a broad prohibition on encampments. Last month, that number had fallen to 902, per the Downtown Partnership's monthly count.
Between the lines: Many of those encampments relocated to property under the jurisdiction of Caltrans, the state's highway agency, like a large, well-established camp just outside downtown near the city's safe camp site.
- Frustration with the state's inability to clear those camps has led Mayor Todd Gloria to co-sponsor a bill, SB 569, with state Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) to push the state to clear encampments on their property.
- "The state needs to do better in preventing and removing encampments from land that the state has control over," Blakespear said in a release announcing the bill.
Zoom in: In his State of the City speech earlier this year, Gloria said the city receives 300 calls a month about encampments on state property, and demanded Caltrans to either take action or let the city do it, but he opted against challenging Newsom Monday.
- He instead praised the announcement, saying it "aligns with our understanding here in San Diego that enforcement, paired with shelter opportunities and services, is essential to helping people off the streets and into care."