Santa Ana OKs Law Barring Homeless From Setting Up House at Civic Center

City officials gave final approval Monday to an ordinance that will bar the homeless from using the Civic Center for “living accommodations.”

The Santa Ana City Council voted 6 to 1 in favor of the law, which prohibits people from sleeping, cooking or storing personal items in the public areas of the Civic Center.

It is the second measure passed by the council in an effort to disperse the homeless. Police have been temporarily halted from enforcing the first ordinance, which prohibits people from bedding down in public areas anywhere in the city, until a state appeals court decides on its constitutionality.

Unlike that ordinance, the new law is restricted to the area bounded by Sycamore and Shelton streets, Santa Ana Boulevard and Civic Center Drive. City officials contend it does not infringe on the constitutionally protected right of people to travel.

“We possibly will lose, but we’ll appeal and continue to find a way to go forward,” Councilwoman Lisa Mills said.

“This is a countywide issue,” she said, adding that she has discussed the problem with numerous residents and feels the city must respond to their concerns.

The new law allows a person to keep books, clothing, food and other items with them at the Civic Center, as long as the belongings take up no more than three cubic feet and the person stays within three feet of them at all times.

Councilman Ted R. Moreno, who cast the sole dissenting vote, said “if the purpose of this ordinance . . . is to eventually get rid of the homeless committing the crimes in the Civic Center, there are already laws on the books to do this.” The ordinance, he said, will only scatter homeless people throughout the city.

Harry Simon, a lawyer for the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, said he will file a lawsuit today seeking a temporary restraining order to block the new ordinance. Simon estimated that a judge will rule on his request at about the same time the ordinance goes into effect on Jan. 19.

Tim Shaw, executive director of the interagency Orange County Homeless Issues Task Force, called the ordinance “a bad idea.”

But the city is working with Shaw and others to create a countywide plan to help transients. Shaw’s group has started by outlining a preliminary proposal that calls for programs to deal with mental health of the homeless, drug and alcohol addiction, affordable housing and other needs.

Shaw said the city recently gave the task force $30,000 to hire more staff members, who will begin asking other cities and the county for money and support in January. They will also ask church and nonprofit groups to join them, Shaw said.

“There’s a lot that still needs to be done,” Shaw said. “We’re looking forward to doing something a little more proactive, and less vindictive, toward the homeless.”

When Santa Ana’s first anti-camping ordinance went into effect in September, 1992, about 275 people were sleeping in tents in the Civic Center.

Legal Aid challenged that ordinance in court, and a Superior Court judge upheld most of the law in April. But in June, the 4th District Court of Appeal issued an injunction against the anti-camping law. Criminal cases against 25 homeless defendants have been stalled while the court deliberates.

In October, another Superior Court judge blocked the city from using a similar state anti-lodging law against the homeless, unless they use public structures for shelter.