Santa Ana to Wield New Anti-Camping Law : Legislation: A Superior Court judge denies a request by legal advocates for the homeless to halt enforcement of the ordinance, which goes into effect Friday.

The city has been cleared to start arresting homeless people Friday under a new law that bars individuals from using the Civic Center area for “living accommodations.”

Legal advocates for the homeless asked Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert J. Polis on Wednesday to halt enforcement of the law, which was passed in December, until the court rules on whether it is constitutional.

But Polis rejected the request for a temporary restraining order, saying that the law, which bars people from sleeping, cooking or storing items in public areas of the Civic Center, seems likely to “pass muster.”

“This new ordinance, being more surgical, less broad (and) more focused on specific problems, is more likely to survive a constitutional attack,” Polis said.

Assistant City Atty. Robert Wheeler said the city must “maintain the safety of the Civic Center.”

The anti-camping ordinance is the city’s second law to push the homeless from public areas, and police have also used a state law against lodging in public places to clear transients.

Lawyers from the Legal Aid Society of Orange County have challenged both the state law and Santa Ana’s first ordinance, and police have been blocked from enforcing them.

Criminal cases against 25 homeless people cited under the first ordinance have been stalled while the court deliberates.

The 4th District Court of Appeal is expected to decide on the first ordinance’s constitutionality within weeks.

Police will post flyers describing the latest law in the Civic Center over the next few days, Wheeler said, and then will begin citing those who violate the ordinance.

Legal Aid lawyer Harry Simon said he will ask Polis to decide on the constitutionality of the new city ordinance and the state anti-lodging statute in about three months.

Simon questioned the new law because, he said, it restricts the freedom of a homeless person to travel in Santa Ana, is written vaguely and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

Polis said the law is likely to stand up constitutionally because it concentrates on a small portion of the city.

He also indicated that he would like to hear, in future hearings, whether homeless people in Santa Ana have any other place to go at night.

There are 351 shelter beds and about 3,000 homeless people in the city, Simon noted.

“If the judge wants evidence on that, we’re going to force the city to cough up that evidence,” he said.