Education, training and warnings first need to happen
Two laws effectively designed to reduce the homeless population downtown have not yet gone into effect, despite that they were passed more than two months ago.
Laws usually go into effect 30 days after they are passed. However, city officials say they want to educate the community about the laws before issuing misdemeanor citations to those who violate them.
The ordinances, which were passed in October, were aimed at appeasing business owners, tourists and residents, who complained that the city had become a magnet for homeless people who panhandle and urinate in public.
The majority of the council voted to make it illegal to sleep in front of downtown businesses’ doorways from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
The second law requires groups who feed the hungry to go through a rigorous government process to get a permit from the city and the Los Angeles County Health Department to provide meals in a public place.
The passages of the laws were touted as a way to protect the public from unsanitary conditions on the streets and a health threat to those who accept free food from charity groups, who may not be following Los Angeles County Health Department regulations.
But some say the passing of the laws were politically motivated during the election season, and public safety and health concerns were just an excuse to pass laws that are designed to deter the homeless from coming to downtown Santa Monica.
Regardless, the laws will go into effect when officials are ready to enforce them. The no sleeping in doorways law could be enforced by the Santa Monica Police Department by the end of the month, said SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega.
The SMPD will be able to enforce the law once the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office finishes writing the language that will appear on signs posted on businesses that indicate they don’t want people sleeping there. Once the signs are placed, Santa Monica police officers will begin patrolling the downtown area looking for violators, Fabrega said.
First-time infractions will carry warnings to people who sleep in doorways. After that, violators will be charged with misdemeanors, Fabrega said.
The second law focused on food distributors will take much longer to enforce, officials say. And if some individuals are relying on the Los Angeles Health Department to help remove the homeless by shutting down food programs, they could be sadly mistaken.
A top Los Angeles County Health Department official said it could be as late as this spring before the law is actually enforced by local police.
Terrance Powell, chief environmental health specialist for L.A. County, said his organization will work with Santa Monica officials in identifying every person who hands out free food to the homeless.
A city staff report said as many as 30 private groups distributed thousands of meals each month and that serving meals on the street could pose “significant public health risks” because sanitary facilities are not readily available and the handouts attract crowds.
Powell hopes to educate and train the groups on how to prepare, store and serve food to the public in the next two to three months. They will be required to follow the health department’s regulations in food distribution, just like the thousands of businesses in L.A. County who sell food. The food providers will be permitted and regulated by the county’s Health Department, just like every restaurant is.
“This is not about restricting but doing it in a safe manner and in an environment where they serve is appropriate,” Powell said. “Public health is our business and that’s what we are after... ensuring that an at-risk population gets safe food.”
“This is not about restricting but doing it in a safe manner and in an environment where they serve is appropriate.” — — TERRANCE POWELL Chief environmental health specialist for L.A. County
Powell said he and the city must find an appropriate location to serve the food, which may not be city parks because they lack the proper amenities like enough bathrooms, a facility for food servers to wash their hands and trash service.
City officials’ goal is to tie the free meal programs to the city’s social services so the homeless aren’t just getting a free meal, but also using the programs designed to lift them off the streets.
Powell said it’s possible to relocate the meal programs to the facilities that house the city’s social services, which have the proper amenities to serve food safely.
After the training period is over, local police will patrol Santa Monica looking for food distributors who are not properly permitted by the health department and the city.
Santa Monica also plans to enforce a law already on the books that restricts large groups to distribute food only three times in a 90-day period. The city also requires that groups over 150 people get a permit from City Hall to use public spaces.
By enforcing those already established laws, some people — including business interests and residents — hope many of the food distributors will disappear from Santa Monica and the food lines will become less frequent.
Powell, who has lived in Santa Monica for the past 10 years, understands the health department is caught in the politics of the city’s homeless problem. But Powell said he hopes the city understands his main goal is to create a safe environment for food distribution and he is less concerned about the state’s 90-day restriction.
“Our issue is not how often but how well (food is distributed),” Powell said. “It seems like a waste of time and money if it’s just to make them go away.
“We work in 88 cities, there is always local agendas,” he added. “My intention is not just to shut them off, but to empower them.”
But the effect may be that some food distributors will decide that it’s too much hassle to get the necessary permits, or they’ll decide to work with the city’s social service providers.
“It’s possible through the training that they’ll find other places to feed people,” said City Attorney Marsha Moutrie who crafted the laws. “I think it remains to be seen.”
“It’s possible through the training that they’ll find other places to feed people. I think it remains to be seen.” — — MARSHA MOUTRIE City Attorney
Meanwhile, advocates for the homeless showed their defiance of a city crackdown on public feeding by filing a federal lawsuit last Friday.
The National Lawyers Guild, on behalf of several charitable groups and people, is seeking a court ban on enforcement of the ordinance. The suit contends the law violates the right to engage in “expressive, associational or religious activities.”
But those activities have to be safe, Powell contends.
“I don’t care if someone sues,” he said. “If you look at the (homeless) population, there is no safety net for them if they get sick from food borne illnesses.”
Mayor Richard Bloom, who along with Councilwoman Pam O’Connor, introduced the laws to the council, said the impetus behind them was to make sure free meals were attached to the city’s social service programs like they were years ago.
“We had brought ourselves to a place where we were spending money in great programs but the feeding programs in the parks were directly counter-productive to our programs,” Bloom said. “What happened was it continued that way because the policy was ignored. All we really did was step back and say ‘what did we agree to?’”
“It’s not unlikely that there are homeless people who will suffer as a result of what we are doing, but I think there are far more that will benefit,” he added.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 6, 2003. Read the original PDF.