Some cities facing homelessness crisis applaud Supreme Court decision, while others — including Boise — push back

Hallie Golden, Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — A determination by nan U.S. Supreme Court allowing cities to enforce bans connected sleeping extracurricular successful nationalist spaces will let San Francisco to statesman clearing bum encampments that person plagued nan city, nan politician said Friday arsenic she applauded nan ruling.

The lawsuit is nan astir important connected nan rumor to travel earlier nan precocious tribunal successful decades and comes arsenic cities crossed nan state person wrestled pinch nan politically analyzable rumor of really to woody pinch a rising number of group without a imperishable spot to unrecorded and nationalist vexation complete related wellness and information issues.

“We will proceed to lead pinch services, but we besides can’t proceed to let group to do what they want connected nan streets of San Francisco, particularly erstwhile we person a spot for them to go,” San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed, a Democrat, said successful nan aftermath of nan 6-3 ruling.

Breed said she will reappraisal nan ruling pinch nan City Attorney’s Office earlier implementing immoderate caller policies, and nan metropolis will supply training to those clearing camps.

But nan ruling was not welcomed everyplace and immoderate cities, specified arsenic Seattle, said their attack to encampments will not change. A spokesperson for nan Portland, Oregon, mayor’s agency said it was prevented by a authorities rule from making awesome changes based connected nan tribunal decision.

Cody Bowman, a spokesperson for Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat who has seen his 2 position buffeted by discontent complete nan city’s bum crisis, said they hoped nan determination would push nan authorities Legislature to return up nan rumor and “see this opportunity to see nan devices cities genuinely request to negociate nationalist camping, supply capable shelter, and support our streets safe and clean.”

Boise, Idaho’s mayor, a Democrat, likewise said nan metropolis would not alteration its attack to those sleeping successful nationalist spaces, which includes lawsuit guidance and supportive housing.

“In Boise, we return attraction of people. Criminalizing homelessness has never, and will never, lick nan problems associated pinch homelessness,” said Mayor Lauren McLean. “We must reside nan guidelines causes pinch proven strategies, for illustration imperishable supportive housing, that empower our residents to enactment housed and thrive successful their community.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is scheduled to motion a authorities fund successful nan coming days that includes different $250 cardinal successful grants for section governments to clear bum encampments, said nan ruling gives authorities and section officials “the definitive authority” to enforce policies that clear unwanted encampments.

“This determination removes nan ineligible ambiguities that person tied nan hands of section officials for years and constricted their expertise to present connected common-sense measures to protect nan information and well-being of our communities,” Newsom said successful a connection aft nan ruling, which came nan aforesaid time Los Angeles released an yearly count of nan bum population.

Sara Rankin, a professor of rule astatine Seattle University who nonstop its Homeless Rights Advocacy Project, said nan determination will apt consequence successful a type of free-for-all for cities banning group from sleeping connected nan streets. But she said authorities law provisions and different national law provisions could past beryllium invoked.

“I deliberation a number of cities are going to misread this arsenic a greenish ray for unfastened play connected unhoused folks,” she said. “But erstwhile they do that they’ll do it astatine their peril because I deliberation that lawyers are going to travel backmost astatine them nether different theories that are still disposable to them, that are near untouched by today’s decision.”

The lawsuit came from nan agrarian Oregon municipality of Grants Pass, which appealed a ruling striking down section ordinances that fined group $295 for sleeping extracurricular aft tents began crowding nationalist parks. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction complete nan 9 Western states, has held since 2018 that specified bans break nan Eighth Amendment successful areas wherever location aren’t capable shelter beds.

Jesse Rabinowitz, nan communications and run head astatine nan National Homelessness Law Center, said he worries this determination will empower cities to attraction moreover much connected arresting group sleeping outside, alternatively than focusing connected proven solutions.

“There are encampments successful California and D.C. and New York, not because location aren’t laws to punish people, but because there’s not capable lodging that meets everybody’s needs,” he said. “And this lawsuit will make it harder to attraction connected nan existent solutions.”

A Portland constabulary serviceman looks connected aft placing a bum personification successful a constabulary conveyance while their shelter is dismantled by workers connected Friday, June 28, 2024, successful Portland, Ore. Authorities removed 2 tents connected nan sidewalk extracurricular Lan Su Chinese Garden. The Supreme Court cleared nan measurement for cities to enforce bans connected bum group sleeping extracurricular successful nationalist places connected Friday, overturning a ruling from a California-based appeals tribunal that recovered specified laws magnitude to sadistic and different reward erstwhile shelter abstraction is lacking. | Jenny Kane, Associated Press