HUFF decides its own agenda, but I’ll be suggesting: Next Steps After the Political Prancing of Last Night (Sleeping Ban Reform Defeat); Documenting the Abuses; Reviewing Public Records–the Latest Chapter, along with snacks, snarls, and the usual HUFFishness… –Robert N.
Author Archives: huffsantacruz
Tumultuous Tuesday Combines 35th Sleep-Out with Sleeping Ban Repeal Vote
Lost Sunday Bathrobespierre’s Broadsides Show on Abolition of Sleeping Ban Now Available On-line
Due to power outages and equipment problems, the usual Sunday morning Bathrobespierre’s Broadsides show was not available at its usual time. The March 6 show intended for broadcast includes interviews with Food Not Bombs co-founder Keith McHenry, Berkeley singer and activist Carol Denney on the history of People’s Park, and my analysis of Lane’s Camping Ordinance amendments.
It is now available.
Go to http://www.huffsantacruz.org/
Robert Norse
Robert Norse
Support Real Changes in the City’s Medieval Sleeping Ban Law on March 8th at City Council
To the City Council: Councilmember Lane’s proposed changes to the Camping Ordinance on the evening agenda of March 8th while finally emphasizing the need and right to sleep, need further expansion. They should be passed as a first step and expanded upon.
There are several ways to do this. I propose the following as the most elementary changes.
1. Eliminate the current sections A and B of 6.36.010 (sleeping and blanket bans), leaving only section 3 . 6.36.010 would then read:
6.36.010 CAMPING PROHIBITED.
No person shall camp anywhere in the city of Santa Cruz, whether on public or private property, except as hereinafter expressly permitted. “To camp” means to do any of the following:
Setting-up Campsite – Anytime. To establish or maintain outdoors or in, on, or under any structure not intended for human occupancy, at any time during the day or night, a semi-permanent or permanent place for cooking or lodging, or by setting up tent or hammock or by setting up any cooking equipment, with the intent to remain in that location overnight.
[Add the following language to that section] Simple presence of an unrolled sleeping bag or other sleeping equipment shall not constitute evidence of a violation of this section. Nor shall the presence of a protective tent in rainy weather or where the temperature is less than 50 degrees.
2. Remove the words ” other than subsections (a) and (b) of Section 6.36.010″ from 6.36.050 so that it will now read:
6.36.050 PENALTY – SUBSEQUENT OFFENSE WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS.
Any person who violates any section in this chapter and is cited for such violation, and who within twenty-four hours after receiving such citation again violates the same section, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
3. Add a final section to read:
6.36.070 REPORTS REQUIRED BY SHELTER PROVIDERS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES
(a) Any shelter services receiving funding from the City shall agree to report each night whether they have any open shelter space available that night by contacting the law enforcement authorities to so inform them. If no space is available, A person shall not be in violation of this chapter nor shall law enforcement authorities contact or cite any person for “camping”.
(b) Law enforcement authorities will provide monthly reports indicating how many hours of officer time and estimating the cost of all actions contacts and citations taken under this ordinance during the prior month. Both agencies will also provide a listing of any property seized under the law.
(c) The City Attorney’s office shall make public a listing of all citations issued under this chapter that were forwarded to the courts and not dismissed under 6.36.055.
It is unfortunate that Council member Lane did not seek the advice and involvement of long-time homeless activists who were a part of two lengthy city analyses of the Camping Ordinance some years ago (the Council’s Task Force the Examine the Camping Ordinance) and the Homeless Issues Task Force. The latter’s report and recommendations were many and too often ignored by subsequent Council’s. One prime one was to abolish the entire Camping Ordinance.
See their full report at http://sccounty01.co.santa-
A partial story on the part of the HITF report that calls for eliminating the Camping Ordinance is at http://www.huffsantacruz.org/
A second approach to maintaining a regulated camping ban but acknowledging the necessity of sleep was proposed by activists two decades ago. There were two proposed Initiatives suggesting a different approach to eliminating the Sleeping and Blanket Ban sections of the Camping Ordinance: The second proposed ballot measure read:
“This initiative, if adopted by the voters, would serve to amend the City Camping Ordinance by limiting the conduct which would constitute a violation of the ordinance. As amended the ordinance would prohibit “setting up campsites” at any time or establish or maintaining outdoor structures not intended for human occupancy or establishing at any time of the day or night a place for cooking or sleeping by setting up a mattress, tent, hammock, or other camping gear with the intention to remain that location overnight. However the acts of sleeping or covering up with blankets or sleeping bags or protective coverings would not constitute “camping” and would be prohibited by the ordinance. In addition the ordinance would allow a person to sleep in an otherwise lawfully parked vehicle with owner permission except as otherwise prohibited.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the ordinance proposed by the initiative would authorize the City Council to regulate or prohibit night time sleeping on public property or in vehicles on public streets in those zoning districts of the City in which residential uses are primarily permitted,in residential areas within industrial zones, and in the City’s Commercial Beach, Oceanfront, and Central Business districts. Where the City Council elects to regulate or prohibit outdoor sleeping or vehicular sleeping in these districts, police officers would be required to warn sleepers and provide them with 20 minute opportunity to gather up their belongings and leave.
Failure to move in response to such a warning would constitute an infraction. Outdoor sleeping or vehicular sleeping alone would not constitute grounds for citation, however failure to move upon receiving the requisite warning would constitute gorunds for citation. The proposed ordinance prohibits the city Council from criminalizing the act of outside or veicular sleeping.”
I encourage the City Council to pass the Lane proposal and accept the need to expand it by one of the several methods proposed above. I hope the community will not be satisfied with a proposal that still criminalizes sleeping bags at night and ignores the overwhelming shelter deficiency in Santa Cruz.
Robert Norse
(423-4833)
HUFF’s Last Meet Before the 3-8 City Council Meeting Discussing the Sleeping Ban 11 AM Wed 3-2-16
HUFFsters slog down to the Sub Rosa as ever in the aftermath of Freedom SleepOut #34 to sketch out different issues: I’d hope that more firmly documenting the status of goon squad activity against the homeless over the last few months is on the agenda, particularly with the Sleeping Ban coming up on the agenda for the first time in 5 years as an actual item–or so former Mayor Don Lane promises.
Will HUFFsters decide to press forward on the continued cutback on recycling and RV’s?
Will they have something special planned for Freedom Sleepout #35 and the Sleeping Ban Reform Council meeting happening that night?
What kind of planning is needed for the weeks ahead, and for Thursday’s 11 AM meeting at City Hall including Councilmember Posner?
Come and find out. Have some warm coffee in prep for the wet nights ahead.
Sleeping Ban Reform Discussion at City Hall March 3 -11 AM
| Title: | Last Minute Meeting on the Camping Ban Reforms |
| START DATE: | Thursday March 03 |
| TIME: | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM |
| Location Details: | |
| City Council Offices at a room booked by Councilmember Micah Posner | |
| Event Type: | Meeting |
| Contact Name | Robert Norse |
| Email Address | rnorse3 [at] hotmail.com |
| Phone Number | 831-423-4833 |
| Address | |
| The City Council agenda hasn’t been announced for March 8th. After many delays, the word is that there will finally be a proposal on the agenda to modify the Camping Ordinance.
Steve Pleich has advised me that Don Lane’s proposed changes in the Camping Ordinance is to remove the words Proponents of the change suggest that however limited this first step, it does apparently remove a fundamental human rights violation–denying those with no shelter the right to sleep at night. The Department of Justice has aligned itself against Sleeping Bans in the Boise v. Bell case in Idaho. HUD has declared continued criminalizing the homeless may be the basis for withholding funding from bigoted city governments. Cities like Huntington Beach and Vancouver, WA have already changed their laws or suspended enforcement of their camping bans at night. There has not been a noted huge increase in homeless folks attributable to these changes, according to Pleich’s research. Lane’s proposal was developed behind closed doors with no input from long-term homeless activists. Many of these activists (Becky Johnson, Laura Tucker, Linda Lemaster) worked extensively with City Council and its appointees to thoroughly research the Camping Ordinance and consider relevant reforms. Lane has declined to include these folks. In order to include them, Micah Posner has agreed at my urging, to have a last-minute meeting which–finally–is open to all. Ironically, Posner’s regular meeting with Lane and the select group of activists that Lane has regularly invited will take place at noon. This is immediately after the open meeting which Posner has agreed to at 11 AM. Lane has still not included any of the long-term activists whom he disfavors. There are real questions as to whether a reactionary City Council will pass even Lane’s barebones proposal. Even so, some activists emphasize, with park curfews, RV parking bans, and permit parking night prohibitions–there will be real questions afterwards: what will be our next step? What next? is the key issue, I think, to be discussed at this meeting. In addition, Micah will “pass on” our views to his closed meeting with Lane’s select group at noon. And we can certainly bring our views to City Council on March 8th and to the community and the streets in the days that follow in direct actions, if we organize to do so. I’ll be there. |
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Performers and Musicians Invited to Freedom SleepOut #34 Tuesday 5 PM March 2nd
| Title: | Jam with the Freedom Sleepers–34th Week |
| START DATE: | Tuesday March 01 |
| TIME: | 5:00 PM – 5:00 AM |
| Location Details: | |
| Rebellious music and performers of all sorts have been invited to the Freedom Sleepers Sidewalk Siesta in front of Santa Cruz City Hall at 809 Center St. | |
| Event Type: | Protest |
| Contact Name | Toby Nixon (posted by Norse) |
| Email Address | tobynixon [at] gms.com |
| Phone Number | 408-582-4152 |
| Address | |
| Tuesday night will be the 34th Community Sleep Out with a web page at http://www.facebook.com/ Second-hand accounts suggest lead Freedom Sleeper Troubleshooter Toby Nixon has invited numerous street musicians and performers to join the Sleep-Out. It begins Tuesday afternoon and runs through a modest coffee breakfast on Wednesday morning. Activists and participants are invited, as ever, to quaff a second (and third) cup of coffee at the Sub Rosa Cafe at 11 AM while discussing other actions fighting homeless discrimination in Santa Cruz. ACTIVISTS INVITED TO WEIGH IN ON PROPOSED LAW CHANGES AS WELL AS PLAN FUTURE STRATEGY A proposed revision of the Camping Ordinance, eliminating sleeping as a crime, but maintaining a ban against laying out bedding (i.e. covering up with blankets or in a bag), has aroused skepticism and controversy among activists. Councilmember Don Lane’s amendments are due to hit City Council on March 8th at the same time Freedom Sleepers celebrate their 35th week outside. Food Not Bombs activist Keith McHenry has promised to serve food at that event, braving a hostile City Council and city staff. HUff old-timer Robert Norse has arranged with Councilmember Norse interviewed Posner for Free Radio last Sunday. It’s archived at http://www.facebook.com/ Steve Pleich has written a defense of the proposed ordinance and general survey of surrounding activism at http://www.facebook.com/ ANTI-HOMELESS BIGOTRY RAGES UNABATED The City Council passed its own “no RV parking at night law without a permit” (and homeless folks are not permitted to get permits even if Santa Cruz is their long-term home) last fall. Please pass on reports of harassment and ticketing to HUFF at 423-4833. ELSEWHERE San Francisco homeless continue to resist bigotry-based sweeps on their only housing–tents and bags. See http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/ There is no indication that Vancouver, WA, in spite of heavy negative criticism from the Oregonian has stepped back from its decision to allow nighttime camping, given the shelter emergency. (see http://www.oregonlive.com/ |
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TO COMMENT OR VIEW COMMENTS, GO TO https://www.indybay.org/
Today’s Bathrobespierre’s Broadsides Show at 9:30 AM Features CURRENT Interviews with Keith McHenry, Pat Colby, Micah Posner and others. Tune In!
Food Not Bombs activist and local public space advocate Keith McHenry, Freedom Sleeper Mainstay Pat Colby, Medical Marijuana Tax Opponent Mike Boyd, Fresno homeless activist and author Mike Rhodes, Councilmember Micah Posner and a way-back trip to 1989 with interviews with “Backyard” Brian Staley, and “Slyshoes” Sandra Loranger in jail for serving soup at the Town Clock.
The show broadcasts at 101.3 FM, streams on the internet at freakradio.org at 9:30 AM today (Sunday February 28). It will archive at http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/
Flashback to 1999: Debate Over the Sleeping Ban Today’s Bathrobespierre’s Broadsides Show Will Look Back on Feb 11, 1999 Tune in at 6 PM Free Radio Today
In February 1999, the new “progressive” City Council had just dashed activist hopes and derailed protest with its 3 month-long Task Force to Examine the Camping Ordinance. Art and Revolution’s Police Officer Provides Satirical Relief; Janet Riley, Florida Legal Services in Ft. Lauderdale where the Pottinger decision made it legal to sleep reports on the success of Sleeping Ban elimination; Silva and Norse Chew Over the City Council’s Latest; Dr. Breser of Broward County, FL denies the “magnet effect”of restoring civil rights to those outside.
The show broadcasts at 101.3 FM, streams on the internet at freakradio.org. It will archive at http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb160225.mp3.
SleepOut #33 Keeping An Eye on Authority Bullying of Homeless Sleepers in Santa Cruz
| Title: | The Sidewalk is Their Beat: Freedom SleepOut #33 |
| START DATE: | Tuesday February 23 |
| TIME: | 5:00 PM – 5:00 AM |
| Location Details: | |
| Patrolling the grounds and sidewalks of City Hall in defense of the homeless, Freedom Sleepers maintain their night watch. They shine their weekly light on the nightly Sleeping Ban and Closed area laws which criminalize 1000-2000 homeless people in Santa Cruz. The event runs from 5 PM Tuesday to around 9 AM Wednesday. | |
| Event Type: | Protest |
| Contact Name | Toby Nixon (posted by Norse) |
| Email Address | tobynixon [at] gms.com |
| Phone Number | 408 582 4152 |
| Address | |
| FREEDOM SLEEPERS AS HOMELESS GUARDIANS Police have recently not cited Freedom Sleepers on the sidewalk in front of City Hall. They apparently prefer not to invite further federal and public scrutiny for the obvious human rights violation of denying the poor the right to sleep. Homeless folks without tents or other protective clothing prefer to shelter in the eaves of buildings. They are unconstitutionally rousted when they sleep in the hallways at City Hall. They are exposed to wind and rain when sleeping on the sidewalk along with the Freedom Sleepers. Consequently, far more homeless folks sleep in adjacent areas such as outside the library, the Civic Auditorium, and the Greek Orthodox Church–where they are confronted by First Alarm thugs and SCPD. Freedom Sleepers then respond to such abuses by protest and video–which is then posted on line. Better nighttime video equipment is needed as are greater numbers. IS REAL REFORM COMING UP AT CITY COUNCIL? Activists “Lighthouse” Linda Lemaster, chair of the City’s former Homeless Issues Task Force, and “Bathrobespierre” Robert Norse have pointed out that the Lane proposal currently retains the “Blanket Ban” which keeps laying out of bedding after 11 PM a crime. So only sleeping without blankets is permitted? Other Freedom Sleepers have pointed out that banning tents and protective “camping gear” lays the homeless open to rain and cold. “Push Back” Pat Colby, a faithful Freedom Sleeper food provider and HUFF leader, goes further and points out that police are using other laws to drive homeless refugees out of town such as the “Closed at Night” law and “no trespass” statutes. Retiring Parks and Recreation Department Czarina Dannettee Shoemaker has used the “Closed at Night” law to cite hundreds of homeless people in the last year with additional extra-judicial ‘Stay-Away” orders added at the whim of the citing officer. Chief Kevin Vogel’s police department has extensively used the “Closed at Night” law with its $198 fine against Freedom Sleepers for simply being at City Hall at night with their “Ban the Sleeping Ban” signs. NEW PARKS AND REC BOSS? Some HUFFsters have proposed daytime protest action outside the P & R office and/or shadowing P &R’s “homeless camp removal” squads with video. 24-HOUR BATHROOMS DUE TO BE FLUSHED? Public Works’ Records as to the specific “abuses” justifying shutting down the bathroom have not yet been made public, but it appears the primary cause for police calls has been folks using the bathroom as shelter. Given the fact that there’s less than 100 emergency shelter mats at the Armory and 1000-2000 homeless people, can you blame them? Meanwhile the City continues to lock down its City Council bathrooms at night, even though security guards prowl the area. The traditional “poo and pee” homeless-a-phobic rhetoric has apparently been toned down, but the reality is that without facilities, people will do their business where they must. ACTIVISTS STILL CALLING FOR FOOD, VIDEO, AND COMPANY Folks can also get together afterwards to discuss the night’s events as well as the next steps at the Sub Rosa café Wednesday 11 AM at 703 Pacific Ave. HISTORY AND DEEPER BACKGROUND OTHER RESOURCES This posting was created by Robert Norse and is his sole responsibility. |
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