In a “first-of-its-kind” settlement announced on Monday, September 30, the city of San Bernardino agreed to a new policy that will prevent property damage to homeless people and provide reasonable housing for people with disabilities who do not have a home.

Additionally, according to the ACLU of Southern California Foundation, the city has agreed not to evict homeless people during encampment sweeps and cleanups unless there is an immediate threat to public health or safety, unless they offer emergency temporary housing, such as hotels.

“This agreement ensures that the rights of others will be protected in the future,” Lenka John, one of six plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against the city in August 2023, said in a statement Monday. “San Bernardino should meet the needs of our unhoused neighbors with housing and services that are voluntary, humane and dignified.”

The lawsuit alleged that the city ignored their constitutional rights, destroyed their personal property – including medicines, essential documents, medical equipment and tents – and left them in a dangerous situation when they were ordered to leave the city parks where they lived.

Plaintiff Noel Harner, who uses a wheelchair, alleged in the lawsuit that he was fired from Perris Hill Park and given a week’s voucher to stay at a motel, but received no assistance with moving or relocating his property. When the voucher expired, he found he had nowhere to go.

City spokesman Jeff Kraus said Monday that under the settlement, homeless people with disabilities will receive “enhanced levels of accommodations.”

“This agreement affirms that our laws protect vulnerable populations and underscores that cities must plan for and address the physical, medical and mental health needs of all residents,” said Brooke Weitzman, executive director of the Center for Aging and Law Disabled People of Santa, which, along with the ACLU and the Los Angeles law firm O’Melveny & Myers, represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

In a companion lawsuit filed in August 2023 against the city of Riverside and Police Chief Larry Gonzalez, Weitzman, on behalf of more than 100 class-action plaintiffs, accused the city of summary seizure and destruction of homeless property. This case is still pending in federal court.

Kraus called the settlement in the San Bernardino case, reached on Sept. 25, a “victory for the people of San Bernardino.” He said the city can now continue cleaning up parks and relocating homeless residents who are willing to accept the services and housing options the city provides them.

As part of the agreement to dismiss the lawsuit, San Bernardino will reinvest $600,000 in new city programs to combat homelessness. The court will also retain jurisdiction for three years to ensure enforcement of the agreement, including the implementation of the new policy.

The preliminary injunction was issued by U.S. District Court Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. in January, it banned the city from removing or relocating unhoused residents and their belongings pending further court review.

This has caused a sharp increase in the number of homeless people camping in city parks, the city says.

“The number of tents and people camping in our parks has skyrocketed since January,” Kraus said. “They knew there would be no consequences for camping there. They knew we weren’t allowed to clean the camp.”

He said the city would hold a news conference later this week.

“We are very pleased that this is over,” Kraus said. “Our park and open spaces are off-limits to our residents and their families. “Dismissing the lawsuit will allow residents and families to regain their parks.”

He said city staff and the homeless outreach team he works with at the Van Nuys-based nonprofit Hope the Mission will engage with homeless residents in the community, informing them about housing options and other services available to them. The city and its homeless services team can also temporarily store personal belongings of homeless people if this service is needed.

“We will offer temporary housing. If they refuse services, it doesn’t mean they can stay,” Kraus said. He said many, if not most, homeless people are denied housing and services because they come with too many conditions and rules.

“The bottom line is we have to have the infrastructure, whether it’s shelters or vouchers, and if they say no, it doesn’t mean they can stay in the park,” Kraus said.

He said it sometimes takes 40 to 50 interactions between a homeless outreach team and a homeless person before they develop enough trust to be willing to accept transitional housing and other services. “Anecdotally, that’s what a lot of (homeless) providers have told me,” Kraus said.

In a statement Monday, ACLU SoCal attorney Kath Rogers said: “All of our neighbors deserve a safe, durable and affordable home that meets their needs. The agreement recognizes that displacement is harmful, that people’s property cannot be destroyed, and that people must be treated with dignity, regardless of where they live.

Kraus couldn’t immediately say whether the supply of temporary housing and services for the city’s largest homeless population in the county will meet demand.

“When we start taking back our parks,” he said, “we’ll see how many of them accept the services and how many of them move on. This remains to be seen.”

Originally published: September 30, 2024 at 17:54