Escondido Passes New Public Camping Ban Ahead of U.S. Supreme Court Decision 

This post has been updated.

Escondido leaders approved a homeless camping ban Wednesday, becoming the latest San Diego County city to crack down on encampments. 

The new ordinance makes it illegal to camp on public property when shelter is available. This includes camping in streets, sidewalks, parks, open spaces and waterways. Public camping is also illegal if it poses a threat to any person, public safety or to vital government services. 

This will follow precedent set by a 2019 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case, Martin v. city of Boise, which only allows cities to enforce public camping bans when shelter is available. 

The Escondido council, though, approved exceptions to this rule. Regardless of shelter availability, the ordinance says public camping is illegal within 500 feet of schools and shelters, within transit hubs or trolley platforms and in parks and open space where the city manager finds health risks and posts signs. 

If police officers find an illegal encampment, they’re required to give a written 24-hour notice of clean up. Once that time has expired, officers and the public works department can clear the encampment and make the belongings available for their owners to retrieve at the city’s storage facilities. 

Violating the ordinance by maintaining an illegal encampment can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor with potential for fines and jail time, according to a city staff report. 

Escondido’s math problem: Escondido’s got more homeless residents than it has shelter beds. 

Escondido has the highest number of unsheltered homeless residents in North County with 401 people, according to this year’s point-in-time count. That’s a 32 percent year-over-year increase.  

But there are only two homeless shelters in Escondido, a 49-bed shelter called Haven House and a family shelter that can accommodate 12 families at a time. Both are run by Escondido-based homeless services nonprofit Interfaith Community Services. 

About that other big camping ban: Escondido’s ordinance is similar to a public camping ban the city of San Diego approved last year, but it’s still unclear how effective San Diego’s camping ban has been. 

In April, CalMatters reported that large-scale camps have become less visible and have even dramatically decreased in some parts of San Diego, but unsheltered people are popping up more near freeways and along the San Diego River. 

And San Diego saw a 4 percent spike in overall homelessness and a 6 percent increase in unsheltered homelessness, according to this year’s point-in-time count. 

Still waiting for a Supreme Court decision: The new ordinance could soon be modified, city staff said, after a decision comes on a U.S. Supreme Court case brought on by a small Oregon city called Grants Pass. 

In Grants Pass v. Johnson, the city asked the Supreme Court to allow the city to enforce tougher rules against homeless people camping on public property, up to and including arrests, fines and jail time. The city of San Diego showed support for the court to consider the case and provide more clarity on how much authority cities have to clear camps. 

A ruling in the case is expected sometime in the next few days, and Escondido leaders said they’re prepared to tweak their new public camping ban based on what the court decides. 

Why this matters: Escondido’s new public camping restrictions come just a few months after the City Council passed a sweeping new homelessness policy that indicates a significant shift in how the city will address homelessness moving forward.  

The new policy rejects Housing First and calls for a “public safety-first” approach to addressing the city’s growing homelessness crisis.  

Housing First is a federally-backed approach that considers providing a stable home the first step to helping people recover from life on the streets and drug and mental health crises they may have experienced there. 

Escondido’s “public-safety first” policy instead focuses on tougher consequences for criminal activity in the city’s homeless population. The policy also calls for the city to eventually open a city-run shelter that requires sobriety and prioritizes Escondido’s unhoused residents. It’s unclear how soon the city might open this shelter. 

The city’s new public camping ban was introduced by the city’s homelessness subcommittee, which includes Escondido Mayor Dane White and Councilmember Joe Garcia, the same subcommittee that drafted the homelessness policy. 

Councilmember Consuelo Martinez, the council’s only Democrat, was the only “no” vote on the camping ban and the homelessness policy. At Wednesday’s meeting, she said she wished the homelessness subcommittee had included the rest of the council in the drafting of the camping ordinance and sought input from local service providers. 

White said Martinez was given a week to look at the ordinance and offer amendments, which is the typical process for other governing bodies like SANDAG, he said. Garcia added that he constantly engages with the city’s homeless outreach team and Escondido’s homeless population. 

Greg Anglea, CEO of Interfaith Community Services, said Interfaith was not contacted to provide input on the new camping ordinance. However, the city’s relationship with Interfaith has been strained the past several months because the operating permits for two of Interfaith’ properties are under review by the city for alleged violations related to trash, loitering, increased calls for service and more.  

Also, back in August, Escondido leaders decided to stop contributing funds to Haven House, one of Interfaith’s shelters. 

Nonetheless, Anglea told Voice of San Diego that Interfaith doesn’t support camping bans and instead encourages Escondido leaders to work with the nonprofit to bolster resources to fund interventions that can get people out of encampments. 

“Interfaith Community Services generally opposes camping bans. There’s no data to show that camping bans reduce homelessness within specific communities,” Anglea said. “At the same time, we don’t support people living on the streets or in encampments. We support trauma-informed humane outreaches and interventions to get people out of those encampments and into safe, habitable places.” 

Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect that the permits for Interfaith Community Services’ two properties are under review for alleged violations. Interfaith does not believe there are violations and is working with the city to try to resolve concerns.