Brentwood-as cities throughout the area of the bay continue to find ways to classify the impacts of the lack of housing, the Brent Wood City Council unanimously approved amendments unanimously on Tuesday to local ordinances to better administer the camps in property properties of the city.
The Brentwood Municipal Code had already contained a prohibition letter in the camp. The Code declared that doing so on the property of the city was prohibited unless “youth organizations and their companions along with an exclusive permit” would request the use.
The city’s lawyer, Katherine Wisinski, said that said use permit for local youth organizations in recent times has not authorized.
According to the city, the code left gaps to address important details, such as what the camp constitutes and what happens with personal beliefs.
The city said that lighter rules were needed to address safety and health risks raised by makeshift camps.
The decisions of the lower courts had prevented governments from exercising anti -pampism ordinances against people who experience the lack of housing for sleeping in public properties if the beds hinder a notice in shelters. However, a historical ruling of the United States Supreme Court in 2024 declared that such anti -pamp ordinances do not violate the eighth amendment.
The proposition changes approved on Tuesday night expand further the definition of camping, describe how people’s personal assets will be handled and provide the amount of notices that people will obtain before belongings move.
According to updated city codes, it is forbidden to make or use fire in order to heat or cook or use any flame, grid, portable stove or similar cooking device in public property, except in parks of the city with barbecues or designated kitchen areas.
It is also included in the changes, before any personal property can be eliminated, police officers must give vacations to people not 48 hours. After the notice is notified, the city has the right to confiscate belongings for at least 30 days. If they are not claimed, they will be discarded.
Any belonging that is considered threats to the health or safety of the public can be discarded immediately, while the elements that may constitute as evidence of a crime or smuggling can be seized.
Wisinski said the amendments have three main objectives: clarify the definition of camping and associated activities, provide the community with a better understanding of the activities allowed in the city’s property and provide the unnoticed information that will be applied.
“No unique ordinance or law will be the answer (overcome the homeless people), but we hope you get another step to address these problems locally,” Wisinski said.
Lieutenant Christopher Peart, who has been a homeless link in Brentwood since 2014, said that when they contact an individual, they build a report with them to sacrifice resources and services to help the streets. However, he said he can take several attempts before people accept help.
He added that the coordinated reference commitment team of Costa Costa also provides assistance.
“We can use our resources to help and move people from certain areas, but they need to want the help to get out of the street, that is the common denominator in my experience with this situation,” Peart said.
The council member Jovita Mendoza asked when the new amendments will enter into force. Peart said that the Brentwood Police Department has been exercising a Criminal Code of California that prohibits illegal accommodation and camping.
“This (ordinance) describes everything we have been doing and commemorated in our municipal code, which allows us to evaluate the situations in a basic case and discover what route is the best,” Peart said.
Some residents last public comments at the Testday meeting said that they felt that changes in the city code impacted companies, while others felt that they criminalized survival and attacked vulnerable people.
Brentwood, with a population of approximately 65,000 residents, has not seen the same scale of homeless people compared to their other counterparts in the Bay area. In 2023, a time count in time showed that the city had 37 homeless. That number fell to 30 in 2024, the city said.
Meanwhile, neighboring cities saw an increase in the lack of housing. In 2024, Antioch reported 413 individuals without bone, Pittsburg had 110, and Oakley saw an increase of nine in 2023 to 35.
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