California Governor Gavin Newsom is intensifying his administration’s efforts to combat homelessness, calling on cities and counties across the state to “without delay” clear persistent encampments.
The directive comes alongside the announcement of a new model ordinance designed to provide local governments with a framework for addressing the highly visible signs of the state’s homelessness crisis, supported by $3.3 billion in voter-approved funding.
The governor’s new model ordinance, unveiled on Monday, aims to create a standardized approach for managing encampments.
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Key provisions include a ban on continuous camping in a single location and prohibiting encampments that obstruct public sidewalks. Crucially, the ordinance requires local officials to provide notice and offer shelter and services to individuals before any encampment is cleared.
Governor Newsom emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, “There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets.” He highlighted the state’s significant investment in addressing homelessness, noting that local leaders had requested both resources and legal clarity. “We delivered the largest state investment in history,” Newsom said. “They asked for legal clarity – the courts delivered.”
California faces the nation’s largest challenge with unsheltered individuals, with a 2023 count indicating over 180,000 people experiencing homelessness statewide, including an estimated 123,000 living outdoors.
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The visibility of encampments in areas like San Francisco’s Tenderloin district and Los Angeles’ Skid Row underscores the scale of the problem the state is attempting to address.
The governor’s office stated that its own approach has already resulted in the clearing of more than 16,000 encampments, describing the method as “effective and scalable.”
The newly introduced model ordinance is intended to help municipalities establish clear “rules around encampments and establish effective enforcement procedures that prioritize notice, shelter and services,” according to a statement from the governor’s office.
The $3.3 billion in voter-approved funds is designated to bolster housing initiatives and expand drug treatment programs, aiming to provide the necessary resources to connect individuals moved from encampments with stable housing and care.
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With the new model ordinance, funding, and recent legal backing, Governor Newsom declared, “Now, we’re giving them a model they can put to work immediately, with urgency and with humanity, to resolve encampments and connect people to shelter, housing, and care. The time for inaction is over. There are no more excuses.”
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