Grover Beach’s attempt to align with San Luis Obispo County’s five-year plan to reduce homelessness resulted in a new ordinance adoption and a bevy of upset residents.
“I’ve reviewed the draft and 200 feet will LEGALLY put the encampment even closer to our home,” resident Camille Trinkle wrote in a letter to the Grover Beach City Council. “My neighbors and I have been begging the city for help/support regarding the homeless activity around us for years. This ordinance is a total slap in the face to those of us that have waited for something, ANYTHING, to be done.”
Trinkle is referring to a draft ordinance that would set standards for time, place, and manner of camping by unhoused people on public property in the face of insufficient shelter space. On March 27, the City Council unanimously approved the ordinance, which will go into effect on April 27.
The proposed proximity of potential future campgrounds to residences sparked outcry in the form of public comment and letters like Trinkle’s. The original draft identified some spaces in the city that could be used for camping and vehicle habitation. Two of those spots included a vacant lot on South 4th Street and the El Camino Real open space—the latter is an area where encampments already exist. The ordinance also outlined three setback options of 200, 300, or 400 feet from the residential area near the El Camino Real open space.
Opting for the 400-foot setback as Trinkle and others wanted would shrink the open space area too much, possibly subjecting the city to federal litigation, according to Grover Beach Attorney David Hale at the City Council meeting. City Manager Matt Bronson told New Times that council members came up with another solution.
“The council did extend the setback from 200 to 250 feet in the El Camino Real open space area while keeping to the 200-foot setback on other city-owned public property,” Bronson said. “The council also amended the ordinance to establish a 200-foot setback from school property.”
He added that residents near the El Camino Real open space area have approached the city repeatedly over the years voicing concerns about public safety issues and environmental impacts caused by the homeless encampments. The area of concern spans public land in both Grover Beach and Pismo Beach and runs along adjacent private property. Trinkle’s letter begged Grover Beach’s City Council to “give us our homes back” and illustrated some of the troubles her family experienced by living near the encampments.
“My son has found used needles hidden in a tree; they’ve also been found in the gutter; there’s been drug bags that have have blown into my yard,” she wrote. “There’s also been many property thefts and a few attempted break-ins in this neighborhood as well.”
The ordinance was written and adopted to update an existing one from the 1980s that prohibited overnight parking. The old ordinance couldn’t be enforced because of the Martin v. City of Boise ruling in 2018 preventing cities from enforcing anti-camping ordinances if they don’t have adequate sheltering options.
Bronson prefaced City Council deliberations by highlighting Grover Beach’s other responses to homelessness, calling the local Cabins for Change program organized by the 5 Cities Homeless Coalition (5CHC) a “model for what we wish to see across the county.”
Janna Nichols, 5CHC’s executive director, told New Times that all 20 cabins are full, with 22 people participating. Three of them are anticipating housing in the next few weeks while 12 gained employment. There have been no community complaints, according to Nichols.
She added that Grover Beach hasn’t spoken with her about the new camping ordinance yet.
Bronson told New Times that the police department will conduct outreach to homeless individuals prior to the ordinance’s April 27 enforcement date “to make them aware of the requirements in the ordinance and post signage in the affected areas.”
City staff will study the ordinance’s impact over six months starting in April, after which they’ll present a report to City Council later this year or in early 2024.
“During this time, the city will also install fencing along Margarita Avenue and Charles Street and ‘no parking’ signs along North 4th Street to further restrict access into the El Camino Real open space area,” Bronson said. Δ
This article appears in Mar 30 – Apr 9, 2023.
God bless the Grover Beach council members and administrators as well as the Five Cities Homeless Coalition for making such bold moves toward helping the less fortunate in our community. Let this be an example and model that other communities will quickly enact throughout San Luis Obispo County.
I am a property owner in Grover Beach. Everytime programs try to help homeless by opening centers in churches or government buildings, the residents complain. Now allowing camping, the residents complain. Homelessness, unfortunately, is not going away. Instead of complaining, put your money where your mouth is and open up permanent solutions such as warming centers, temp housing etc. Oh, but that may be a bond that adds money to your taxes. Come on people Grover Beach is better than this. We need to take care of all people within our city. Open your hearts and pocket books and be part of the solution, not the problem.
Although I too offer thanks to 5 Cities Homeless Coalition for helping families and individuals that are seeking housing, I suggest that this article doesn’t offer a full picture of what the neighborhood issues look like – it is a far more dangerous, disruptive, fear inducing (especially for children), and theft-ridden area than many think – please research the actual facts. The face of homelessness is changing to include more gang-like folks that openly say they want to live in the ElCamino Real forested (zoned Open Space) area so that they can do whatever they want at no cost. As a neighborhood, we have requested comprehensive planning that addresses mentally illness, drug and alcohol addiction issues, criminal activity, as well as public health issues of human and pet waste and destruction issues to the Meadow Creek ecosystem.
Yet, thanks go to GB police as they answer our calls and work with the neighborhood groups!