Atwater outlaws homeless camping

Homeless people sleeping or camping out in the city of Atwater are to be subject to fines and jail time after a vote this week from the City Council.

The city adopted the ordinance that governs sleeping, camping and the storage of personal property outdoors within the city limits with a 4-0 vote on Monday. Mayor Pro Tem Larry Bergman was absent.

The council agreed that something needed to be done about homeless people in Atwater, but some showed skepticism about the plans. The ordinance can punish violators with a $100 fine on the first offense, $250 on the second and $500 on the third.

Subsequent violations could result in a misdemeanor charge, including a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.

Councilman Joe Rivero questioned the logic of fining someone who has no home, few belongings and little money. “To a homeless person, $100 is going to be as much as $1,000,” he said. “I mean, where’s he going to come up with that?”

He added that putting a homeless person in jail also costs tax dollars.

There are roughly 85 homeless people in Atwater, according to the latest count by Merced County Continuum of Care, a number that has grown in recent years.

The city’s ordinance follows the outline set out by other California cities with such a law, said Tom Terpstra, the city attorney.

The fines are guidelines for the courts to follow. “What we’re setting are the ceilings, and not the floor,” he said.

Terpstra said the chances are “probably slim” that any homeless person would face jail time for breaking the ordinance.

Atwater has few services for the homeless. There are no shelters in the city of about 28,000.

Advocates for the homeless have argued that laws similar to Atwater’s ordinance criminalize homelessness. The National Coalition for the Homeless argues that convicting homeless people of crimes for camping does not help solve the issue.

The coalition says that cities without a shelter are violating the civil rights of a homeless person by arresting him or her. The coalition argues the arrests are cruel and unusual punishment, and violate a person’s right to travel freely.

Mayor Jim Price said “half of the problem” is that the homeless people in Atwater have nowhere to go, but the city needed to act. He said the city has received many complaints from business owners who said they’ve had to clean up after homeless people camping near their businesses.

“They’re only trying to make a living out there,” he said. “And when they’re having to go out there and clean human waste and dumpsters … It’s pretty lousy.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2015 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Atwater outlaws homeless camping."