City of Eureka Mayor Susan Seaman, Eureka*

R2

The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends the committee in RI evaluate the above ordinances and identify those for which the homeless have no options to avoid violating them. This action should be completed by December 16, 2019. (F2, F4, FS, F6)

R3

The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends for those ordinances identified in

R4

The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends Eureka City Council consider suspending enforcement of the ordinances identified in R2 until the review in R3 is completed. This action should be completed by March 16, 2020. (Fl, F5, F6, F8) The Council disagrees with this blanket recommendation. The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or reasonable. That said, following the A1artin v. Boise ruling, Eureka Police officers are provisionally no longer citing individuals for sleeping in public spaces under EMC 93.02 (camping prohibited) and EMC 93.03 (unlawful habitation in autos/trailers). This limited suspension of enforcement (it does not apply to private property for instance) may continue until such time as the City's ordinances and policies have been ensured to comply with this court decision and any subsequent binding case law rulings. Other associated crimes that officers may observe, however (such as public intoxication, open drug or alcohol use, disturbances, and littering etc.), are still being enforced as appropriate and necessary. Additionally, even before the Martin v. Boise decision, it has been EPD procedure that officers generally will not take enforcement action for prohibited camping in public spaces between 9:00 PM and 6:00 AM, absent extenuating circumstances. EPD patrol responses to this issue are largely complaint-driven. The larger concern is not the act of sleeping during the customary hours for this activity, but rather other more serious crime and disorder problems often directly associated with certain recalcitrant individuals and with established encampments. Our Eureka Police Department is increasingly looking beyond traditional enforcement to manage the homeless problem and find real solutions as evidenced by the efforts of our new Community Safety Enhancement Team (CSET), which started on July I, 2018 (Refer to RII for more details). The following reports for EMC violations in years 2017, 2018 and 2019 were obtained from the City Attorney's Office, which is responsible for filing and prosecuting these cases submitted by EPD: Humboldt County Grand Jury Response 2017 EMC VIOLATIONS Total EMCV IOiations EMCs 10 5133 collecting recvdables without a permit 93 51-41 litterine: 18 91-001 dogs at large 1 91-002 animals in vehicles 1 91-017 insanitary comfrtions 1 91-018 animals at far<n:a 32 91-066 registration required 2 92.10 unlawful handlin2'/purchase of butane 862 93.02 ilregal campingfcamping: in public 18 93_03 livinl! in vehide 35 97.02 smoking within 100' of Boardwalk 9 97.03 living in vehicle 94 130.01 open container 53 130.06 aggressive and intrusive solicitation 58 130.12 sitting/lying: on sidewalks in commercial district 3 130.13 obstruction of public movement 5 130.14 storage of personal property 14 130-30 unlawful posnsessio and abandonment of carts 1309 Infractions 753 Prosecutions 441 [Includes EMC violations that a.-e added to VOPs and E01s.] (N Rejections ot filed 115 TOTAL EMCV iolations 1309 NOTE: If more than one EMCv iolation is listed on dtation1 each EMCviofation is counted separately. Humboldt County Grand Jury Response 2018 EMC VIOLATIONS Total EMC Violations 6 51.33 collecting recyclables without a permit 34 51.41 littering 3 73.06 riding bicycles on sidewalks 25 91.001 dogs at large 1 91.017 insanitary conditions 1 91.018 animals at large 24 91.066 registration required 457 93.02 illegal camping/camping in public 8 93.03 living in vehicle 1 93.5 In park after closing 24 97.02 smoking within 100' of Boardwalk 3 97.03 living in vehicle 87 130.01 open container 10 130.06 aggressive and intrusive solicitation 6 130.12 sitting/lying on sidewalks in commercial district 23 130.14 storage of personal property 2 150.173 entering posted condemned building 715 Infractions 683 Prosecutions 4 [includes EMC violations that are added to VOPs and EOJs.] Rejections/Not Filed 28 TOTAL EMC Violations 715 NOTE: If more than one EMC violation is listed on citation, each EMC violation is counted separately. Humboldt County Grand Jury Response 01-01-2019 TO 06-30-2019 EMC VIOLATIONS Total EMC Violations 2 51.33 collecting recyclables without a permit 11 51.41 littering 16 91.001 dogs at large 1 91.002 animals in vehicle 1 91.017 insanitary conditions 1 91.018 animals at large 1 91.019 unnecessary noise 19 91.066 registration required 3 97.02 smoking within 100' of Boardwalk 88 130.01 open container 1 130.13 obstruction of movement on public ways 21 130.14 storage of personal property 165 Infractions 152 Prosecutions 0 [includes EMC violations that are added to VOPs and EOJs.] Rejections/Not filed 13 Total EMC Violations 165 NOTE: If more than one EMC violation is listed on citation, each EMC violation is counted separately. As one can see from this data, in 2017 a total of 1,309 EMC violations were referred. 753 of these were handled as infractions (essentially referred to traffic court for fines), 441 were prosecuted by the City Attorney, and 115 were rejected/not filed for various reasons. Of these 2017 EMC referrals, 862 were for camping and 18 for living in a vehicle (EMC 93.03). In 2018, a total of715 EMC violations were referred. 683 of these were handled as infractions, 4 were prosecuted, and 28 were rejected/not filed. Of these 2018 EMC referrals, 457 were for camping and 8 for living in a vehicle. This represents a 47% reduction in citations for EMC 93.02 (Camping) from 2017 to 2018. From 01/01/2019 to 06/30/2019 (first 6 months of 2019), a total of 165 EMC violations were referred. 152 of these were handled as infractions, 0 were prosecuted, and 13 were rejected/not filed. None of these citations received by the City Attorney's Office were for EMC 93.02 or 93.03. The total number of EMC violations referred by EPD decreased 45% between 2017 and 2018, and is projected to decrease approximately 54% between 2018 and 2019 ifthe EMC referral rate for the first half of this year continues through the end of the year. The three main casual factors behind this change in camping-related enforcement (citations and arrests) can be summarized as follows: Humboldt County Grand Jury Response 1. On December 19, 2017, the former City Attorney informed EPD she could no longer continue prosecuting EMC violations as misdemeanors (due to high workload and the lack of a Deputy City Attorney to assist her) and she would be charging everything as infractions starting immediately. This essentially reduced the effectiveness of the citations as a deterrent. One benefit of prosecuting EMC 's as misdemeanors is the ability of the City Attorney to often obtain "stay away" orders and other conditions of summary probation for habitual offenders. For example, a particularly noncompliant offender creating significant ongoing crime and disorder problems in Old Town could be prohibited (upon threat of arrest for probation violation) from entering or remaining in that defined area for a specified period. 2. The September 4, 2018 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Martin v. Boise was handed down. This federal court decision now affects laws in nine western states, including California. It creates new challenges for public agencies to prosecute people for sleeping or camping on public property in violation of local ordinances. The ruling also creates more questions and controversy than answers that may take years and subsequent case law decisions to clarify. The City of Boise has recently requested the U.S. Supreme court to grant hearing on the case. The Court held that a Boise, ID ordinance violated the Eighth Amendment to the extent that it imposed criminal sanctions against homeless persons for sleeping outdoors, on public property, when they had no alternative shelter access available. The Ninth Circuit essentially ruled that criminalizing the status of being "homeless,'' or criminalizing the "unavoidable consequences" of that status-such as sitting, lying or sleeping on sidewalks and other public grounds-may constitute cruel and unusual punishment. As a result, until Eureka's camping ordinances have been vetted and updated to ensure full compliance with Martin v. Boise, Eureka Police officers are provisionally no longer citing individuals for sleeping in public spaces under EMC 93.02 (camping prohibited) and EMC 93.03 (unlawful habitation in autos/trailers). This is a limited suspension of enforcement (citations and arrests) for those specific ordinances upon recommendation from legal counsel. EPD will continue to clean-up entrenched, illegal encampments in accordance with established law and policy (including the posting of removal notices and the temporary storage of belongings for safekeeping as required). 3. EPD and the City continue to look for new and alternative approaches to address the homeless problem in our jurisdiction. Collaborative programs like MIST, CSET, and UPLIFT Eureka are increasingly providing us with new tools and options beyond enforcement. While arrests are sometimes still necessary, outreach, communication, relationships, and direct linkage to services are key components to our homeless strategy. Humboldt County Grand Jury Response It is also important to note that EPD continues to proactively address and deter crime in Eureka. In 2018, EPD officers booked 3,475 suspects into the Humboldt County Jail. This is more than the next two closest agencies combined, or more than double the jail bookings of any other individual department (APD -1,413 and HCSO-1,547). Additionally, EPD officers issued 2,680 citations in 2018. (These arrest and citation statistics are not specific to the homeless.) Eureka Rescue Missiou -Men's Shelter The following information was provided to the Eureka Police Department by former ERM Men's Shelter Director, Dale Rhodes, on 08/12/2019: How many nights during 2018 and 2019 (Jan -July) was there at least one empty bed? • There was an available bed every night during this time period. How many times during 2018 and 2019 (Jan -July) did you turn anyone away due to no beds being available? • Zero. They always make space. This does not include when an individual is noncompliant with rules. How many times was the Overflow Emergency Shelter activated during 2018 and 2019 (Jan - July)? • Zero. Eureka Rescue Mission -Women's Shelter The following information was provided to the Eureka Police Department by ERM Women's Shelter Director, Kristen Freeman, on 08112/2019: Month I Year Highest Night Available Nights w/ Turned Away bed including for noncompliance to rules Aug2018 30 13 0 Sept 2018 42 4 0 Oct 2018 37 1 IO Nov2018 41 I 11 Dec 2018 47 0 0 Jan 2019 48 0 0 Feb 2019 44 1 13 Mar2019 42 5 0 Aor 2019 41 I 4 May2019 52 0 6 Jun 2019 42 2 0 Jul 2019 46 0 5 Humboldt County Grand Jury Response Freeman took over as the Women's Shelter Director in September 2018. She reported they are constantly in "overflow" status. However, Freeman informed EPD that during extreme weather conditions they did not tum anyone away. As of July 1, the Women's Shelter now has a New Life Discipleship program like the Men's Shelter. They are currently housing 9 families. A key takeaway here is that while additional shelter space, especially on the Women's/Family side of the Mission, is a need in our community, the mission offers a safe, legal place for the homeless to sleep that is still not being fully utilized by many of those in need. Additionally, through a cooperative agreement with Saint Vincent de Paul, their dining facility is available as an emergency overflow site, not only for emergency shelter during extreme weather but also when the Mission exceeds capacity. This overflow emergency shelter was not activated during 2018 - July 2019. According to Bryan Hall, Executive Director of the Eureka Rescue Mission, the current capacity for the Women's Shelter is about 54 and the Men's Shelter can safely take in 70 males. However, when the current renovation is completed they hope to have 35 bunks in their new dormitory with the ability to provide emergency overflow shelter for a total 140 men. While EPD understands the "3Ps" (pets, partners, and possessions) are limiting hurdles to utilizing the Mission for some who do not wish to downsize their belongings or separate from pets, this option nonetheless remains their choice, difficult as it may be. Those willfully opting for noncompliance over following the rules are also making a choice. As pointed out, the Mission does not generally accept dogs at present (largely due to liability concerns) and there is limited space for storage of personal belongings. However, the Mission has been willing to relax some rules for non-disruptive guests and there is no mandatory requirement to attend religious services in order to stay there. EPD agrees the addition oflower barrier shelter and day center options, including provisions for a property check-in center and pet kenneling, would advance efforts to outreach the homeless community and connect them to services. RS. The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends Humboldt County and the City of Eureka collaborate to provide storage sites for the homeless to use at strategic locations. This action should be completed by December 2, 2019. (F2, FS)

R6

The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends Humboldt County and the City of Eureka collaborate to provide additional public restrooms/porta potties throughout the community and to extend the hours for existing facilities. This action should be completed September 30, 2019. (FS, F8) We have five restroom facilities along our 6.3 miles of waterfront. Four of the five are open seven days a week from 8 am to 4 pm. Our Old Town restroom facility was open 24 hours a day. We recently changed that to 8 am to around 9 pm due to vandalism that was occurring late at night, which resulted in the facilities becoming unusable to the public. Prior to changing hours, the City tried various improvements to the area to deter issues (lighting, extra patrols, etc.) over a three to four month period and the situation did not improve. We also have restroom facilities at Sequoia Park and Hammond Park. Sequoia and Hammond Park restroom facilities are open from 8 am to 4 pm seven days a week. The Community Services Department has applied for and received grant funding for two new restroom facilities in the last two years, one at Hammond Park and one at the new Del Norte Park (aka. Shark Park). We also recently received a grant for a new restroom at Sequoia Park. So Sequoia Park will have two restroom facilities. The Department has two other grant applications pending for new restroom facilities at 20-30 Park and Highland Park. The Department is also working with local businesses and the Old Town Rotary on fundraising for a new restroom/concession facility at Carson Park. The restrooms at all of our other parks are out of ADA compliance and/or in disrepair so the public cannot use them. This is why we are actively seeking grant funding to have compliant restroom facilities at all of our parks. We keep the restrooms open during the hours of work for our field crew who maintain the facilities. Our experience with the 24 hours of operation of the Old Town restrooms demonstrates that having facilities unattended results in damage to the facilities and rendering them unusable by the public. We do not have the funding necessary to maintain and clean restroom facilities outside of regular working hours. Humboldt County Grand Jury Response

R7

The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends the City of Eureka work with Humboldt County for support to increase affordable housing development and rentals by December 2, 2019. (F3, F4, FS) This recommendation has already been implemented and will continue to be implemented. The City and County discuss this topic at every joint meeting (responses to F5, RS, and RI 0) and executives from both organizations regularly discuss this topic during individual communications. The two jurisdictions were in close collaboration throughout the development of their respective General Plans and Housing Elements.