Controversy continues over illegal camping ordinance revisions in Citrus Heights

By Sara Beth Williams–
The issue of whether to ban sleeping in vehicles throughout Citrus Heights again sparked public controversy during the Sept. 25 City Council meeting.

Preceding a standard second reading of the amended ordinance, several members of the public spoke out against making all vehicle camping illegal. Those commenting included local resident Margaret Cleek, homeless advocate Alfred Sanchez, and resident David Warren.

“It’s not an easy decision,” Councilmember Tim Schaefer said preceding a vote on the ordinance at the Wednesday night City Council meeting, adding that while he has compassion for people who are “down on their luck,” all other cities surrounding Citrus Heights have made vehicle-based camping illegal. “If we have [an ordinance] that’s absent of that, we’re going to invite everybody who wants to sleep in their car to our city,” Schaefer said.

Previously in August, the City Council heard and passed proposed ordinance amendments that further defined illegal camping and made vehicle-based camping unlawful, but “carved out” an exclusion for those sleeping in legally registered passenger vehicles. In a stark turn of events, the City Council two weeks ago voted to drop the exclusion for passenger vehicles and opted to pass an ordinance to make all vehicle-based camping illegal.

Referencing comments spoken by Citrus Heights Police at the previous council meeting promising that police officers would exercise discretion regarding whether to cite people who were sleeping in legally registered passenger vehicles, Warren and Cleek cautioned the council to consider that police discretion can also be perceived as discriminatory.

“Unless we have in the municipal code a set of parameters for the Police Department to apply that discretion, we’re setting the city up for some very significant issues,” Warren said during public comment.

At the prior Sept. 11 City Council meeting, councilmember Porsche Middleton and Mayor Jayna Karpinski-Costa said that they trust the police department to compassionately exercise discretion when it comes to citing persons who are sleeping in vehicles.

Schaefer said, “When an officer interacts with someone sleeping in their car, it’s an opportunity for them to offer services.”

The motion to approve ordinance amendments to make all vehicle camping illegal in Citrus Heights was moved by Schaefer and seconded by Vice Mayor MariJane Lopez-Taff. The motion passed unanimously.  Ordinances officially go into effect 30 days following the second reading and adoption of the ordinance by the City Council.