Council Is Dark on Monday, But Grants Pass Discussion on the Horizon

The Pasadena City Council will not meet on Monday due to the observance of Labor Day.

The City Council will return on Sept. 9.

At that meeting, Councilmembers are expected to discuss the Grants Pass decision. The controversial Supreme Court ruling has lifted previous restrictions that prohibited municipalities from certain enforcement measures. Advocates argue the ruling provides necessary tools to maintain civic order and safeguard commercial and residential areas, while critics contend it criminalizes homelessness and could exacerbate social inequities.

The ruling has been briefly discussed, although not agendized, at several City Council meetings. Councilmembers can “briefly” discuss non-agendized items, but for a full discussion, the item must be placed on an agenda that is distributed and posted 72 hours before a regular meeting and 24 hours before a special meeting.

Mayor Victor Gordo has cautioned that the decision should not be abused and pointed to the need to address root causes like mental health and substance disorder but added that the City has “a responsibility to maintain a healthy community for people in general.”

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors reaffirmed the Board’s policy against criminalizing homelessness. According to that motion, County jails “will not be used to hold people arrested due to enforcement of anti-camping ordinances.”

But the stakes increased when Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order requiring state agencies to prioritize clearing encampments that pose safety risks in their jurisdictions. Newsom has also intimated that cities that do not act may not receive state funds.

“Pasadena has not changed its day-to-day approach to homelessness efforts as a result of either line of these decisions. It’s important to note that any prospective change would be implemented only if the City Council directs a change to local policy after it carefully considers both,” Derderian told Pasadena Now soon after Newsom’s executive order was announced. 

“The City of Pasadena continues to reinforce our steadfast commitment to assisting people experiencing homelessness. Our goal in Pasadena is to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring. Thanks to the support of our City Council and Congresswoman Judy Chu, we have been able to enhance the outreach and services we provide to those experiencing homelessness in Pasadena. Our two main teams in the community that are proactively providing services and responding to calls when needed are the PORT and HOPE teams.”

According to the latest homeless count, locally there are more than 500 homeless people in Pasadena on any given night. Local activists worry that the Grants Pass decision puts the homeless at risk. On any given night, about 500-600 people experience homelessness in Grants Pass. The city passed ordinances that prohibited ‘camping’ on public property, broadly defined to include using materials for bedding to maintain a temporary place to live. Violations could result in fines of up to $295 per offense and potential jail time for multiple offenses.

In 2018, Gloria Johnson, John Logan, and Debra Blake challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance, and a federal District court ruled in their favor, barring the city from enforcing the ordinances at certain times and under specific circumstances. 

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the District court’s decision in 2022. However, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed this ruling in June and held that the enforcement of laws regulating camping on public property does not constitute ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.

“Homelessness is complex,” said Justice Gorsuch in the court’s opinion. “Its causes are many. So may be the public policy responses required to address it. At bottom, the question this case presents is whether the Eighth Amendment grants federal judges primary responsibility for assessing those causes and devising those responses. It does not.”

But the minority decried the ruling and the impact they believe it would have on people. “Laws like the one at issue here punish people who don’t have access to shelter, amounting to cruel and unusual punishment,” wrote Sonja Sotomayor. Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined her dissent. “Sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime,” Sotomayor wrote. “For some people, sleeping outside is their only option.”