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The federal judge in the civil rights lawsuit over the county’s removal of homeless tent encampments at the Santa Ana riverbed said during the latest court hearing Monday, Oct. 29, that settlement talks have gone “exceptionally well” with the county and several cities that have presented plans for homeless shelters in their communities.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter gave his most effusive praise to the city of Santa Ana for an expedited effort to open a temporary shelter that will house up to 200 homeless people living on the streets of Santa Ana.
Santa Ana stepping up
Judge Carter declined to give an exact date but said the opening of a 200-bed shelter to serve Santa Ana’s homeless population was “imminent.”
The shelter will be operated by longtime homeless services organization Mercy House. The location was not disclosed.
Carter urged the county and the other cities with representatives in court to follow Santa Ana’s example in putting together a project team of city staff that worked with Mercy House over a 28-day period to mitigate bureaucratic barriers in design and construction of the shelter.
The judge, who toured the shelter site three weeks ago and again early Monday morning, called the effort “a role model for the county, the state and maybe the nation” and encouraged other local officials to pay a visit.
Carter invited Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez, also the city’s mayor pro tem, to showcase a cellphone video played on courtroom monitors that showed some of the work being done to refurbish what appeared to be an industrial building with concrete floors being refinished.
Construction started Oct. 2 and was expected to be “substantially” completed this week.
Martinez said the shelter will include men’s and women’s dormitories, as well as a sleeping area for couples.
Pets will be accommodated. Restrooms, showers and other areas of the shelter will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Martinez added.
Later, in an interview during a court recess, Martinez said Mercy House is already engaged in hiring and training staff for the shelter.
Asked why the location was not being disclosed, Martinez said the city wants Mercy House to be able to proceed without any disruptions: “We realize there is always going to be an outcry, but we’re in an emergency.”
Other agreements underway
Lawyers for the county and plaintiffs in two consolidated lawsuits continued to hash out details of their own settlement proposal.
Once agreed on, the guidelines setting out a procedure that emphasizes outreach and engagement before taking any law enforcement action must be approved by the county Board of Supervisors.
The county also filed a document with the court listing the money it has committed — tens of millions of dollars — since 2017 toward building a system of care.
Carter commended that “good faith” effort and the work of several other settlement proposals whose status was briefly updated in court:
- The 13 cities in the north Orange County service planning area are joining the county in funding two shelters with a total of 100 to 200 beds.
- Costa Mesa expects to reach a settlement in less than a month that calls for a 12-bed crisis center and a 50-bed shelter to open by next summer.
- Anaheim is working with the Salvation Army on a 200-bed temporary site to be constructed using modular units; another 125-bed site will be developed on property to be made available by private businessman Bill Taormina.
- Tustin plans to open a 50-bed shelter that will be operated by Orange County Rescue Mission near its Village of Hope campus.
Only Tustin has revealed the site of any planned shelter — in an empty building at Valencia and Red Hill Avenues. The disclosure last week promptly riled up homeowners in the area and parents with children at nearby Heritage Elementary.
In regard to the north county cities’ proposal, First District Supervisor Andrew Do told the judge on Monday that he was concerned over language in the document about placing homeless people from the north service planning area in other areas of the county where beds might be more readily available or more acceptable to the client.
The judge encouraged closed-door talks to resolve that issue.
Carter also took note of the growing tensions over homeless people populating west Anaheim recreation areas, such as Maxwell and La Palma parks, during the day. Residents in that area may be ready to file their own lawsuit, Carter said.
Watching and waiting
One of the plaintiffs in the original lawsuit, homeless military veteran Larry Ford, came to court and met with attorneys behind closed doors.
Ford, 54, has returned to sleeping in a Huntington Beach park, blaming issues with the Veterans Administration in holding him up from getting benefits and assistance entitled to him for his eight years of service in the Army.
But Ford said if the settlement with the county provides outreach, assessment and appropriate placement to those who want it, he would consider that progress.
Ford believes smaller shelter sites with about 20 people each would work better, but, he said, “It has to start somewhere.”
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