The Hemet city council earlier this month voted unanimously in support of an ordinance that would prohibit anyone from bringing an unhoused person into the city unless they had a confirmed bed at a shelter, were seeking medical care or attending a court hearing.
“Hemet is an older city in the county of Riverside, so there are a lot of government services located in the city that aren’t present in other more newly developed communities, making the city of Hemet uniquely susceptible to that type of unsanctioned government transport of individuals who are experiencing homelessness,” City Attorney Steven Graham said.
The ordinance was initially brought to the council in response to an incident this summer from the city of Santa Cruz, in which the city accused the Hanford Police Department of abandoning a disabled homeless woman in the city without warning.
“They dropped her off in the parking lot of the Salvation Army, which wasn’t open yet, and left her there,” Graham said.
According to the city, the woman had no family, friends or even a confirmation that shelter space was available, though the Hanford police department and the city of Hanford denied any misconduct, stating the woman requested to be taken to the city of Santa Cruz after researching shelters.
“So the city of Santa Cruz, after considering this, developed essentially the text of the ordinance that we have in front of you today,” Graham said. “The mayor requested that our office prepare an ordinance for Hemet as well.”
According to a staff report, the incident “highlights the ongoing issue of government agencies transporting individuals to other jurisdictions,” an issue Graham said he was specifically concerned about with the 2028 Summer Olympics set to take place in Los Angeles.
Stay up to date with the latest from The Record. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter today!
“In terms of city attorney conversations, a lot of us who represent Inland Empire communities are very concerned about the upcoming Olympics in Los Angeles,” he said. “Los Angeles is under an incredible amount of pressure to clean up the town and make it more presentable.”
Graham said ordinances like this could serve to encourage jurisdictions to do better by their unhoused communities by working to resolve the issue locally instead of relocating people into communities where they have no ties, connections or real access to services.
“I think you’ll see other jurisdictions in the county begin to adopt it, just like we did with other issues,” Graham said.
The ordinance was originally set to only apply to government agencies and those acting on behalf of government agencies, but the council decided to make it applicable to anyone, whether or not they were working on behalf of a government agency.
“If we’re going to do an ordinance for humanitarian reasons, which it really is, let’s make sure we get the wording right,” Councilmember Linda Krupa said.
Those who violate the ordinance can be charged with a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail if found guilty.
The council is set to approve the ordinance at Tuesday’s meeting. If approved, it will go into effect in 30 days. The full agenda for that meeting can be found here.
The Riverside Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet providing Riverside County with high-quality journalism free of charge. We’re able to do this because of the generous donations of supporters like you!
