Malibu Declares Local Emergency Over Homeless Encampments

MALIBU, CA — The Malibu City Council voted on Monday to declare a local emergency and establish a program to reduce the perceived fire safety hazard posed by homeless encampments.

The move comes as one in a series of policy decisions made this month aimed at clearing homeless encampments from Malibu, following the lead of other places in Los Angeles County, including the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles and Calabasas.

Similar restrictions across Los Angeles County are facing public backlash for what advocates for the homeless call their effective criminalization of homelessness and dehumanizing treatment of people without housing.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported that 239 individuals experienced homelessness in Malibu as of January 2020.

The declaration will prohibit encampments in areas designated as very high fire hazard severity zones by Cal Fire, which includes most of the Malibu coast.

The emergency declaration is a response to the perceived fire threat of homeless encampments. Eleven of the city' s 53 fires were started this year at homeless encampments, according to Malibu public safety reports. The fire risk, the Council Agenda Report said, is also a threat to the unhoused individuals who may become trapped and not receive evacuation orders.

"Paramount is safety of the citizens. Woolsey proved to us we aren’t safe. It was a complete disaster at almost every level, and we’re just asking for it if we don’t stop what’s going on,” Malibu Homelessness Task Force member Bill Sampson said at the task force's first meeting Aug. 12.

The council also discussed amendments to the city's camping ordinance, which will be revised to follow the Supreme Court's Martin v. City of Boise decision, which disallowed punishment of homeless people for sleeping on public property if they don't have alternative housing options.

The updated Malibu camping ordinance will prohibit camping in any public areas or near residences and businesses, fire risk areas and undeveloped property. The council will need to consider what alternative accomodations will be offered to those found in violation, including transportation to housing providers, temporary shelter in the form of vouchers or access to a publicly owned campground, as suggested by the Council Agenda Report. Alternatively, the council can decide to check whether an individual has an adequate alternative before enforcing the ordinance.

The council took no action on the camping ordinance and will discuss it again at the next council meeting.

Cities that are clearing homeless individuals in the name of safety are entirely disingenuous, said Theo Henderson, founder and host of the podcast "We the Unhoused," who works to educate about and amplify the voices of people without housing. He included concerns about fire safety in that assessment.

If cities actually cared about people without housing, they would consult actual homeless people and enact more meaningful changes, such as creating affordable rent programs and enforcing a livable minimum wage, added Henderson, who himself experienced homelessness for eight years.

"Houslessness is all of our problem, and the way we deal with it is [reflective of] the way we are as a society," Henderson said.

Public Safety Manager Susan Dueñas said that the policy was drafted to ensure individuals without housing are not criminalized simply for not having housing and are given support and alternative options.

Background

On Aug. 9, the Malibu City Council voted unanimously to amend the city's nuisance code to allow for greater regulation of private property.

This decision came as the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution to make regulation of encampments in public areas easier as well, furthering Malibu's ongoing efforts to address the supposed fire risk posed by homeless encampments in the city.

The changes to the nuisance code will allow the city to hold private property owners responsible for any homeless encampments on their property, according to a City of Malibu news release.

The amendment is part of the city's ongoing effort to handle the growing unhoused population in Malibu. Malibu created a special Homelessness Task Force at its July 21 council meeting.

Furthering Malibu's efforts to clean up homeless encampments, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve a prohibition on homeless encampments in unincorporated county areas designated as very high fire hazard severity zones.

About 75 percent of the Santa Monica Mountains includes unincorporated county areas.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homeless Outreach Service Team assessed Malibu homeless encampments with Malibu's fire safety liaison Chris Brossard.

Dueñas said in the task force meeting Thursday that the city is currently working on signage to go up in those areas.

The city will also use funding from Measure H, which was granted by the County of Los Angeles in 2017 to deal with homelessness. The fund has $130,000 available to find alternative solutions for people who will be displaced as a result of efforts to remove encampments.