HomeMy WebLinkAboutSB876_LtrToLiu_20160302Office of the City Council
990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo CA 93401-3249
805 781 7114
I Ji ,
March 2, 2016
The Honorable Senator Carol Liu
California State Senate
State Capitol, Room 5097
Sacramento, CA 95814
FAX: (916) 651-4925
RE: SB 876 (Liu) Enforcement of Local Ordinances
Notice of OPPOSITION
Dear Senator Liu:
On behalf of the City of San Luis Obispo, I regret to inform you of our opposition to Senate
Bill 876 (Liu).
This measure would preempt local authority to address important issues affecting public
health and safety in public spaces and on private property that is held open to the public,
including, but not limited to, plazas, parking lots, sidewalks, public transportation facilities,
public buildings, shopping centers and parks. We recognize that this measure is well
intentioned; however, local agencies must be allowed to continue protecting the health,
safety and welfare of their communities.
Removing local enforcement authority as you propose in SB 876 will do nothing to help end
the problem of chronic homelessness, and would actually undermine existing efforts to do
so. SB 876 contains no solutions for ending homelessness. In fact, the bill on page 3, line 16,
specifically states, "Passing this Act will not reduce homelessness." The amendments
offered in the bill still remove local authority and could in fact exacerbate the problem by
undermining the efforts of concerned communities like San Luis Obispo to direct those in
need to resources and services to assist with transitions to housing and health.
The key to getting people off of the streets is to provide more shelter. Cities and Counties
need resources: permanent housing beds and accompanying social services, such as mental
health treatment, medical resources, job training, addiction counseling, etc. Cities, Counties
and other local agencies need more funding and flexibility to provide these proven
programs.
In the City of San Luis Obispo, we strive to provide services through our shelters (Prado
Day Center, Maxine Lewis Memorial Homeless Shelter and the Women's Shelter),
community groups such as CAPSLO, HASLO, Transitions Mental Health, Peoples' Self -
Help Housing and the Food Bank, and partnerships with other local agencies to connect
those in need with mental health and housing support. Not the least of these efforts is
demonstrated by the work of our two -police -officer Community Action Team that works
collaboratively with patrol officers, investigators, the Neighborhood Outreach Manager,
City staff, social service providers, business groups, the courts and criminal justice staff, and
other governmental agencies to address the multifaceted, complex and individualized needs
of homeless members of our community.
In order to preserve the ability to address the issue of homelessness in the ways that are most
effective for our local community the City of San Luis Obispo must oppose SB 876.
Sincerely,
qwt'oawlot7c-
anHowell Marx
ayor
cc: San Luis Obispo City Council
State Senator Bill Monning, fax: (916) 445 - 8081
State Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian, fax: (916) 319-2135
Alison Dinmore, Consultant, Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing, fax:
916) 445-2209
Doug Yoakam, Housing Consultant, Senate Republican Caucus, fax: (916) 445-2209
Dave Mullinax, League of California Cities, dmullinax(a,cacities.ora
Meg Desmond, League of California Cities, mdesmond(d,cacities.org