Resolution No.
STOCKTON CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION PROCLAMING A LOCAL EMERGENCY ON HOMELESSNESS The California Emergency Services Act, Government Code sections 8550 et seq., authorize the proclamation of a local emergency when conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the territorial limits of a city exist; and Stockton Municipal Code Section 2.82 authorizes the City Manager, as the Director of Emergency Services, to proclaim the existence or threatened existence of a Local Emergency when the City is exposed to an actual or threatened existence of conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the City; and The City Manager, as the Director of Emergency Services of the City of Stockton, finds that a threat to public health and safety now exists in the City of Stockton due to the homelessness crisis in the City of Stockton, which has grown incrementally and exponentially, leading to deplorable living conditions, illness and death of unhoused and unsheltered persons within the City; and In August 2018, the City of Stockton declared a shelter crisis under Resolution 2018-08-21-1402-02, pursuant to Government Code Section 8698.2, recognizing that the health and safety of unsheltered persons in Stockton and San Joaquin was threatened, and declaration of such a crisis would allow the City to participate in funding opportunities such as the State of California’s Housing Emergency Aid Program (HEAP); and In August 2023, the City of Stockton declared a local emergency due to public health and safety concerns related to unhoused individuals under resolution 2023-08-03-0401, specifically addressing the instability and eminent closure of the Stockton Shelter for the Homeless; and The City of Stockton is located within the San Joaquin County Continuum of Care (SJCoC); and According to the San Joaquin Continuum of Care 2024 Point-in-Time Count final figures, there are 4,732 individuals experiencing homelessness in the County, of whom over half (2,451) were found to be living unsheltered within the City of Stockton; and Of those experiencing homelessness within the City of Stockton, that vast majority (82%) are living unsheltered in conditions not humane or fit for human habitation; and These figures represent an unchecked humanitarian crisis that must be addressed by every civic recourse available to address the real pain and suffering experienced by those experiencing homelessness, as well as to ameliorate and prevent the unintended consequences of people living without adequate sanitation and water, including the risk of infectious disease transmission; and The homeless crisis has strained the City’s public works resources, such that in 2023 the City expended $947,300 for the Public Works Department to complete 27 Large-Scale clean-up events and hauled 2,813 tons of trash and debris from areas tagged as “homeless encampments,” with estimated additional annual cost to support enhanced encampment clean-up related activities; and The Stockton Police Department maintains one full-time team of officers solely dedicated to addressing the City’s unsheltered population, at an annual cost of $1,370,000, in collaboration with public works, local homeless service providers, and other public safety partners; and The homelessness crisis has strained the City’s Fire Department resources, with a disproportionate number of medical and fire calls to address the crisis in our open spaces, streets, and other public spaces, needlessly exposing our first responders to an increase in infectious diseases from biohazards, and preventable fires; such that in 2023, 64% of all fires and 18% of all incidents involved an unsheltered person, totaling over 7,634 calls to the SFD involving unsheltered persons, including 1,819 for emergency medical services, 2,454 fires; and The City of Stockton has invested over $14 million to enhance and expand the number of shelter beds available to persons experiencing homelessness in Stockton; and Ongoing advocacy and partnership with neighboring jurisdictions has resulted in the creation of new shelters in the Cities of Lodi and Tacy, with a total of 790 single-adult shelter beds in operation by 2023, more than doubling the region’s capacity; and The City of Stockton has invested more than $8 million in matching funds to secure three competitive grant funded Homekey projects for the City, garnering nearly $33 additional dollars for the creation of 161 units of service enriched permanent housing for chronically homeless individuals, including veterans, youth, and women and children fleeing violence; and The City of Stockton has responded to the rapid increase in its homeless population with unprecedented investments into homeless solutions, including $2 million in general fund dollars to support shelter expansion, and more than $5 million in funds to develop a community mobile response team; and The City of Stockton has been awarded $30,757,174 million since 2020 from the State of California, Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) under the Housing, Homeless Assistance Program making available on average of $3,844,646.86 per year on permanent supportive housing, shelter expansion and operations, capacity building and services; and On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court reversed the ruling for Grants Pass v. Johnson and overturned Martin v. Boise, recognizing that policymakers need access to a variety of tools to address the complicated issues of housing and homelessness, thereby allowing cities to enforce camping regulations even when the homeless population exceeds the number of practically available shelter beds; and On July 25, 2024, Governor Newson issued Executive Order N-1-24, directing state officials to start removing homeless encampments across the State, in general compliance with Caltrans policy 1001-R1, and encouraged “local governments to adopts policies consistent with Caltrans, use all available resources […] to take action with the urgency this crisis demands to remove encampments from public spaces…”; and The City of Stockton held a public meeting, Camping Revisited, on August 27, 2024 to discuss the City’s Response to Supreme Court Decision & State Order, where staff proposed revisions to policy, implementation, enforcement, and diversion plans for the City Council’s consideration and feedback; and The benefits of this emergency declaration, coupled with past and future actions by the City of Stockton Council to address the homelessness crisis, will help ensure that this local emergency will be managed to the best of the City’s ability; and The City’s ability to mobilize local resources, coordinate interagency response, accelerate procurement of housing units, use mutual aid, and seek assistance and potential reimbursement by the State and Federal governments will be critical to successfully responding to this homelessness crisis; and BE IS RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF STOCKTON, AS FOLLOWS:
THE CITY MANAGER, AS THE DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY SERVICES, HAS PROCLAIMED that a Local Emergency on Homelessness exists in the City of Stockton; and During the existence of said Local Emergency, the City Manager is authorized to follow recommendations from State, Federal, and Local authorities, including but not limited to, the San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services, the California Office of Emergency Services, FEMA, and other such organizations; and The monetary limit on City Manager contracting and purchasing authority set out in Stockton Municipal Code section 3.68.040 is suspended in order in order to allow the City Manager the ability of effectively and efficiently continue the response to public health and safety concerns and City operations during the pendency of this local emergency; and The City Manager shall direct the services and staff of the emergency organization of the City, as well as direct the City’s cooperation in all dealings with public and private agencies dealing with matters pertaining to this emergency; and The following items are expressly intended to support and enable staff to take the necessary actions that will address aspects of the emergency.
Collaborate with County and State Agencies including, but not limited to, SJ Cares and Behavioral Health to maximize effective solutions including applying for grants such as Prop 1, strategically support housing projects, address homeless encampments at shared borders by providing shelter and supportive services.
Collaborate with Community Based service providers to strategically contract subject matter expertise and enhance staff augmentation for Economic Development Department, Public Works, Community Services, other related areas of need that not yet be identified; and Appropriate $1,265,000 from General Fund Contingency to the Public Works Department to support one-time expenses related to expanding services and staffing, supporting our waste haulers, and conduct additional clean ups. Ongoing additional costs would be included in the next budget cycle; and Appropriate from General Fund Contingency $460,000 to the Police Department for the Take Back Our Parks campaign to implement a second, reprogrammed, encampment enforcement team, cover overtime, two patrol trucks, storage solutions for unhoused individuals’ property and increased animal shelter related costs. Ongoing additional costs would be included in the next budget cycle; and Appropriate from he General Fund Contingency $157,000 to the Economic Development Department operating budget to one additional full time program manager dedicated to coordinating City activities and projects related to the implementation of this resolution in conjunction with the Regional Homeless Action Plan; and Create, implement, and administer Safe Sleeping permits to qualified applicants. Safe Sleeping permits would allow for private property owners, such as a church or nonprofit, to provide services and temporary accommodations for vehicles to be parked overnight in existing parking lots; and Continue pursuit of a qualified Safe Parking and Camping Service provider and location; Continuation of public communication and messaging to educate and engage the public about homelessness and the City’s efforts to address homelessness, and engage the unhoused population in the dialogue about the City’s efforts to address homelessness; Securing of funding resources from HCD to increase service levels, interim shelter beds and permanent supportive housing; and This Emergency Declaration shall incorporate the two previously enacted and related declarations and shall continue until cancelled by Director of Emergency Services and ratified by the City Council.
The City Manager, as Director of Emergency Services, is authorized and directed to take whatever actions are necessary and appropriate to carry out the purpose and intent of this Resolution and Proclamation.
PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED November 19, 2024 .
KEVIN J LINCOLN II
Mayor of the City of Stockton
ATTEST:
KATHERINE ROLAND, CMC, CPMC
City Clerk
City of Stockton
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