Are the officials of this water district stupid or just mentally ill. They are going to fine homeless people for living on their property. Where will the homeless get the money to pay the fine? Do they really care—what is the district going to do, lock them up for not paying a fine?
“Homeless people are barred from living along regional waterways owned by Santa Clara County’s largest water agency — and could be charged with an infraction or misdemeanor and face up to $500 fines if they’re caught camping there.
The Valley Water board of directors voted 6-1 on Tuesday to enact the Water Resource Protection Zones Ordinance, which goes into effect Dec. 26 and aims to reduce waterway pollution by keeping homeless people from living on agency property. In addition, the board directed staff to write a letter to the county requesting cold weather shelters be expanded in upcoming months. Director Rebecca Eisenberg voted no and said it was a “false flag solution” that won’t help anyone.
Now you know why government has no respect or trust. Fine the homeless? How about charging rent to prisoners? If they do not pay they are forced to leave the jail?
Silicon Valley water district will fine people living on its property
by Joyce Chu, San Jose Spotlight, 11/26/24 https://sanjosespotlight.com/silicon-valley-water-district-can-fine-people-living-on-its-property/?utm_campaign=Daily%20Spotlight%20-%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_FaDoFbuItxA_RKNlaIfEBNcyO4rgjQKozQxosJEH6dJ2D5rPdL7JkomPruNk7VIqqmQstHfHADzEQQzt-NZjr_Uh486QCXAZIlG8fBFRopiAmKRU&_hsmi=335864048&utm_content=335864048&utm_source=hs_email
Homeless people are barred from living along regional waterways owned by Santa Clara County’s largest water agency — and could be charged with an infraction or misdemeanor and face up to $500 fines if they’re caught camping there.
The Valley Water board of directors voted 6-1 on Tuesday to enact the Water Resource Protection Zones Ordinance, which goes into effect Dec. 26 and aims to reduce waterway pollution by keeping homeless people from living on agency property. In addition, the board directed staff to write a letter to the county requesting cold weather shelters be expanded in upcoming months. Director Rebecca Eisenberg voted no and said it was a “false flag solution” that won’t help anyone.
Valley Water owns the land rights to roughly 333 miles of the more than 800 miles of waterways in Santa Clara County, and there are more than 700 people encamped along its property — a number that has risen since the pandemic.
The decision comes after the agency held a listening session to consider the input of homeless advocates and stakeholders. Following that, it hosted a summit featuring district staff, housing nonprofits and county officials to tackle humanitarian and environmental concerns related to homelessness.
Out of these meetings, Valley Water developed an implementation plan to guide staff with the policy: outreach and education first, then enforcement, which begins Jan. 2. Along the way, Valley Water will get stakeholder input and the board will assess the effectiveness of the policy.
“Our fisheries are very damaged, and we are having to spend a lot of money to fix the effects of negative things from the environment within our creeks,” Director Barbara Keegan said at the meeting. “We have a responsibility to protect our assets.”
Eighty-three miles of the creeks owned by Valley Water are dedicated to water supply. Over the last three years, Valley Water has spent $8 million cleaning homeless camps and $4.8 million relocating people living along Coyote Creek. In that period, workers removed nearly 6 million pounds of trash and debris. Some have also faced attacks from homeless people when they were out working.
“Our members have experienced ever increasing safety conditions, including aggressive dogs as well as verbal and physical threats and harassment,” employee Katie Muller said at the meeting. “These incidents create an environment where staff cannot fully focus on their work and puts both our employees and our mission at risk.”
Along with prohibiting encampments, the policy bans trash and pollutants related to encampments, activities that disturb people living nearby and activities that create potential harm for Valley Water employees or the public by those living in encampments.
Mark Bilski, assistant officer in the Valley Water maintenance division, said the penalty is more of a last resort measure.
“The intent of the ordinance is to not result in criminalization,” Bilski previously told San José Spotlight. “Valley Water is going to start with an educational approach. We really just want encampments to relocate.”
Homeless advocates say while the water agency may not intend to criminalize homeless people, the policy results in criminalization. They urged the board to delay enforcement to give more time for education and outreach. Others said the policy should not start until there are safe places for people to be relocated to.
“We need to delay this abatement. Don’t do it during the winter months,” Todd Langton, executive director of Agape Silicon Valley, said at the meeting. “Do it in the spring and summer. That is just simple common sense, and it’s humane.”
Bilski said Valley Water will begin with passing out information to people living along the waterways, informing them of the policy and giving them an opportunity to relocate before sweeping an area. If needed, Valley Water may bring in law enforcement to assist.
“Implementation (of sweeps) will be judicious and based on the availability of housing or shelter opportunities balanced by situational needs,” Valley Water spokesperson Matt Keller previously told San José Spotlight.
Valley Water workers are not responsible for relocating individuals. Rather, the agency contracts with service providers who will try to find them another place to live. However, with most shelters and temporary housing sites full, there will be no place to put the hundreds of people living on Valley Water’s land until San Jose’s safe sleeping sites materialize or more emergency interim housing is built
