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"...the CDC Guidelines before this Court are clear and specific: if there is no alternative housing available, leave the encampments to remain where they are because clearing encampments may increase the potential for infectious disease spread." (S.J. Federal Magistrate Susan Van Keulan)

On January 20th, Federal Magistrate Susan Van Keulan issued a ruling that allows homeless people to inhabit a public park near downtown Santa Cruz because "the length of the Covid-19 pandemic is unknown." In the past, City Manager Martin Bernal has repeatedly directed the police department to remove houseless people, forcibly when necessary, from areas where encampments have taken root. Both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Santa Cruz County Health Director recommend not moving large numbers of homeless people during a pandemic. Their opinions are backed presumably by good science, but City Manager Bernal, armed with master's degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs and a Stanford BA, presumes to know better. 

News Flash: It is hardly news that there is a housing crisis in Santa Cruz linked to a homeless crisis and located inside of a Covid-19 crisis. Yes, these three issues are related, and the Santa Cruz city bureaucracy led by Bernal seems to ignore the multiple calamities playing out not so harmoniously in his city. 

And I do mean his city. Bernal, like many city managers up and down the state of California, has been given extraordinary "executive" powers to go beyond the city council and dictate public policy. Until now. 

This city manager met his match in federal court on Jan. 20th. Even though he knows about the CDC recommendations, and he was alerted on Twitter by county health director, Gail Newel, both suggesting it’s unwise to move large numbers of campers during a pandemic for the sake of their own health and that of the greater community, Bernal moved forward anyway and ordered the forcible removal of campers in San Lorenzo Park. 

His "executive order" was promulgated on Dec. 17th and was to be carried out over a national holiday that is often depicted by a homeless family, a couple and their infant son, searching for shelter as they entered the city of Nazareth on a cold, clear night more than a millennium ago. 

On Dec. 28th, a confrontation occurred in San Lorenzo Park between police, campers, and community activists. Thank goodness cooler heads prevailed and the police stood down. 

On Dec. 30th, the Santa Cruz Homeless Union, partnering with Food Not Bombs, filed a petition for an emergency temporary restraining order (TRO), which was granted by US Magistrate Judge Susan Van Keulen. 

On Jan. 6th she heard arguments from assistant city attorney Cassie Bronson and Homeless Union counsel, Anthony Prince, and on Jan. 20th, she issued her decision. Because of Covid-19 concerns among a vulnerable population, the judge ruled that campers, currently numbering well over 100 and at one point near 200 (many having left fearing further police attacks) can stay in the park. 

The ruling represents a decisive victory for campers and homeless rights advocates. It is also a stunning blow to a politically tone deaf city bureaucracy. 

During the Jan. 6th court session (available on Zoom) what became most clear was the depth of the city's lack of sensitivity. Attorneys representing the city of Santa Cruz not only sought to evade science in their presentation to the court, they also showed themselves to be callous and disrespectful of a growing economically and housing-burdened population. Anyone watching the proceedings would likely squirm and might reconsider their own city residency. The judge certainly wasn't impressed. 

Most Santa Cruzans are simply not as heartless as was portrayed at the hearing by lawyers representing their city. Most residents I know want more resources channeled to assist those experiencing homelessness. They do not want them to be just moved around like cheap plastic chess pieces. 

Of course, in normal times, many might agree that San Lorenzo Park, the river levee, and the Hwy 1/9 intersection are not places where people should be camping. Not only are these spots not designed for it, camping interferes with other uses, notably recreation, sitting, strolling, jogging, or bird watching. 

But these are not normal times. Bernal is now in the role of the heartless banker, Mr. Potts, in the timeless movie, It's a Wonderful Life.  

What’s even more disheartening is the city manager's willingness to upend an encampment and put people at risk of getting Covid-19 in order to score political points with the likes of—Who? The anti-homeless and anti-progressive "Take Back Santa Cruz" organization? The Santa Cruz Police Department? The busy-body politically active trolls on Next Door? It feels a bit like a local TrumpLand where the city manager and city council blunder and must get beaten in court to do the right thing for the vulnerable. 

The city of Santa Cruz has yet to identify any available housing, so up to 500 people spend their nights in a patchwork of shelters while hundreds more are outside in tents. There has to be an alternative, but the Santa Cruz bureaucracy isn't offering any. 

The rains are bringing new evacuations. Forcing campers to simply move on is a recipe for disease spread and social unrest, and the judge saw it that way, too. Judge Van Keulen concluded: 

"The situation is fluid and the length of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown. However, the administration of vaccines is now underway. As the COVID-19 crisis recedes, the preliminary injunction will need to be revisited." 

The parties are due back in court on March 9th.