Fresno took a step on Thursday toward penalizing people for trespassing on private business property.
The ordinance – which was introduced by Councilmembers Garry Bredefeld, Mike Karbassi and Tyler Maxwell – is designed to keep the homeless from negatively impacting Fresno’s business community.
The big picture: The ordinance received unanimous approval from the Fresno City Council on Thursday.
- With the ordinance officially introduced, it will return at the next meeting on Sep. 12 for a final vote, and if it passes it will take effect 31 days later.
Go deeper: The ordinance bans people from remaining at a business if they are asked to leave.
- Anyone who refuses would be subject to a misdemeanor and face up to a $1,000 fine and one year in jail.
- Fresno currently does not have any laws that prohibit people from trespassing on private business property.
- City Attorney Andrew Janz said earlier in the week that state laws have largely been ineffective in protecting businesses, with cases often getting dismissed in court.
- Janz said during Thursday’s council meeting that other cities across California have implemented similar ordinances, which have been successful.
- The City Attorney’s Office will handle the cases in-house since violators would be breaking municipal code.
What they’re saying: “This gives the opportunity for the property owner to notify the police to remove these folks who are creating this kind of mayhem,” Bredefeld said. “I want to be very clear that we want to continue to help people who are homeless. This council has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help, and we want to continue to help those who seriously want help.”
- Bredefeld added, “It’s our job and responsibility as elected officials of the City of Fresno to ensure our community is vibrant, healthy, safe. It’s also our job to ensure that the rights of private property owners who do business with the public are respected and protected. This ordinance will assist us in meeting those responsibilities.”
