Silverstein Homeless Ordinance Will Be Analyzed Before Feb. 25 Citywide Meeting On Camping

Bruce Silverstein’s proposed ordinance … to crack down on homeless persons and camping … is probably unconstitutional and cannot be voted on until city commissions and the city attorney examine it.

That was the essential decision of the Malibu city council meeting last night … a decision that did not go well with Silverstein or his ally … councilman Steve Uhring.

Silverstein has proposed an ordinance that he says complies with the Martin versus Boise case … which … boiled down … says that a city cannot criminalize homeless behavior unless it offers a shelter service.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney says the Boise decision means sheriff’s deputies cannot cite people for violating anti-camping ordinances.

Sheriff’s Lieutenant Jim Braden told the city last night ,… it is not Malibu’s doing … and that blaming the city because his agency cannot enforce the city anti-camping ordinance is wrong.

NEWSCART 73226 BRADEN DONT PUSH

“They keep pushing (this) back to the City of Malibu (as) said to not enforce this camping thing.

“When the Martin v. Boise decision came out … the County of Los Angeles … the District Attoney’s Office … is the one that refused to allow us … to cite people on this anymore.

“So let’s have that clear.

“Don’t push it back on the City.”

But Silverstein disagrees.

The district attorney … the sheriff’s attorney … the board of supervisors attorney … and the city attorney are all wrong … he says.

Silverstein says the sheriff is contractually-obligated to enforce the existing Malibu anti-camping ordinance.

His theory … our contract with the sheriff trumps constitutional law … as held by every prosecuting attorney who would enforce it.

And Silverstein has drafted his own legal argument and proposed argument … not yet analyzed by the city attorney … not yet reviewed by city commissions.

And not tested in court.

Silverstein is confident … he knows that his proposed ordinance would get around the Boise decision.

NEWSCART 73227 SILVERSTEIN SHERIFF

“You know … we pay a lot of money for law enforcement … I think it’s 8 million dollars a year … plus additional when we need additional

“We have contractual rights to have any law that we have on our books … which is constitutional … enforced.”

And the sheriff believes the Malibu ordinance is not constitutional.

So does the district attorney … the one who would have to try any arrest cases in court.

Again … Lieutenant Jim Braden …

• NEWSCART 73225 BRADEN CONST

“It’s a very complex issue … but we absolutely… I agree it’s not just a discussion … we have to have a plan to go into play.

“It has to be constitutional … so when I send a deputy out … that if a person doesn’t do what I say … that I have total legal standing to put my hands on that person.”

The city council handed Silverstein’s proposal to the city attorney and city manager … with instructions to analyze it and other options and come back for a special meeting on the issue in four weeks.

Steve Uhring repeatedly demanded to know exactly would be in the city report … that will be presented at the February meeting.

Even after the vote was taken.

Here’s Mayor Mikke Pierson … and Uhring … after the vote was taken.

NEWSCART 73229 BICKERING

PIERSON: “So we have a date … we have a plan … we have a homeless night (on the agenda) … we can just talk homelessness we don’t have any other city business …

UHRING: “Then me what you want to occur at that meeting, Mikke. That is the prior plan.”

PIERSON, FRUSTRATED: “Heh heh … Steve … you’ve asked it repeatedly.  I don’t know how to answer you any more.

UHRING, INTERRUPTING: “You … I mean … Are you requiring?”

PIERSON: “There is nothing agendized yet.

UHRING, INTERRUPTING: “I know … I know …”

PIERSON, CONTINUING: “So asking about an item that is not agendized is … is …

UHRING: “Well you gotta…. If you are going to have a meeting …”

PIERSON: “I’m not going to make up an agenda to satisfy your question.”

KAREN FARRER: “OK … we have agreed on a meeting date. Can we just move on please?”

PIERSON: “Yes we have … we have a meeting date … I think we are moving forward.”

UHRING: “You got nothing.”

That was Karen Farrer adding in.

Uhring would not give up.

Over and over again … he demanded to know what would be in the city’s report.

What type of ordinance??

Would parts of Silverstein’s proposed ordinance would be in it?

Here are Uhring … Pierson … and Karen Farrer.

NEWSCART 73228 SQUABBLING

UHRING: “Who is responsible for delivering that plan to us?”

PIERSON: “I am pretty surer that that has been answered Steve.”

FARRER: “We’ve already gone over that.”

UHRING: “Who? But who is it?

FARRER: “I consider this conversation combative.

UHRING, INTERRUPTING: “I am not … that’s not what you do.

FARRER, CONTINUING: “Let’s move on.”

UHRING: “No it isn’t combative. This is what you do … you … you … if you … if you are going to have a meeting … somebody … you make sure you know exactly what it is you’re trying to get done.

“That’s all I am trying to do.

“I don’t care who does it.”

PIERSON: “I don’t know what we are going to attempt to do …to do …

UHRING, INTERJECTION: “And that’s fine …”

PIERSON, CONTINUING: “But with conversations like this … getting things done has been kind of a challenge …. to be honest.

UHRING: “No Mikke .. what we are trying to do … isd that when we do this meeting [FADE OUT].”

And on and on …. for more than five minutes … same question from Uhring.

What exactly will be in the city’s plan?

And the same answer from Pierson … the city attorney and staff will analyze legal and operational options for the city.

It will all come back … for a special city council meeting devoted to nothing but this issue … on February 25th.

= =

The city council also acted on the Silverstein/Uhring proposal to radically change the way the city manager and city council operate with each other.

We will have full coverage of that major controversy … tomorrow … on the Saturday news.

One hint … it did not pass.