Inaccessibility a lawsuit in the making

More than two years ago, this newspaper pointed out in an editorial that the city of Chico was inviting a lawsuit related to its Offenses Against Public Property Ordinance. We opined on the subject the same week that the City Council, on a 5-to-2 vote, expanded citywide that local law, which, among other things, prohibits camping, storage of personal items, and urination and defecation on public property (see “Shameful and dehumanizing,” March 3, 2016).

Thing is, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, government entities cannot lawfully criminalize behaviors required for basic survival without providing alternatives. Doing so violates Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment. In other words, the council’s policy made the city vulnerable to legal challenges based on civil rights violations.

It remains so today.

For starters, the city lacks 24/7 public toilets. Additionally, as we noted in March 2016, there aren’t enough shelter beds to accommodate Chico’s homeless population, which, these days, is estimated at about 1,100 individuals, including 433 people who live in our parks, riparian areas and other outdoor locales.

Fast-forward to September of last year. That’s when we wrote about a deadly outbreak of hepatitis A spreading through San Diego’s homeless population due to a lack of sanitation—20 people died as a result—and how the city of Chico should take note and immediately open overnight restrooms to mitigate a potential local outbreak (see “Inhumane threat to health, commerce,” Sept. 21, 2017). Should something similar happen locally, lawsuits will follow, and it will be easy see that city administrators, staff and elected officials were warned repeatedly of such a scenario.

The city’s move to temporarily open City Plaza’s restrooms overnight won’t cut it as a legal defense. First off, that effort took place prior to the outbreak. In addition, we’re far from convinced that the preparations were sufficient for a successful outcome—we’ve seen better vandalism-proofing at downtown watering holes. Most telling, perhaps, is that the City Council’s majority refuses to return to the subject to brainstorm a permanent solution despite calls to do so from their colleagues and the public over the past year.

Chico can come up with creative ways to address this issue, but we first have to move beyond this stalemate. Indeed, the inaction and deflection needs to end. It serves only to further expose the city to a public health crisis and litigation.