FREMONT — The Fremont City Council on Tuesday walked back a controversial provision in its new citywide camping ban, which many were concerned could criminalize residents for “aiding and abetting” homeless encampments.
The clause removed from the ordinance said anyone caught helping to build or construct homeless encampments could face a fine of up to $1,000 and six months in jail. In a 6-1 vote, the council eliminated that and another clause which prohibited residential homeowners from allowing camping on their land for more than three days.
Several homeless service providers and advocates have protested the camping ban, which is one of the strictest in the state, since it was approved on Feb. 11.
Fremont also passed a ban on RV parking in residential and commercial areas throughout the city in November, limiting parking on city streets to just 72 hours.
“I think it’s great that we’re doing this for people who help them, in terms of the criminalization piece,” Vice Mayor Desrie Campbell said at Tuesday’s meeting. “But how does it support the actual persons who are living in the encampments or who are unsheltered or who are maybe living in their vans and cars?
Campbell asked the council to consider lowering the penalties of the camping ban to simply an infraction, or a citation potentially carrying a smaller fine of $100, instead of a misdemeanor with jail time. But the rest of the council, except for Councilwoman Kathy Kimberlin, would not budge.
“Is our paper citation soft enough so they can use it as toilet paper?” Councilman Yang Shao asked Fremont Police Chief Sean Washington. He then withdrew his question.
Washington, addressing the council, said limiting enforcement to just an infraction “would have some limitations on our ability to follow up with mitigating the impact of that particular situation.”
“When we don’t get the cooperation, and we’ve assessed that there’s some sort of public safety issue, that’s when we will start to run out of options,” Washington said.
Campbell’s request was denied.
Councilman Raymond Liu, who was elected in November, said critics of the ban have been spreading an “absurd amount of misinformation, deliberate lies and outright untruths that are surrounding this ordinance.” In an earlier interview, Liu said that he didn’t believe it was actually possible for a city to ban homeless camping.
“Like it’s been said multiple times, the city does not and will not criminalize passing out food, water, medical supplies to people in need,” Liu said at Tuesday’s meeting. “The very idea that we’ll be criminalizing our very own outreach efforts, be criminalizing our very own employees is just an absurdity. And it doesn’t really stack up with the reality, nor is it accurate at all.”
On Tuesday, several unhoused residents and advocacy organizations, including the Fremont Homeless Union, the Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation and the Marin County Homeless Union have filed a federal lawsuit against the city challenging the ban.
There were 612 unsheltered people living in Fremont last year, with 62% liv ing in a vehicle or RV and 20% living in a tent or makeshift shelter, according to the Alameda County 2024 Point In Time Count, a homeless data census.
Mayor Raj Salwan, who first introduced the camping ban, told this news organization the changes to the ordinance were meant to “reassure our service providers and set the record straight.”
“We acted with urgency because a misperception remained that the ordinance would penalize our service providers, even though that was not the case,” Salwan said. He added that the city’s ban is “not unique and legally defensible,” and that it “aligns with state policies.”
Vivian Wan, CEO of Abode Services, Fremont’s main homeless service provider, accused city leaders of “gaslighting” the public.
“This idea that they needed to change it because we were confused was patronizing and just infuriating,” Wan said in an interview. “You have the power, you have the weapons, you’re not the victim here. You’re using people with guns to enforce it. This ordinance is really weaponizing the police. It’s literally putting people in jail for living outside.”
The camping ban is expected to go into effect March 13.
“It’s clear to me that the city of Fremont isn’t interested in solving a problem, they’re interested in using enforcement as a way to rid their city of homelessness,” Wan said. “But there’s nowhere for people to go.”
