SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge on Wednesday refused to to extend an order that prevented the city of Sacramento from removing homeless encampments.
The injunction prohibiting sweeps of homeless encampments in the city due to extreme heat expired Aug. 31. The Sacramento Homeless Union sought to reinstate the order, arguing that excessive heat was expected to persist for several weeks. The group asked for the order to be extended through the third week of September.
The city, however, argued that the homeless union failed to meet essential criteria for maintaining the ban. It said the union wasn’t likely to succeed on the merits of their claims, that it wouldn’t suffer irreparable harm, as temperatures wouldn’t be excessive, and that the public interest wasn’t served by extending the injunction.
Additionally, the preliminary injunction restricting the city from sweeping the camps created an unequal system that treated the housed and unhoused differently, the city wrote.
In his decision, U.S. District Court Judge Troy Nunley wrote that another injunction stopping the city from clearing encampments would be too broad. He was also persuaded by the city's arguments that it had set up canopies or pop-ups over tents at Miller Park, a safe campground.
“Lastly, the Court is persuaded by the City’s arguments about the lack of sufficient evidence showing that excessive heat will persist through the remainder of September,” Nunley wrote. “The current weather forecast indicates temperatures will decrease considerably in the upcoming days.”
Thursday’s temperature is forecast to reach 93. Highs will drop to 83 by Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Anthony Prince, an attorney for the Sacramento Homeless Union, said in an email that while he was disappointed in the ruling, he also was grateful that the judge issued injunctions twice this year stopping the city from removing the encampments.
“Although it is true that we are seeing cooler temperatures as summer comes to an end, medical evidence submitted to the Court showed that even at temperatures in the mid to high eighties, vulnerable populations such as the unhoused are at an increased risk of harm,” Prince said.
The injunctions stem from a 2022 lawsuit the union filed against Sacramento, claiming the city and county endangered unhoused people during a 2021 heat wave when it moved them from shady areas.
In summer 2022, Nunley stopped the sweeps, and did so against on Aug. 3, 2023, for two weeks, extending the order through the month. The city's appeal of that extension to the Ninth Circuit remains pending.
The city told the Nunley that in early August it created an incident management team to ensure it is properly using all available resources to handle the homelessness crisis. Comprised of different departments, the team holds regular meetings about outreach, cleanup and compliance.
However, during the pause on the camp sweeps last month, there were six fires connected to the unhoused. One encampment, on Ninos Parkway, had been scheduled for removal, but the injunction prevented it. A fire at that encampment was near homes and electrical towers, the city said.
The city also argued that because the homeless union’s legal filing wasn’t a class action, It has standing for itself and its members, not every person experiencing homelessness.
Nunley agreed, writing that it’s improper at this point to grant what would essentially be class-wide relief.
Prince wrote that may lead the Sacramento Homeless Union to look toward certifying vulnerable, unhoused people as a class in its existing suit, as well as in future cases.
“The court recognizes this case raises difficult issues and encourages the parties to work towards a resolution of this matter,” Nunley wrote.
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How long has this been going on? May 3, 2024
