The San Jose City Council in Northern California voted June 10 to render homeless individuals, who refuse three offers of shelter, in violation of trespassing laws and able to be arrested.
The council members voted 9–2 in favor of amending the city’s encampment code of conduct with a “responsibility to shelter” provision.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a Democrat, introduced the proposal, which is among the stricter anti-encampment laws introduced since the Supreme Court in 2023 made it simpler for cities to ban homeless people from camping on public property. Mahan said that, if the city has enough shelter and interim housing, homeless people should be required to move into them.
Vice Mayor Pam Foley said getting people housed is the first step to getting them the help they need.
“We cannot expect to adequately treat mental illness, addiction, or unemployment effectively if someone is living outdoors,” Foley said during the City Council meeting. “Stable shelter, whether through interim housing, safe parking, or safe sleeping sites, not only connects people with critical services and job training, but ultimately paves the way toward permanent housing.”
Foley said the updated Code of Conduct demonstrates that San Jose is dedicated to reducing homelessness and restoring access to public spaces.
“When shelter becomes available, choosing not to fill those spaces only sets us back,” she said. “We must ensure that every opportunity to move people indoors is used to its fullest potential for both their sake and for the broader San Jose community’s well being.”
The city will not make arrests merely for refusing shelter, but, rather, for trespassing. The goal of the code of conduct revision is to enhance engagement with the homeless community.
Councilmember Peter Ortiz, who voted “no” on the proposal, fears the code of conduct revision could lead to a situation where the city has de facto criminalized homelessness, pointing out that the policy says somebody who simply declines shelter could be arrested. He noted that there are many reasons one may deny shelter, including unsafe shelter conditions or incompatibility.
“I think that by including arrest language in this policy, there could be unintended consequences,” he said at the city council meeting.
Councilmember Pamela Campos, who also voted no on the provision, said that the problem of homelessness has been oversimplified.
“In speaking with those who serve unhoused individuals at encampments, I have learned that it takes time and intention to build relationships and trust, to eventually persuade a person to accept shelter,” she said.
When Mahan introduced the “Responsibility to Shelter” initiative, he said that the homeless are also responsible for coming indoors.
“Responsibility is a two-way street,” Mahan said when he made the proposal in March of this year. “We’re holding ourselves responsible for doubling our supply of safe, dignified places for people to go—it’s time we held our homeless neighbors responsible for coming indoors. Because in San Jose, homelessness should never be a choice.”
San Jose’s 2023 homeless count found 9,903 people living on the streets, including 365 families, 764 minors, and 508 individuals. The count also found that 24 percent of the homeless individuals lost their jobs ahead of landing on the streets, 11 percent cited drug and alcohol use as the primary reason they ended up unhoused, 9 percent cited a divorce or breakup, 8 percent cited an eviction, and 8 percent were fleeing domestic violence.
Thirty-three percent owned or rented a residence before becoming homeless, 31 percent reported psychiatric or emotional conditions, and 29 percent reported suffering post-traumatic stress disorder.
At the state level, California Gov. Gavin Newsom requested in May that cities ban encampments.
“There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets,” Newsom said. “Local leaders asked for resources—we delivered the largest state investment in history. They asked for legal clarity—the courts delivered. Now, we’re giving them a model they can put to work immediately, with urgency and with humanity, to resolve encampments and connect people to shelter, housing, and care. The time for inaction is over. There are no more excuses.”
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie introduced in March the “Breaking the Cycle” initiative to change the city’s homelessness strategy. He also placed 2-hour parking restrictions on recreational vehicles (RVs) and oversized vehicles, in an attempt to stop people from living in them.
