CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - During Public Comments at the Sept. 25 Citrus Heights City Council meeting, several residents asked council to reconsider including cars in the nuisance camping ordinance.

The ordinance will restrict the use of vehicles being used for camping on private and public roadways and allows for enforcement by the Citrus Heights Police Department (CHPD). 

While councilmembers “believe the Citrus Heights Police Department would exercise discretion in their enforcement,” David Warren said, he worries that the discretion could be seen as “discrimination.”

Warren cautioned that unless the ordinance has “a set of parameters for the police department to apply that discretion, we’re setting the city up for some very significant issues.”

Margaret Cleek said, “I have serious issues with the notion of laws being enacted and the citizens told not to worry, ‘It’s just a tool for our police and will be used with discretion.’ This swings wide open a door to abuse. Perhaps our current police organization will not abuse it but this is no guarantee that changes in personnel and organizational culture will always make that true.”

Cleek said that people who have to sleep in their cars are likely in the midst of a crisis and it is a transitional period as they work to get back on their feet.

“This ordinance assures that what could have been a stepping-stone out of homelessness becomes a tripping stone to even worse circumstances,” Cleek said and urged the council to reconsider asking police to roust people out of their “last safe refuge.”

Alfred Sanchez reminded the council that people sleeping in their cars typically have jobs and are paying the registration and insurance on their cars. He asked that they think more about this issue before approving the ordinance.

Resident Al Fox spoke on another matter, urging support in the upcoming election for the San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD) Classroom Repair Measure (Measure P). If approved, Fox said, the funding would allow the district to complete much-needed improvements to safety and infrastructure at the local schools. Fox said there were 200 more students in Citrus Heights schools this year and Measure P “is our opportunity as a community to invest in the education of our future generations.”

Before approval of the Consent Calendar, Councilmember Tim Schaefer asked for Items 6 and 10 to be pulled for separate votes.

Item 6 was the second reading of the nuisance camping ordinance and, Schaefer said, “It’s not an easy decision.”

Schaefer said he hasn’t been able to figure out how to reasonably carve out an exception for cars.

“All of the other cities in the region have a very similar ordinance. If we have one that’s absent of that, we’re going to invite everybody who wants to sleep in their car to our city. … That’s untenable to me,” Schaefer said. “We can’t ignore the fact that when an officer interacts with a person who is living in their car, it’s an opportunity for them to take services…and that’s a very compassionate thing to do.”

Schaefer moved the item and it was unanimously approved. 

Item 10 was an authorization for additional work and a 46% increase to the construction budget for the city’s Bridge Maintenance Project for a new total of $1,087,345. Schaefer asked for a staff summary so the public would understand the requested change.

City engineer Leslie Blomquist explained that Caltrans (California Department of Transportation) performs statewide inspections of brides to ensure the safety and integrity of the structures. Citrus Heights owns and maintains 31 bridges, and in 2021, Caltrans issued a report prescribing required maintenance on some of those. Much of that maintenance work had to be done in the creeks, which required regulatory permits from state and federal agencies.

Those permits were acquired in 2023 and construction began this year in June. With the project now underway, additional debris was discovered at some of the bridge sitesand Caltrans recently delivered another report with maintenance required at another bridge in the city.

Blomquist explained that it is more effective in terms of both time and cost to add the extra work and additional bridge maintenance into the current project. Councilmember Schaefer moved the item and it was unanimously approved.

The council then considered a $685,062 contract for professional services with Dokken Engineering for the city’s Gateway Activation Project, which will implement multimodal and roadway improvements to increase accessibility, safety and operations along Old Auburn Road and Wachtel Way.

In addition to safety improvements of roadways and intersections, a major goal of the project is to work in collaboration with Sacramento County and the City of Roseville to connect Citrus Heights’ multi-use trail systems (Old Auburn Road Multi-Use Trail and the Arcade-Cripple Creek Trail) to others in the region.

The initial phases of this project, including preliminary engineering, public engagement and environmental documentation,will be included in the current contract with Dokken Engineering. There will be no fiscal impact on the current budget, because the cost will be covered by $700,000 in appropriated funding from the State General Fund, coordinated by Assemblymember Ken Cooley. Additional funding sources, including state and federal grants, will be identified for future project phases.

The council voted unanimously to approve the contract.

The next Citrus Heights City Council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 9 at Citrus Heights City Hall, 6360 Fountain Square Drive.