Facts

Santa Ana is one of the lowest income cities in Orange County. In 2018, Santa Ana city staff and volunteers revealed that there were at least 1,030 unsheltered individuals within the city's borders. In 2019, the Orange County Continuum of Care Point-in-Time Count reported that there were 145 homeless persons in San Clemente, 32 in Dana Point and 62 in San Juan Capistrano, and of those, 96 people in San Clemente, and all of those in Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano were unsheltered. In response to the overwhelming numbers of unsheltered individuals within the county, Orange County operates the Armory Shelter Program and the Yale Navigation Center. Both shelters are located in Santa Ana. City of Santa Ana filed a complaint against County of Orange, City of Dana Point, City of San Clemente, and City of San Juan Capistrano for civil rights violations under the Eighth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that defendant San Clemente, joined by defendants Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano, decided to provide housing for their homeless population by utilizing the Santa Ana Armory, further increasing the population of homeless individuals in Santa Ana and polarizing efforts for a more collaborative approach. Plaintiff asserted that defendants Dana Point, San Clemente, and San Juan Capistrano have either opposed, refused, rejected, or shuttered homeless shelters and services in their jurisdictions, and instead chose to rely on the Santa Ana Armory to satisfy their obligations in these respects. Plaintiff claimed that Santa Ana has the densest concentration of homeless individuals in the County, and, despite state requirements for each city to provide housing for homeless individuals, defendants had made insubstantial profess or failed to do so entirely, instead unfairly shifting their obligations to plaintiff. Plaintiff alleged that, as a direct and proximate result of defendant's acts and omissions, plaintiff has been compelled to spend millions of dollars from its general fund budget to address health and safety concerns attributable to plaintiff's homeless population. Specifically, plaintiff contended that Santa Ana residents have faced homeless encampments, the possibility of a Hepatitis A outbreak, the threat of or actual physical and verbal assault, exposure to public defecation and public urination, carelessly discarded, uncapped, used hypodermic needles, aggressive panhandling, and excessive trash in the Civic Center and in parks and the public right-of-way. In sum, defendants' acts or omissions caused a deprivation of core services and quality of life by necessitating the expenditure of plaintiff's funds on services related to homelessness. Because residents of Santa Ana are entitled to these services, the deprivation of these services constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. Plaintiff also asserted that defendants' foregoing actions and omissions deprive plaintiff of its liberty interest without due process in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Plaintiff further alleged that defendants' actions and omissions result in a denial of the equal protection of the laws, as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, because Santa Ana disproportionately cares for the county's homeless population. Specifically, plaintiff contended that it has the highest Hispanic population in Orange County, and defendants almost exclusively rely on the homeless shelters and services established within the borders of Santa Ana instead of building or operating their own shelters within or among their own jurisdictions.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied all contentions.

Result

The City dismissed its lawsuit with prejudice after the County and City entered into a Memorandum of Understanding which addresses the ongoing delivery of services, including shelter, to people experiencing homelessness within the City's boundaries. Santa Ana will receive priority access to 125 beds in the county shelter on Yale Street in Santa Ana, which is called the Yale Navigation Center.

Other Information

All defendants other than the County of Orange were dismissed in the first amended complaint.