U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who has been overseeing the suit filed on behalf of the homeless against the cities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Orange and the county of Orange, will give city officials until Sept. 7 to release their housing plans for a 60 percent majority of the county’s homeless.
Based on a 2017 estimate that found 2,584 unsheltered across the O.C., that means at least 1,550 people without homes must be provided with emergency and transitional housing by the county, and those options will need to come before Judge Carter within the next month.
The lawsuit was filed back in January after a Santa Ana River homeless encampment was closed. Since then, Orange County officials have struggled to secure new beds and shelters for the homeless while facing protests from residents.
We check in with a reporter and legal experts for the latest implications.
Guests:
Jill Replogle, KPCC Orange County reporter; she tweets
Carol Sobel, civil rights attorney, who is representing the Orange County homeless in court
Todd Wulffson, managing partner at Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger in Irvine, an employment and labor law firm with offices throughout California; he has served as legal counsel on behalf of several Southern California cities including Newport Beach, Anaheim, Irvine, Carson, and Palmdale