CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council on Thursday night took the final step in approving a new ordinance meant to stop the practice of scavenging in residential and business waste containers, which city police say will give them a tool to address vagrancy.
During its second reading, the ordinance received the council’s unanimous approval, despite Vice Mayor Bruno Sabatier having voted against it at the March 9 meeting and again raising concerns about it Thursday night.
Police have indicated that they will embark on a public education campaign in enforcing the ordinance, and there are no plans to immediately begin to cite people. The ordinance carries the potential for a maximum $500 fine and up to six months in jail with repeated violations.
During a brief presentation on the ordinance, City Manager Greg Folsom said the city’s franchise waste hauler, Clearlake Waste Solutions, had brought to the city’s attention Public Resources Code Section 41950, which makes it illegal to scavenge from residential waste containers.
“But a local ordinance would be much stronger than that,” as it would go further than just residential violations, Folsom said.
Folsom noted that the recyclables that Clearlake Waste Solutions collects from the recycling containers put out by city residents helps pay for programs and keep costs down.
Those recyclables become the waste hauler’s property once the containers are put at the curbside, according to the city’s franchise agreement, said Folsom.
Sabatier said he had reached out to several of the cities who Folsom had previously reported also have anti-scavenging ordinances – including Atascadero, Davis, Sonoma and Foster City – to ask about the effectiveness of those measures in cleaning up communities.
He received only three emails back, with the majority reporting that police see it as a useful tool but they haven’t seen any increase in cleanliness or a decrease in scavenging.
Sabatier said he understood the need for another tool for police, but added that the data he had collected didn’t show that the ordinance will do what the city wants it to do.
At the Yuba College Lake County Campus where he works, Sabatier said he has encountered a woman who goes through the dumpsters. He said she’s neat in appearance, doesn’t leave a mess and has told him she collects recyclables to pay for clothing.
He said he wanted the ordinance to specifically allow people to leave out recyclables for people if they choose, explaining that he didn’t want to completely eliminate that option and stigmatize people.
A justification given by city leadership for the ordinance is that scavenging proceeds are used by some to purchase alcohol, leading to public intoxication issues. Sabatier said he was told at the city’s recycling center that they don’t allow the inebriated to recycle there.
“I think that we have a very struggling community. We’re trying to change it and I think we are turning that dial, but I want to make sure that those who are at the bottom don’t get squashed rather than uplifted,” Sabatier said.
Councilwoman Joyce Overton said she took a drive around the city on Thursday, which is trash collection day, and didn’t see issues with garbage having been strewn around by people scavenging. She said the ordinance will not stop people from using dumpsters for shooting up.
“What is this going to do, is what I want to know?” she asked, adding she didn’t want to put an unnecessary rule on the books.
Lt. Tim Celli, Clearlake Police’s acting police chief, said Public Resources Code Section 41950 is a civil violation that has no teeth for enforcement. He said police were seeking a tool to allow them to deal with vagrancy.
“We’re in no way suggesting this is going to be the one thing that cleans up our city. This is just another tool that allows us to do some enforcement activity. That’s all we’re looking for,” Celli said.
Councilman Phil Harris said he didn’t feel the ordinance eliminated someone’s ability to give recyclables away, but that it was specifically directed at scavenging and inappropriately gaining access to other people’s property.
“I see this as nothing but a positive step in the right direction,” Harris said.
During public comment, Chuck Leonard, a former city councilman, said it’s not appropriate for people to get into other people’s trash receptacles, and said the recyclables help the franchise waste hauler keep costs down.
“It’s theft,” he said of scavenging.
Neickol Cook of the group Citizens Caring For Clearlake, which cleans up illegal dump sites and helps people pay for dump fees, suggested putting padlocks on dumpsters.
Jenny Lynn Schell, owner of the Elegant Touch Salon in the Burns Valley Mall, said she’s tried padlocking dumpsters, but it doesn’t work, adding that people have set the lids on fire.
In one case, she saw a man throw an old whipped cream can that he’d rummaged out of the dumpsters up onto the roof, with the can going into the drains and causing the water to back up. As a result, four businesses in the center flooded. That led to $100,000 in repairs.
She brought pictures of trash scattered around the dumpsters to show council members. “Times are changing and sometimes our ordinances need to change,” she said, adding that she supported police having the ordinance as a tool.
Bruce McCracken of Clearlake Waste Solutions said people can still put out separate bags of recyclables by their homes to give away to people. Once the items are placed in recycling bins at the curb, they become the property of his company.
He agreed that there were problems with dumpsters being set on fire or dismantled in order for people to get into them. “It’s a problem and it’s not just Clearlake.”
The council also heard from Shelby Barron, who owns Yia Yia’s Coffee House in the Burns Valley Mall.
Barron said her ceiling had collapsed due to the backed up water on the shopping center’s roof. She recounted having issues with people rummaging in the dumpsters, one of whom attacked an employee at the shopping center.
“This is a danger,” she said of the scavenging issue.
Another community member giving testimony believed that the ordinance was being pointed specifically at the homeless.
When the council continued its deliberations, Overton said she wanted the city to communicate with businesses at the shopping center about cleaning up behind their stores so as not to attract problems.
During that discussion, in response to comments from the public and council members, Celli clarified that the ordinance had nothing to do with homeless. “This is a vagrancy issue.”
He added, “We’re not looking to arrest a bunch of people. We’re not looking to issue a bunch of citations.” Rather, police want the capability to tell vagrants to move on.
In response to Overton’s comments, he said he is in contact with businesses at the center a lot, and also has spoken with the property owner about ways to reduce vagrancy. He said he also spent time earlier that day with District Attorney Don Anderson, driving around the city to look at vagrancy issues and discuss solutions.
Sabatier asked for specific language to be placed in the ordinance to allow for leaving out recyclables, but his fellow council members felt the existing language was clear enough.
Councilman Nick Bennett moved to approve the ordinance’s second reading, with Mayor Russ Perdock calling for a roll call vote. The final result was a 5-0 vote, with Sabatier voting yes after a brief pause.
The new ordinance will go into effect in 30 days.
Schell told Lake County News after the meeting that she was happy that the ordinance passed, but didn’t have any specific expectations.
She added of the problems associated with scavenging, “It’s not just at the Burns Valley Mall. It’s everywhere throughout our city.”
In other business on Thursday, the council voted to confirm $12,500 in administrative penalties on several properties where public nuisances hadn’t been abated, approved a resolution to begin the process of refinancing certain outstanding tax allocation bonds and appointing the necessary consultant, and got the annual report from Clearlake Waste Solutions.
The council also presented a proclamation declaring April 2017 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and heard updates from Patty Bruder of North Coast Opportunities, Mike Dean of the Lake County Community Action Group and Jo Bennett of the Lake County Council of Church Women United Shoe Program.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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