Page One

Yesterday, the UC Berkeley School of Law Policy Advocacy Clinic released a report entitled Does Sit-Lie Work: Will Berkeley’s “Measure S” Increase Economic Activity and Improve Services to Homeless People?. The answer, in brief, seems to be No: 

At the request of a local coalition of community groups and individuals opposed to Measure S, the clinic conducted an independent analysis to test whether Sit-Lie laws deliver on their promises. Law students reviewed data on economic activity and homeless services in more than a dozen state and national Sit-Lie jurisdictions. They surveyed community organizations, municipal human services and economic development agencies, business groups and police departments; and they consulted local stakeholders about implementation challenges and opportunities. The clinic team said they were unable to find evidence of the purported benefits of Sit-Lie ordinances…  

The report’s key findings include: 

 

• No evidence that retail sales have increased in California’s other Sit-Lie jurisdictions relative to their surrounding counties;
• No evidence that retail sales on Telegraph Avenue and downtown Berkeley have suffered relative to other commercial areas due to homeless people;
• No evidence that Sit-Lie ordinances have connected homeless people to social services in other cities;
• No evidence that Measure S will improve services to homeless people in Berkeley;
• Evidence that implementing, enforcing and defending Measure S against legal challenges will likely be costly to the City of Berkeley; and
• Evidence of better approaches to increase economic activity and improve services to homeless people in Berkeley.