San Clemente Dismissed From Homeless Lawsuit

SAN CLEMENTE, CA —Last week, Santa Ana filed a lawsuit aimed at three south county cities specifically for issues related to homelessness. On Friday, the City of Santa Ana recanted their claims, saying that they are taking the necessary steps to dismiss Dana Point, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano from that suit, according to the attorney representing the three cities.

In mid-January, Santa Ana sued the three towns, saying sending homeless people to Santa Ana for shelter and then are leaving them there when the temporary housing comes to a close. In the complaint, as reported by the OC Register, the City of Santa Ana alleged that they were being forced by the county and cities to provide shelter for an "unfair share" of homeless individuals.

In the spring of 2019, the Point in Time homeless survey counted almost 7,000 people experiencing homelessness in Orange County. The Point in Time survey was used to create a "snapshot" of what homelessness looks like in what the county has called "one of the most challenging public policy issues the County of Orange has ever faced," according to Supervisor Andrew Do of the Fifth District.

Though Santa Ana has pointed fingers at south county, Do suggests that the city has done little to take care of its homeless problem, right at city hall. Do has called the allegations "political grandstanding."

Dana Point's city Attorney, Patrick Munoz, demanded to be dismissed from the lawsuit, which he wrote was "harassment" and a "waste of taxpayer resources." A San Clemente spokesperson wrote that the suit "has no merit" and "would be dismissed." San Juan Capistrano had no comment.
According to counsel for the three towns, "the claims made in this case were legally and factually baseless."

Santa Ana's dismissal of those suits would avoid further unnecessary expenditure of taxpayer dollars and instead" allow the three South County cities to focus their limited resources on actual issues associated with homelessness," she wrote.

Dana Point, San Clemente, and San Juan Capistrano have all dedicated "significant funding" toward helping people experiencing homelessness, attorney Jessica Spaulding wrote. According to her statement, all three town remain committed to collaborating with the County of Orange, Orange County Sheriff's Department and non-profit service providers to identify "long-term and balanced solutions."