"We're going to make shelter offers whenever we can. But what we are also saying is we have to balance that with the needs of the surrounding community," said Council Member Rashi Kesarwani after the vote, per the Chronicle. "It's not safe and not reasonable to not address those immediate health and safety risks." Kesarwani emphasized that the new policy aims to integrate the need for public safety while addressing homelessness.
"This case is about whether the City of Berkeley, when acting as a landowner, must follow the same nuisance laws that any private landowner must follow, and whether it owes an obligation to its citizens to maintain its streets and other rights of way free of obstructions so that the public may access and use these public rights for which they pay taxes," attorneys for the businesses write in the complaint. This reflects a growing frustration among community members over public safety and accessibility.
Collection
[
|
...
]