Homeless people in Anaheim could soon be banned from sleeping on sidewalks, selling bicycle parts in parks or even smoking near bus stops.

The sweeping changes were approved Tuesday by the Anaheim City Council with an initial unanimous vote.

“We are creating ordinances to further enhance our law enforcement toolbox to better serve our city, but it is also a comprehensive approach,” said Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava. “These orders, while some people may find them harsh, are truly necessary measures to keep our community safe. »

Last month, council members Rubalcava and Natalie Meeks asked city staff to examine how it could strengthen its laws governing the use of parks and rights-of-way after the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that bans anticamping were constitutional.

Anaheim first passed a camping ban in 2014, as tent encampments were springing up in the city’s public parks. The law prohibits people from setting up tents and storing personal property.

Strengthening the city’s enforcement power, a new law also aims to prohibit people from leaving their property or lying on sidewalks, bus stops or medians.

Citing an average of 255 bicycle thefts per year in Anaheim, another ordinance targets bicycle “cutting shops,” where bikes are dismantled and sold for parts in public parks.

To solidify these changes, Anaheim is considering updating its smoking ban to include public parks. Smoking cigarettes, cannabis and vape pens would also be prohibited within 25 feet of public bus stops and within 100 feet of any school or daycare.

“These proposed ordinances apply to all residents of the city,” said City Atty. Rob Fabela. “However, we recognize that they will likely impact those who are unhoused and use our public rights-of-way as living spaces. »

According to the latest homeless count, 1,417 unhoused people live in Anaheim, including 601 who are unsheltered.

In considering the changes, Anaheim joined several other Orange County cities that sought to strengthen their enforcement power after the Supreme Court decision.

Newport Beach recently banned the storage of public property on sidewalks and strengthened its anti-camping law to include people sleeping in their cars.

Longtime Anaheim resident and blogger Duane Roberts criticized Anaheim’s sidewalk bill as a potential affront to civil liberties and urged council members to discuss it.

He considered the exception for people sitting on the sidewalk “for the purpose of attending a lawfully organized parade or similar lawful or authorized event” to be too broad and vague.

“This ignores the fact that the 1st Amendment gives people the right to sit on a sidewalk if they are engaged in free speech activities,” Roberts said. “Someone could set up a movable chair and table on the sidewalk in front of City Hall and hand out political or religious literature.”

Anaheim Resort hoteliers have spoken out in favor of the changes.

“We need to get our bus stops back,” said Laura Watkins, general manager of the Best Western Plus hotel. “(The cleaners) are petrified to go to the bus stop in front of my property because of the item at the bus stop.”

Another hotelier echoed those concerns and said unhoused people in the resort area are increasingly coming from outside the county.

Council members found general agreement on the need for better law enforcement and highlighted the city’s efforts in recent years to provide services and shelter to unhoused people.

Last month, Anaheim became the third city in Orange County to partner with CalOptima’s street medicine program.

“We are moving forward ethically,” said Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken. “But we take that responsibility to our residents and to our communities to keep you safe.”

Anaheim police and code enforcement officers would have discretion to enforce the new laws with a misdemeanor citation or arrest. Shelter, shelter and diversion services should also be made available as an alternative after detention.

“It’s a balanced approach,” Anaheim Police Chief Rick Armendariz said. “We are still providing services. We always want to make sure people are connected to services. However, for those individuals who refuse, for those who continue to violate the law, we will enforce the law.

A second vote on the new ordinances is scheduled for October 29. If passed, the bans would take effect at the end of November.