The Fresno City Council will decide Thursday whether to beef up trespassing ordinances as part of its renewed push to clear homeless people from encampments.

Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz said at a Tuesday morning news conference that the city doesn’t have a law on the books against trespassing on private commercial property.

A  proposed ordinance from councilmembers Garry Bredefeld, Mike Karbassi, and Tyler Maxwell would rectify that by classifying violations as misdemeanors.

The penalties? Up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

“Our goal was to create an ordinance in dealing with the homeless, particularly those who are not interested in help, but rather use public places to continue to use drugs, harass business owners, create unsafe and hazardous conditions in our city,” said Bredefeld.

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Fresno Has Not Had Trespassing Rules Before

Maxwell said complaints from business owners make up a majority of the calls his office receives. Without trespassing rules, Fresno police cannot do much besides ask people to leave, he said.

“I can’t even begin to tell you the number of phone calls my office gets alone from business owners who are desperately struggling to stay open but are having a hard time because of difficult individuals,” Maxwell said.

The new trespassing ordinance would also apply to people that property owners may recognize as ones looking to start fights.

Councilmembers say protecting small businesses helps preserve sales tax for Fresno’s general fund.

“If people don’t feel comfortable going to local businesses to shop and they’re going to go elsewhere and spend their money in other cities, that’s less for us to provide public safety,” Karbassi said.

If approved, the ordinance would go into effect 30 days after the ordinance’s second reading.

Fresno Approves Anti-Camping Ordinance

Councilmembers earlier this month approved an anti-camping ordinance allowing police to jail or fine people for staying in public places. Opponents said the law was vague, including all “sitting” in places such as parks. Homeless advocates also said it criminalizes being homeless.

Homeless shelters are often impacted by demand for housing.

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Councilmembers said they have approved hundreds of millions of dollars in homeless housing and resources.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development this month, however, told city officials that a denial of an affordable housing project near Bullard and Fresno avenues may violate Fresno’s own homeless plans.

Councilmembers stood by their housing plans on Tuesday.

“There’s plenty of help available in the city,” Bredefeld said. “We’ll do everything we can to assist those people, just like we’ve been doing for years,” Bredefeld said. “But there’s a subculture of homeless who want that toxic lifestyle, regardless of the help offered to them.”