Officers make another sweep of Talbert Park

Greg Risling

TALBERT PARK -- Law enforcement agencies combed the dense thickets

of brush here Tuesday morning and found only five people -- a drastic

reduction from August -- camping illegally in the nature preserve park.

In a joint effort that includes the Costa Mesa and Newport Beach

police departments, officers visited the park early in the morning and

told the remaining transients who live in the area to pack their bags by

Thursday or face possible arrest.

While the ultimatum may sound like a heavy-handed approach employed by

the law enforcement agencies, officials said they have been patient and

professional when dealing with the homeless problem.

“Quite the contrary, we have been very patient in our approach in

dealing with the people who live out there,” said Costa Mesa Police Lt.

John FitzPatrick. “This has been a community effort from the beginning.

We have put a lot of money and resources into restoring Talbert Park back

into its natural, normal setting.”

There were upward of 70 people living in the park earlier this year.

Neighbors who lived in a complex of condominiums nearby complained about

noise and there were a series of crimes over the summer that prompted

response from authorities.

On Aug. 28, police conducted the first sweep of the park and found 14

camp sites. They also arrested two people on weapons and parole

violations.

Using a modified county ordinance that went into effect Friday, law

enforcement agencies can now cite or arrest people camping in county

parks illegally. Still, Tuesday’s response yielded only a few remaining

people, begging the question: where have they gone?

Jim Palmer, president of the Orange County Rescue Mission, an agency

that works with homeless people, said many of those who lived in Talbert

have taken advantage of resources such as counseling and medication.

Palmer said the coordinated effort has shown humanity without

callousness.

“To move them out of the park successfully without hardly any arrests

is a positive step,” he said. “I think it has been an incredibly fair

process that tried to meet human needs before public safety.

However, some of the transients have voiced strong opposition to the

plan. Bruce McDonald, who lived in the park, attended numerous City

Council meetings where he claimed it was his God-given right to camp

where he wanted.

Police did a background check of McDonald and discovered he was living

in the United States illegally. He was deported to his home country,

Canada, last week.

“He was disruptive enough to make council members fearful,” said Costa

Mesa Police Chief Dave Snowden. “He said things that made people sit up

and take notice. But he never said he would do anything.”

Police believe the remaining campers will pack their bags and move out

by Thursday. FitzPatrick estimates the city spent $3,000 in officers’

salary and resources in dealing with the issue. He knows the homeless

problem won’t go away but added the department will monitor the park

closely in the future.

“We will take a strict zero-tolerance approach in Talbert after

Thursday,” he said. “This was never designed to push the homeless into

another city’s backyard.

“We’ve tried to alleviate the problem here by offering the homeless

some solutions. I think we’ve accomplished the community’s goals with

limited law enforcement activity.”