The county will begin enforcing public access hours on a 10-mile stretch of the Santa Ana River Trail from Fountain Valley to Anaheim, starting Friday, Nov. 3, and plans to permanently close part of that area, dislocating at least 100 homeless people living in tent encampments on the trail near Centennial Regional Park.

Violators will be issued citations under the plan that calls for permanently closing the west side of the channel where the bike trail traverses from Adams Avenue in Huntington Beach to 17th Street in Santa Ana, on Nov. 10. Use of the trail on both sides of the river from Adams to Imperial Highway will be restricted to public operating hours, basically during daylight.

Later this year, the county will begin installing reinforced gates along the targeted area at all the public entrances, which will be locked during off hours, said Carrie Braun, the public information officer for Orange County.

Homeless encampments line the west side of the Santa Ana River south of Edinger Avenue in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Homeless encampments line the west side of the Santa Ana River south of Edinger Avenue in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Homeless encampments line the west side of the Santa Ana River south of Edinger Avenue in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Homeless encampments line the west side of the Santa Ana River south of Edinger Avenue in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Homeless encampments line the west side of the Santa Ana River south of Edinger Avenue in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)



Larry Ford stands near his tent along the west side of the Santa Ana River south of Edinger Avenue in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Raymond Mills assembles a tent for a friend on the west side of the Santa Ana River south of Edinger Avenue in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

James Petkus makes lunch at his encampment along the west side of the Santa Ana River south of Edinger Avenue in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Homeless encampments line the west side of the Santa Ana River south of Edinger Avenue in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Homeless encampments line the west side of the Santa Ana River south of Edinger Avenue in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)



Lisa Weber uses a solar panel to charge a cell phone at her tent along the west side of the Santa Ana River south of Edinger Avenue in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Raymond Mills pauses while assembling a tent for a friend on the west side of the Santa Ana River south of Edinger Avenue in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A sign in the underside of the Harbor Boulevard bridge over the Santa Ana River warns against camping in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Homeless encampments line the west side of the Santa Ana River south of Edinger Avenue in Unincorporated Orange County, California, on Monday, October 30, 2017. The county will start limiting public access on the west side of the river between 17th Street and Adams Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The bike trail from Adams to Imperial will be closed to public access going forward from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. Nov. 1 through Feb. 28 and then from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. when the weather begins to warm up March 1 to Oct. 31.

The enforcement crackdown will not be imposed on the river trail in the area of Angel Stadium in Anaheim, where a court injunction is in effect from roughly Chapman Avenue to the railroad tracks near Ball Road. The county recently stepped up law enforcement patrols in that area and earlier this year hired the nonprofit City Net to do outreach among about 400 homeless people living in the shadow of the Big A sign, part of a long-term plan to move people out of the riverbed area.

Several of the homeless people living in tents and makeshift dwellings that stretch between Edinger Avenue and Harbor Boulevard in Fountain Valley said Monday that they have not been given any official notice to move. But rumors flew up and down the trail.

Larry Ford, who flies a “Don’t Tread on Me” banner on one side of his tent, said he will not go quietly and planned to contact the American Civil Liberties Union.

“We have the right to be here,” said Ford, 53, contending that the bike trail and the river bed are public land where citizens like him and his girlfriend, Lisa Weber, 57, can stay if they want. The couple has been living on the trail near Centennial Park for nearly three months and has been at different spots further south since March, they said.

“It comes down to a Constitutional thing, a human rights thing,” Ford said.

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11,000 sign petition to clear homeless from Santa Ana River Trail; state of emergency considered The county cites a variety of reasons for the new bike trail enforcement, including public safety issues, health and sanitation concerns, and maintenance work that has been deferred because of the presence of the homeless population. The county plans to install more signs to alert the public to the hours when the bike trail is open; existing no trespassing or loitering signs largely go ignored.

Locking the gates to the river trail also will impact its use by recreational bicyclists and others. Braun said the county’s parks department is reaching out to cycling groups and other recreationists to make sure they are aware of the coming change.

Public officials have been hearing from residents and homeowners in Fountain Valley for the past few months who say their nearby neighborhoods are suffering from increased crime they associate with the rise of homeless people living along the bike trail.

Kris Gillan, who lives at the New Chase condominiums that abut the river trail property south of Edinger in Fountain Valley, said the homeless encampment has doubled or tripled in size since summer when she and other residents began to ask for help. She said on Sunday night a large red tent was erected near the access gate from her complex to the trail, but was removed when residents complained.

Gillan said she wants to see how the new enforcement effort by the county plays out.

“My concern is someone will step in and block enforcement,” she said, noting past legal entanglements that have stymied enforcement elsewhere.

Homeless advocate Mohammed Aly, who has visited the homeless people in the area of New Chase, called the county’s planned action part of an “illegal” attempt to clear all the homeless encampments from the river bed.

“The county will either fail, and also have to pay plaintiff’s attorneys fees after losing an injunction, or succeed, and push hundreds of homeless people into the neighborhoods of already frustrated Anaheim and Orange residents,” Aly said in an email.

“Residents of Orange, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa, and Tustin, among other nearby cities, should be concerned,” Aly added, and “they can confront the County Board of Supervisors at their public meetings.”

County Supervisor Todd Spitzer’s office issued a statement Monday afternoon about the enforcement plan, calling it a “progressive next step” being undertaken to ensure the safety of all citizens while also attempting to treat the homeless population with compassion.

“People living in the encampments have every opportunity to accept a pathway out of homelessness. There should be no excuse, and people not accepting assistance will have no choice but to leave the riverbed,” said Spitzer, whose Third District includes parts of Anaheim, the city with the largest homeless concentration in Orange County.

“I am committed to helping those in need while preserving the quality of life taxpayers in Orange County should always expect.”

Also on Monday, the county opened the doors to the National Guard armory in Santa Ana early this year for use as a nightly sleeping area for the homeless during the winter months. The Fullerton armory is expected to begin operating Nov. 16.

The armories might be an alternative for those homeless people who will be displaced from the river trail in Fountain Valley. Braun said the county will offer to store their belongings, which can’t be kept at the armories, for up to 90 days and possibly longer, should they choose that shelter option.

But Cherie Schulze, 59, who shares a tent midway between Edinger and Harbor Boulevard with her husband, said they have been on a list for supportive housing more than a year. The armory, which doesn’t allow pets, wouldn’t work for them, she said: “We can’t. We have a dog.”

Like others along the trail, the couple said they don’t know where they will move to next.

Whether locking gates and issuing a citation will be enough to discourage homeless people from settling along the river trail remains to be seen.

Pamela Swartz, a Fountain Valley resident who spoke to county supervisors about her concerns, said she hoped the enforcement would be more than just cosmetic.

“If they just issue citations, I don’t think that’s enough,” she said. “I don’t know. It’s a start.”