So many ‘state of emergency’ declarations in Fresno, people might just tune them out
Did you hear? A state of emergency has been declared.
This being 2023 and all, guess I’ll need to be more specific. There are so many emergency declarations nowadays, it’s getting hard to keep track.
The latest state of emergency was the one declared Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom as California braced for a winter storm so powerful it has earned the ominous meteorological term of “bomb cyclone.”
The declaration, according to Newsom’s statement, “will allow the state to respond quickly as the storm develops” in addition to providing support for local jurisdictions.
Earlier in the week, we had the Fresno County Board of Supervisors’ state of emergency declaration caused by hospital overcrowding by surging cases of COVID-19, the flu and RSV (aka the Tripledemic) and anticipated impacts from the closure of Madera Community Hospital.
After the only hospital in a county of 157,000 residents shut its doors, supervisors in Madera County declared their own state of emergency. Quite naturally.
Let’s not forget that California continues to exist (and has for nearly three years) under a public health state of emergency from the COVID-19 pandemic that remains in place until Feb. 28. Or the state of emergency that Newsom declared last September over monkeypox.
Not to be outdone, here comes the Fresno City Council. During Thursday’s meeting, the first of 2023, Councilmembers Luis Chavez, Miguel Arias and the newly sworn-in Annalisa Perea will ask for a citywide state of emergency declaration over affordable housing and homelessness.
Policy changes proposed by the threesome will include the grandfathering of nonpermitted ADUs (Chavez); streamlining city approvals and entitlements for affordable housing projects (Perea); and using the Fresno Convention Center to shelter Fresno’s homeless population (Arias).
Yes, Arias is serious.
“Maybe people need to see 2,500 people living inside the convention center to see there is a crisis,” Arias said.
And what better way for elected officials to draw attention to a crisis than by declaring a state of emergency?
Purpose of emergency declarations
Emergency declarations do serve a purpose. I’m not declaring otherwise. For example, Newsom’s state of emergency for the “bomb cyclone” mobilizes the California National Guard and directs Caltrans to request federal transportation funds for disaster assistance as a result of anticipated flooding, mudslides, rockslides and downed trees.
Whenever a natural disaster strikes, the goal is to get help to the people most affected as quickly as possible. That’s what citizens expect for their government.
Other such declarations can be used (some say abused) by government officials to wield special powers and cut administrative corners during a crisis.
However, there’s a limit to the number of states of emergency any reasonable person can be expected to live under at any one time. At least they start to tune them out.
When the Fresno County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved its emergency declaration Tuesday, it did so “to spotlight the need for assistance from the state and federal government.”
Either that, or the county supes wanted to make it look like they were doing something. Especially since the vote went against the recommendations of county staff and public health officials.
Likewise, Fresno’s proposed state of emergency over housing and homelessness falls squarely into the “raising awareness” bucket. Not that the policy changes being proposed by Chavez, Perea and Arias aren’t worthy of consideration. They most certainly are, even a “solution” as drastic as what Arias is talking about.
But does the situation really warrant another state of emergency declaration? On top of all the rest?
My suggestion to our elected officials is to be extremely judicious. Because at some point, all these states of emergency will only add up to a state of normalcy. And when that happens, people stop paying attention.
Will we get there in 2023? I don’t know, but the year sure is off to a cataclysmic start.
