Clutch, a 40-year-old Wood Street encampment resident who said he has no last name, was one of the five people moved last month. The new report, completed by City Auditor Courtney Ruby, found that the EMT was "overwhelmed by the undertaking of closing and cleaning encampments throughout Oakland." Ruby found that Oakland spent $12.6 million on tasks related to encampments over the past two years, and roughly $1,500 an hour on camp closures and cleanings. Gavin Newsoms administration awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant to fund a new community cabin site or tiny home village at Wood Street for about 50 people and to figure out how to help others at the site. How long has the homeless encampment been there? Diesel is expensive. Under state law, working with homeless individuals to identify housing or shelter alternatives is a local, not a state, responsibility.. An officer will be dispatched to your location. Last year, 19 murders 18% of the citys total for the year occurred in encampments, according to the report. The Oakland City Council unanimously passed a new homeless encampment policy Tuesday, more than 10 hours into a meeting where dozens of members of the public spoke passionately about the proposal and protesters rallied outside two councilmembers' homes. To report an encampment online, please scan the QR code below to access the Reporting Tool page: Or go to the Reporting Tool website: https://reportencampments.tucsonaz.gov/ To report an encampment by phone, please call the City of Tucson Resource Line: (520) 791-2540 Initiation of Protocol Caltrans spokesperson Rocquel Johnson said the agency plans to eventually completely close the parts of the encampment that are under freeway overpasses and work to relocate people to safer conditions.. Housing | (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Workers remove debris from the Wood Street homeless encampment on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. Caltrans is overseeing the cleanup of its property along Wood Street. When you are dealing with homeless individuals or a homeless encampment, these types of crimes include: Trespassing Public intoxication Public urination You report that you've witnessed a crime to the police or sheriff. The department is taking this action to address the increasingly serious safety risks to life, property and infrastructure at the encampment, including from the fire this week that prompted the closure of the MacArthur Maze, Caltrans said in a statement. Warriors treating Andrew Wiggins with understandable patience, but his Gov. Their. Brigitte Nicoletti, an attorney assisting residents in their pro se lawsuit, reiterated that request at the hearing on Friday. Both the city and the camps residents have different ideas for what the future should be for the land and the people who live there. I used to frequently take my kids in the stroller on this walk but now in addition to being . Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani. Bay, Heres where California reservoir levels stand after recent rainfall, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Residents of the encampment said they know that Caltrans has long wanted to clear them out and plan to resist if the sweep happens. Caltrans crews remove a vehicle from the Wood Street encampment in West Oakland on July 19, 2022. hese are vehicles of human beings," he said at the hearing, "and they are not to be lost. The money would fund a new community cabin site or tiny home village at Wood Street for about 50 people. Clutch, a 40-year-old resident, holds his neighbors dog, Panda, near his van at Oaklands Wood Street homeless encampment. Antioch council to discuss new liquor stores ban, homeless housing. Housing | A resident of the 1707 Wood site and a local advocate then brought suit against Oakland in federal court asking that the city be enjoined. But Orrick said requiring Caltrans to provide those resources was beyond the scope of the law. In these situations, the Encampment Response Map will include information about the code violation case instead of details about an encampment cleanup effort. The encampment spans nearly 25 city blocks with about 300 people living under freeways in tents, RVs and makeshift shelters amid burned-out vehicles, mounds of trash and dirt. The land was mostly owned by Caltrans and after a history of fires on the site and concerns about the proximity of a nearby oxygen production plant on July 15, 2022 the agency gave residents five-days' notice to clear the site. The decision from Judge William Orrick comes after a month-long legal battle between residents and the transit agency, the city, and the county. Wood Street encampment resident Theo Cedar Jones plays guitar. But that's only a fraction of the more than 5,000 encampments on . It is both a humanitarian duty and a civic expectation that our homeless become housed, and our City streets and parks are returned to their intended public uses.. Housing | On Monday morning, workers removed vehicles, furniture and other items from the encampment on Caltrans property underneath the MacArthur Maze. He currently plays for his neighbors outside his shelter, where a piano, guitar and drums are set up. The land was mostly owned by Caltrans, and after a history of fires on the site and concerns about the proximity of a nearby oxygen production plant, on July 15, 2022 the agency gave residents 5-days' notice to clear the site. by Natalie Orenstein March 25, 2021. Caltrans said it would shut down the entire encampment, clearing out about 200 people who live there. Many people at Wood Street live in RVs, cars and other vehicles. Homeless Encampment at Lake Merritt Blvd Oakland, CA, 94607, USA: Hi, both sidewalks on either side of the channel going from Lake Merritt to the Bay are entirely blocked by homeless encampments. Fed up with homeless encampments that have taken over streets, parks and open spaces, a group of Oakland residents is suing the city. Settlement reached between . Thank you for your patience while we work to restore services. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Homelessness has doubled in the last 10 years. And it was clear at the hearing that the city, county and Caltrans still had not worked out a plan for a number of different issues related to the encampment's closure, including who would do the outreach to residents and where residents' belongings would be kept. OAKLAND - Fire swept through a homeless encampment near the MacArthur Maze highway interchange in West Oakland on Monday morning. This chart is updated at the end of each month. That's higher than what a typical . This is our home.. Oakland. That would allow the city and county to figure out their outreach programs so that there could be actual adequate outreach, she said, instead of a rushed approach that will lead to immense danger and harm to the residents.. Review and respond annually to the Citys Homeless Encampment Policy and the Permanent Access to Housing Path Plan which shall be presented to the Commission, as well as hear reports on the housing, programs, and services for persons experiencing homelessness in the City including, but not limited to. Oaklands biggest homeless encampment could massively shrink with planned sweep of 200 people, Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area. #2. portland oregon created those "affordable housing" by tearing down most of the old hotels or remodeling them. Multiple. 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As in the earlier case, the plaintiffs argued, among other things, that the eviction would amount to an unconstitutional state-created danger. Gavin Newsoms administration just awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant to come up with a model at Wood Street one that can be replicated in other cities. Several non-emergency systems including phone lines within the City of Oakland are currently impacted or offline. At the start of 2020, the city was conducting several camp closures each monthseven in January, and nine each in February and Marchuntil COVID-19 cases began rising and the county went on lockdown. But the money is insufficient to help all the camps residents. The homelessness crisis also has taken a toll on Oakland's public parks, according to the audit. He issued a temporary injunction on July 19, 2022. The city may now post notices of the closure and shall give individuals at the encampment at least seven days notice before the closure begins, Orrick wrote. (Beth LaBerge/KQED) Caltrans workers clear a barricade made by Wood Street residents meant to keep Caltrans out of the encampment in Oakland on Sept. 8, 2022. Oakland which has more than 5,000 homeless people currently has 598 year-round, city-funded shelter beds, 313 community cabin and temporary structure shelter spaces, 147 RV safe parking spaces and 353 city-funded transitional-shelter beds. Forcing Californians into mental health treatment would get easier with proposed legislation Dozens of Caltrans workers and California Highway . Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years Reporting an Issue If you or someone you know is hungry, homeless, or housing insecure - Call 2-1-1. The city has demonstrated it now has enough shelter beds for everyone who will be displaced by the camps closure, U.S. District Judge William Orrick ruled. A hand-painted sign can be seen at a homeless encampment on Wood Street in Oakland, Calif. on Monday, May 3, 2022. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! In October of 2020, the Oakland City Council adopted an Encampment Management Policy to focus encampment actions on mitigating negative outcomes as they pertain to public safety, public health, and equity outcomes. And where do we go? The controversial policy was approved by the City Council last year, but it's largely gone unenforced. Forcing Californians into mental health treatment would get easier with proposed legislation While the city was working to open a safe parking area for RVs that would accommodate 29 vehicles and a "cabin community" with 31 beds, neither site was yet ready for occupancy. The encampment is. In July, Caltrans alerted the residents they would have five days to pack their belongings and leave. Fife said the site which could offer pallet shelters, a community kitchen, bathrooms and wraparound services could house many of Wood Streets residents. Photos: State clears Wood Street homeless camp,, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Bay Area weather: After thunderstorms and hail, snow could be on the way this weekend, Photos: State clears Wood Street homeless camp, Oaklands largest, Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided, Forcing Californians into mental health treatment would get easier with proposed legislation, Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years, After nearly two-month delay, judge allows Oakland to remove large homeless camp. Lydia Blumberg, whos lived at Wood Street for at least five years, called the decision beyond disappointing., Everyone wants to wash their hands of us, she said after the hearing. Housing | Theo Cedar Jones (third from right) and other residents of the Wood Street encampment proposed self-governing during a meeting with Oakland staff in July. The encampment is one of the largest in the city and has been plagued with problems such as illegal dumping and fires for years. Determine findings that will prompt EMT intervention; Provide guidance on addressing unreasonable health and safety risks, promoting voluntary compliance, and strategies to address non-compliance. Aric Crabb has been a staff photographer at the Bay Area News Group since 1998. You can report an encampment at the following locations: Bridges Highways Parks or playgrounds Outside of residential and commercial buildings Roadway tunnels Streets and sidewalks Subway stations Report an encampment. Today at 621AM OFD responded to report of an RV fire at East 12th & 17th Ave. E4 arrived and found 2 RV's & 12 . "I realize that there are alternatives that public policy could be generating that would work better for homelessness than what has happened in the past. They come in out of nowhere, said Ben Murawski, another Wood Street resident, lamenting how agency employees destroy our homes.. They asked for resources to make the encampment safer, including access to dumpsters for trash removal, fire extinguishers, sand buckets, water hoses and assistance creating markers throughout the encampment so that emergency service providers could more easily navigate the area. February 22, 2023. Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? Wood Street residents deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, Husbands-Hankin said. Although the first phase includes offers of temporary shelter, Orrick said subsequent phases could continue whether or not shelter was available. The Oakland Fire . In an earlier statement, Caltrans said it planned to clear the camp to address the increasingly serious safety risks to life, property and infrastructure at the encampment. The agency said it was coordinating with the city and the county to offer residents shelter. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani. We are hard at work implementing that policy amidst a historic budget shortfall, staffing shortages, and an ongoing pandemic that has limited the shelter options available to the residents of our encampments, the statement continued. OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 5: Maria Fuentes, who is a coordinator at the Community of Grace homeless encampment, shows their community garden across from the Home Depot on the 4000 block of . Over the next several weeks, the Caltrans site was cleaned and cleared and the residents moved to other locations and situations. Tucked away from the street, the encampment, commonly known as Wood Street, stretches along property owned by Caltrans, the city of Oakland, BNSF Railway and private owners. At issue is a large encampment on a city-owned piece of vacant land off Wood Street in West Oakland. After nearly two-month delay, judge allows Oakland to remove large homeless camp I really love this life here.. Oakland shut down a portion of its largest homeless encampment, starting the daunting work of clearing a massive, sprawling camp that has been plagued by fires as the city prepares to. Caltrans has completed much smaller sweeps in the past. In May, Gov. A spokesperson for the Oakland Police Department said the department is investigating a use-of-force incident on Thursday just after 2:45 p.m. in the area of West Grand Avenue and Wood Street. 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Call Taker: Is the homeless encampment within 500 feet of a waterway (creek, lake or bay)? It dissolves a restraining order that previously halted Caltrans plans to clear the camp and allows the city to begin a phased closure of the encampment. She and her husband, Lenton, live in a 20-foot trailer at the Coliseum Stadium parking lot in Oakland. They did not respond to questions as to what the object was. If you or someone you know is hungry, homeless, or housing insecure - Call 2-1-1. The city needs to fund a formal encampment management program to implement the policy passed in October, and to address the findings of the audit, the auditors office wrote. But those are things that are beyond what can be ordered in this case.". Several non-emergency systems including phone lines within the City of Oakland are currently impacted or offline. It is . An attorney for the city said it doesn't have enough safe parking sites for everyone to bring their vehicles there. Caltrans has cleared the parts of the encampment on its property three times in the past year and says it will continue to do so if safety concerns, such as fires, continue. A United Nations report from 2018, for example, stated that a U.N. investigator witnessed officials "attempting to discourage residents from remaining in informal settlements or encampments by denying access to water, sanitation and health services and other basic necessities, [which] constitutes cruel and inhuman treatment and is a . Ruined vegetation, broken irrigation lines and damaged fencing at Lake Merritt, as well as degraded water quality in the tidal marsh, will cost the city an estimated $550,000, according to the report. Photos by Bront Wittpenn and Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle, decried the lack of access to clean water, just awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant. The transportation agency said in a release they will begin shutting down the entire encampment in phases beginning July 20 and will work with city officials and the county to place people in alternate shelter. He found that the plaintiffs raised at least a significant question about whether the doctrine applied to them and concluded that under all the circumstances, including the weather and the ongoing "tripledemic," it was appropriate to issue the TRO, though he telegraphed that the pause on eviction would not be unlimited. We cant go far, Clutch said. They said the city had not fulfilled promises made in connection with the prior lawsuit. When could it return? What could reparations mean for Black residents of Alameda County? Theo Cedar Jones, a resident at Wood Street for nearly two years who lives in a makeshift shelter, said he doesnt like the citys community cabin model and wouldnt use it. When the City decides to close an encampment, the Team makes every effort to relocate encampment dwellers to emergency shelters or community cabins. The Citys suggestion that it has no responsibility for homeless individuals on state property unless there is a specific earmark is simply unacceptable, Patterson wrote. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. The city plans to offer approximately 40 emergency shelter beds to residents in the first phase of the closure, though its unclear how many people actually live in the affected area. Our housed and unhoused residents are counting on us to make this right, Ruby wrote. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Community members watch as workers clear a section of the Wood Street homeless encampment near an area known as the Cob on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. Caltrans is overseeing the cleanup of its property along Wood Street. At the time, city officials said they didnt yet have a timeline on when the new cabin community at Wood Street would break ground. She previously covered startups and venture capital for the Bay Area News Group and prior to that court cases for The Recorder in San Francisco. Report the issue to our encampment management team at homelessness@oaklandca.gov. The audit found the City was not adequately prepared to shoulder such a massive project and the (encampment management team) was overwhelmed by the undertaking of closing and cleaning encampments throughout Oakland, City Auditor Courtney Ruby wrote in an open letter to Mayor Libby Schaaf, the City Council and other city officials. Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Housing | The departments goal is to respond to 90% of calls within seven minutes. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Workers remove a couch from the Wood Street homeless encampment on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. Caltrans is overseeing the cleanup of its property along Wood Street. In May, city officials put the total number of residents in the encampment at 300 people. The action will set in motion the eviction of several dozen people living on a vacant, city-owned lot off Wood Street in West Oakland . Officials have argued that they dont have enough shelter beds to accommodate the number of people living at the encampment, which spans 25 city blocks. She started her journalism career reporting on crime and breaking news for The News-Press in Southwest Florida. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group). The city of Oakland agreed to assist residents on identifying their options. OAKLAND, CA - MAY 5: A homeless encampment is photographed on a plot of land along East 12th Street and 1st Avenue on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, in Oakland, Calif. December 24, 2022, 9:57 AM SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge has temporarily banned San Francisco from clearing homeless encampments, saying the city violated its own policies by failing to offer other shelter. It ended badly, Hit bean company Rancho Gordo embroiled in discrimination lawsuit. Sign up for our daily newsletter. Without a "constitutional right to housing," Orrick said he had no authority to allow the encampment to remain on the property. To report an issue related to an encampment, please email Homelessness@oaklandca.gov. A number of residents relocated to a two-acre parcel at 1707 Wood St. owned by Oakland. Meanwhile, Council Member Carroll Fife, who represents the district that includes the Wood Street encampment, has directed the city administration to study creating an emergency shelter for 1,000 people on a section of the former Oakland Army Base. Caltrans couldnt immediately be reached for further comment. A burned-out van amid charred rubble of where Ramon Choyce once lived at a homeless encampment on Wood Street in Oakland. Stuffed animals are seen on a couch at the Wood Street encampment on Friday, April 29, 2022 in Oakland, California. Contact information for four of the major Southern California sheriff's departments is: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. To learn more about how we use your information, please read our privacy policy. Caltrans plans to clear out 200 homeless people from the sprawling homeless encampment at Oaklands Wood Street by the first week of August, officials said. City Administrator Ed Reiskin said city employees have worked hard to compassionately manage the surge in encampments, while acknowledging they havent always had clear policy direction or sufficient resources. Wood Street encampment resident Theo Cedar Jones points to a map of the area hes living near. Multiple fires have erupted at the citys largest homeless encampment, which extends for several city blocks and has been home to hundreds of people. The city doesnt have the resources to close something as large as Wood Street, said LaTonda Simmons, the citys former interim homelessness administrator. Caltrans says it's closing Oakland's Wood Street homeless encampment because of safety concerns. Earlier this week, a coalition of residents wrote a public letter to state, city and county officials urging them to work with them. Photograph: Talia Herman/The Guardian And Orrick agreed. Tuesday at 3:07 PM. Theyre too densely packed together.. Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. OAKLAND - Caltrans announced Friday that they are shutting down a homeless encampment near the MacArthur Maze in West Oakland due to ongoing safety concerns and a large fire that tore. Now, they live on city property along Wood Streets right-of-way. Santa Ana, California 92703. Pushing people with no real and adequate shelter to accommodate them is inhumane and does not solve the larger problem.. Housing | (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: A member of the Oakland Police Department posts warning notices for illegally parked vehicles at the Wood Street homeless encampment on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. Caltrans is overseeing the cleanup of its property along Wood Street. OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Workers remove numerous items from the Wood Street homeless encampment on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. Caltrans is overseeing the cleanup of its property along Wood Street. And Caltrans officials said the vehicles would be too difficult to move. She graduated from American University with a BA degree in literature with a minor in journalism. Caltrans plans to clear 200 homeless people from the sprawling site by the first week of August, officials said. Related Articles People are seen in a homeless encampment on Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) SAN FRANCISCO (CN) A temporary restraining order put in place last month to protect the unhoused residents of an encampment the city of Oakland had hoped to clear to make way for new affordable housing has been dissolved. Copyright 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. In July the city began clearing an area between West Grand and 26th Street in Oakland in preparation for a shelter at the site, which would house approximately 50 people. What could reparations mean for Black residents of Alameda County? . The audit also analyzed the citys ability to respond when its unhoused communities need help. Several non-emergency systems including phone lines within the City of Oakland are currently impacted or offline. Previously, she covered breaking news and crime for The Chronicle. Repairing damage to lighting at Union Point Park is expected to cost another $500,000, not including additional repairs that must be done to bathrooms, landscaping, benches and other amenities. She started her journalism career reporting on crime and breaking news for The News-Press in Southwest Florida. Since the restraining order was issued, another 12 fires have broken out on the site, Orrick said at the hearing.