4 18-2251 Subject: Homeless Encampment Management Report
From: Councilmember Bas
Recommendation: Receive An Informational Report From The City Administrator On Progress Towards Implementing The Homeless Encampment Management Program Recommendations Approved By City Council On July 9, 2019
My name is Desiree Turner. I am a district 6 resident for over 40 years. Parks and sidewalks should not be used to house the homeless. My family and I use my local park on a regular basis. If the homeless are allowed to house in parks it will turn into the Home Depot situation.
The significant increase in unhoused people living on our streets necessitates a significant response-- and we hear this concern from our community every day. We simply cannot accept streets, medians, sidewalks, as places for people to sleep or live, and must connect all encampments in public spaces to a compassionate and safe intervention as in the Community Cabin model where people can access permanent housing, or a serviced campsite at a minimum with trash pickup, handwashing, and toilets as a temporary crisis response. Encampments in areas that people depend on for mobility such as sidewalks and public spaces puts pedestrians and the unhoused lives in danger. Looking the other way is not progressive or compassionate. Human life is at risk, and the economic, social, and physical health of our entire communities suffer. Savlan Hauser, Executive Director, Jack London Improvement District and Chair of Oakland BID Alliance
It is said “parks are vitally important to establishing and maintaining the quality of life in a community, ensuring the health of families and youth, and contributing to the economic and environmental well-being of a community and a region” Our neighborhood is stressed and not doing well.
Like other neighborhoods, ourt neighborhood has had its issues with encampments at Parks, Right of Way as well as City & Private Properties.
Not having a policy in place has cause more harm and creating tension and stress between community members and those unhoused.
Policy provides clear direction for all and will help to restore a lawlessness felt by community members.
I support the Assistant Administrator’s report and hope this committee will too.
Remove unauthorized tents from all parks and sidewalks. There is ample BART, OUSD, County land where unhoused can pitch tents. Like any park campsite, that land should have restrooms, sanitation facilities, water. S/b managed as regular campgrounds, patrolled, cleaned. Residents pay nominal fee of $50/wk/site.
If people can live on sidewalks in tents, they could certainly move to campgrounds. Police/park patrols should can provide directions to the campgrounds.The city cannot be required to find jobs, mental hospitals, or drug programs for anyone who decides to pitch a tent on the street. Campgrounds would be at a fraction of the cost of permanent housing solutions. These "camping areas" can be public, private/public or private non- profit.
Key is the unhoused camping on sidewalks would have to accept the allocated campsites as an alternative to tent erection on unauthorized areas (i.e, parks, sidewalks, Caltrans buffer areas).
Bill Manley
Gilbert St.
I am a resident of district 6.Garbage related to encampments and safety concerns are a huge concern for our community. If the city is going to allow people to camp out on our streets, you need to clean these areas up regularly. However, people should not be allowed to live on our streets. Human waste goes onto our streets and into our waterways and we deserve to live in peace and not have to look at an encampment when we look out our windows. This is something that other more affluent community members do not have to deal with and neither should we. They block our sidewalks for residents on our street that have mobility issues and add to the blight that is a regular part of life for deep east Oakland residents. Allowing people to camp out on our streets affects quality of life for our community, the environment and drives morale down for residents. If you’re going to sanction where people can live/park, please do not put all spaces in East Oakland. We are a dumping ground for Oakland.
As an Oakland resident for 21 years and a Small Business Owner in Oakland for the past 13 years, I ask that the city explore kind and compassionate solutions to help the large population of people here experiencing homelessness. The city is at a time of economic prosperity, and I believe that it is what is causing the houseless problem. Please explore options of using incoming economic resources from large corporate interests, investors, and real estate developers to help the houseless population. It does not make sense that the city is doing so well, yet its people are suffering. Gentrification is at an all time high. Let's use some of those resources to assist our city's residents.
I don't like the encampments. However, I cannot agree with the approach suggested by the petition. A list of prohibited areas and behaviors doesn't strike me as liable to create space for people to live. The Town has a responsibility for the welfare of its citizens, housed and not. I'm crossing fingers that this report is a baby step towards more effective and humane practices about homelessness in Oakland.
I'd like to invite Oaklanders to sign the change.org/oakland_encampments petition and to set ground rules for what is acceptable to the majority of Oakland residents and what is not. Constraints have proven to be a very effective forcing function in creating better, more creative solutions. We can do better for our most vulnerable residents and for ourselves.
My name is Desiree Turner. I am a district 6 resident for over 40 years. Parks and sidewalks should not be used to house the homeless. My family and I use my local park on a regular basis. If the homeless are allowed to house in parks it will turn into the Home Depot situation.
The significant increase in unhoused people living on our streets necessitates a significant response-- and we hear this concern from our community every day. We simply cannot accept streets, medians, sidewalks, as places for people to sleep or live, and must connect all encampments in public spaces to a compassionate and safe intervention as in the Community Cabin model where people can access permanent housing, or a serviced campsite at a minimum with trash pickup, handwashing, and toilets as a temporary crisis response. Encampments in areas that people depend on for mobility such as sidewalks and public spaces puts pedestrians and the unhoused lives in danger. Looking the other way is not progressive or compassionate. Human life is at risk, and the economic, social, and physical health of our entire communities suffer. Savlan Hauser, Executive Director, Jack London Improvement District and Chair of Oakland BID Alliance
It is said “parks are vitally important to establishing and maintaining the quality of life in a community, ensuring the health of families and youth, and contributing to the economic and environmental well-being of a community and a region” Our neighborhood is stressed and not doing well.
Like other neighborhoods, ourt neighborhood has had its issues with encampments at Parks, Right of Way as well as City & Private Properties.
Not having a policy in place has cause more harm and creating tension and stress between community members and those unhoused.
Policy provides clear direction for all and will help to restore a lawlessness felt by community members.
I support the Assistant Administrator’s report and hope this committee will too.
Remove unauthorized tents from all parks and sidewalks. There is ample BART, OUSD, County land where unhoused can pitch tents. Like any park campsite, that land should have restrooms, sanitation facilities, water. S/b managed as regular campgrounds, patrolled, cleaned. Residents pay nominal fee of $50/wk/site.
If people can live on sidewalks in tents, they could certainly move to campgrounds. Police/park patrols should can provide directions to the campgrounds.The city cannot be required to find jobs, mental hospitals, or drug programs for anyone who decides to pitch a tent on the street. Campgrounds would be at a fraction of the cost of permanent housing solutions. These "camping areas" can be public, private/public or private non- profit.
Key is the unhoused camping on sidewalks would have to accept the allocated campsites as an alternative to tent erection on unauthorized areas (i.e, parks, sidewalks, Caltrans buffer areas).
Bill Manley
Gilbert St.
I am a resident of district 6.Garbage related to encampments and safety concerns are a huge concern for our community. If the city is going to allow people to camp out on our streets, you need to clean these areas up regularly. However, people should not be allowed to live on our streets. Human waste goes onto our streets and into our waterways and we deserve to live in peace and not have to look at an encampment when we look out our windows. This is something that other more affluent community members do not have to deal with and neither should we. They block our sidewalks for residents on our street that have mobility issues and add to the blight that is a regular part of life for deep east Oakland residents. Allowing people to camp out on our streets affects quality of life for our community, the environment and drives morale down for residents. If you’re going to sanction where people can live/park, please do not put all spaces in East Oakland. We are a dumping ground for Oakland.
As an Oakland resident for 21 years and a Small Business Owner in Oakland for the past 13 years, I ask that the city explore kind and compassionate solutions to help the large population of people here experiencing homelessness. The city is at a time of economic prosperity, and I believe that it is what is causing the houseless problem. Please explore options of using incoming economic resources from large corporate interests, investors, and real estate developers to help the houseless population. It does not make sense that the city is doing so well, yet its people are suffering. Gentrification is at an all time high. Let's use some of those resources to assist our city's residents.
I don't like the encampments. However, I cannot agree with the approach suggested by the petition. A list of prohibited areas and behaviors doesn't strike me as liable to create space for people to live. The Town has a responsibility for the welfare of its citizens, housed and not. I'm crossing fingers that this report is a baby step towards more effective and humane practices about homelessness in Oakland.
I'd like to invite Oaklanders to sign the change.org/oakland_encampments petition and to set ground rules for what is acceptable to the majority of Oakland residents and what is not. Constraints have proven to be a very effective forcing function in creating better, more creative solutions. We can do better for our most vulnerable residents and for ourselves.