Placer County divided on plan to move homeless encampment. ‘I’m not going anywhere’.

Placer County has a growing homeless population on its government campus and the community is conflicted about how to deal with it.

The county for the past month has been embroiled in a controversy over a proposed ordinance that would make it illegal for homeless individuals to set up camps on county property or in fire-prone areas while it has available beds in its shelters.

Supervisors twice delayed votes on the proposal, which is backed by government employees but opposed by religious leaders who want to find another option.

Placer County regularly has open bed space in its shelters, according to a census of homeless shelter space presented at a Jan. 25 Board of Supervisors meeting. That’s a contrast with neighboring Sacramento County, where shelters tend to be full on any given night.

The new rule would apply countywide, but it’s designed to regulate a large homeless encampment at the North Auburn government campus. About 100 people live there in 67 campsites directly across the street from county offices.

The site of the encampment is also near the future site of the county’s new health and human services building.

County employees and some members of the public have complained about the camp in recent months, Deputy County Executive Officer Bekki Riggan said.

“The intent of this ordinance is to mitigate the unsafe, unsanitary and sometimes disorderly conditions for everyone, not just the campers. It is also intended to address the degradation of county property,” she said in a presentation to supervisors.

Sheriff’s Lt. Nelsen Resendes said deputies over the past three months have responded to reports of a stabbing, an instance which a resident of the camp set fire to someone else and two other cases of suspected arson where county buildings caught fire. Firefighters extinguished the fires before the buildings sustained significant damage, he said.

Resendes said county employees have filed complaints about specific people living in the camp who allegedly “lurk” around the county parking lot.

“I want our employees to feel safe,” Supervisor Bonnie Gore said. “We clearly have had employees who don’t feel safe walking to their place of work. We’ve had fires out there. It’s really been a mess.”

Eviction notices handed out at camp

The camp, located along D Street, is dotted with tents, tarps, trash and handmade structures. Some people are living out of their cars. The camp has grown and dwindled in phases over the years, according to interviews with residents there.

For the people who live there, it’s one of the last places they can live outside without too much harassment, residents said in interviews.

Angela Wells, 57, said many of the residents of the camp find their way here if they are caught camping in other parts of the city.

“A lot of us haven’t had a stable place to live in a long time,” she said. “This is where we landed and this is what we have. We don’t have anywhere else to go,” she said sitting on a tarp in front of her campsite, a tall pile of blankets behind her.

Roy Warren, 63, has been living at the encampment on and off for four years, he said sitting in a white reclining chair inside his tent. He said he chose to live there because it was close to his family who live in Auburn and Grass Valley.

Warren said he had tried to apply for rentals but he was on a fixed income and could not afford market rent. He said has felonies on his record from his youth, and has epilepsy, “so it’s real difficult for me to do anything.”

He said he had applied for at least one affordable housing complex but was not chosen.

“I’m just trying to survive,” he said. “I want to see my grandkids but I’m not bringing them here.”

Warren and others said they were issued an eviction notice on Jan. 20, giving them 30 days to clear out their campsites.

“This is all I have,” he said, gesturing to his tent. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Church leaders speak up for homeless

The ordinance, if passed, would force the residents to break down their camps during the day. Lt. Connie Schmidt of the sheriff’s office homeless outreach team would like to see it lead some of the campers to access services that are being offered to them, she said.

“They have the right to sleep and lie, but they don’t have the right to live there non-stop,” Schmidt said in an interview.

There are exemptions in the ordinance for any emergency or natural disaster, legal campsites, and whenever the shelters in the area are at capacity.

Members of the faith community in Auburn have been voicing opposition to the ordinance, with one reverend saying it further criminalized “houselessness, poverty, and mental health.”

Rev. Alex da Silva Souto of the Sierra Foothills Unitarian Universalists said the ordinance would overtax resources. He encouraged the board to put more resources into mental health programs and poverty.

“This ordinance would most likely push residents of these camps into fast food restaurants and other public places and we’re still going through a pandemic,” he said in public comment. “So individuals into enclosed public spaces, it’s definitely not in the best interest of our community.”

Supervisor Jim Holmes, who represents the Auburn area, said the county has turned a “blind eye” to the camp over the years, and as a result it has gotten worse. The board is scheduled to revisit the ordinance at its March 8 meeting.

“We’ve got to have some parameters,” Holmes said at a January meeting.

This story was originally published February 14, 2022 at 3:25 AM.