Gov. Newsom reacts after federal judge says Caltrans cannot clear Bay Area homeless camp

Governor Gavin Newsom criticized a Friday federal court ruling that temporarily stopped the California Department of Transportation from clearing a homeless encampment in Oakland.

Caltrans announced last week that it planned to clear 200 unhoused people from a sprawling homeless encampment on Oakland’s Wood Street.

The agency cited dangerous conditions that have led to numerous fires, including one in early July that damaged vehicles on Interstate 880. Caltrans officials had planned to empty the camp by Aug. 1, with the first phase beginning July 20.

But ahead of the proposed start, Judge William H. Orrick issued a temporary restraining order, prohibiting Caltrans officials from entering and clearing the encampment. On Friday morning, Orrick extended the restraining order and said that state officials could not clear the camp until they have a comprehensive resettlement plan.

“I’m really surprised and a little disturbed that the city and the county and Caltrans seem to be at the beginning stages of thinking about what happens as opposed to much further along,” Orrick said at a hearing via Zoom, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Newsom’s office, in its statement, said the delay in clearing the camp would “endanger the public.”

“Our roadways and highways are no place for individuals to live, and this encampment is risking public health and safety,” the statement said. “The state provided $4.7 million in grants to the City of Oakland specifically to rehouse individuals at the Wood Street encampment. It is beyond time to meet this moment and address this challenge.”

Caltrans’ camp clearing procedures have long faced pushback from homeless advocates across the state.

In 2021, homeless outreach organization Where Do We Go Berkeley successfully delayed a Caltrans proposal to clear an Emeryville encampment by six months — a decision that was overturned by a federal judge in April 2022. In 2020, the government agency paid $5.5 million to settle claims that it had illegally destroyed property at homeless encampments.

Newsom has staunchly supported Caltrans’ clearing efforts.

When a federal judge lifted the injunction on the Emeryville encampment in April, the governor called it “a welcome ruling confirming that we don’t have to let these dangerous conditions continue without taking urgent action.”

This story was originally published July 23, 2022 at 4:36 PM.