Judge rules city of Sacramento can close Camp Resolution, a homeless encampment since 2022
A judge Friday gave the city of Sacramento the OK to close a tight-knit North Sacramento homeless camp, but its future remains unclear.
About 50 homeless people have been living at Camp Resolution in city-issued trailers at a vacant lot at the corner of Colfax Street and Arden Way since 2022.
Safe Ground Sacramento, a nonprofit run by civil rights attorney Mark Merin, last month sent the city a letter stating the lease for the property will end Aug. 10 due to lack of electricity and other issues, meaning the city takes control of the property Aug. 30. However, that does not mean the city is required to evict the residents, Merin has said.
The Sacramento Homeless Union, which represents the residents, in May sued the city asking for a judge to order the city to let the camp stay open until all residents are moved into permanent housing, as it claims the lease promises, despite the lease ending Saturday.
Sacramento Superior Judge Jill H. Talley sided with the city Friday, denying without prejudice the homeless union’s application for a preliminary injunction.
“Per the terms of the Lease Agreement, the City does not take possession of the subject property until 15 days after the termination of the lease which is August 10, 2024,” Talley wrote.
“Additionally, Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate a reasonable probability of success on the merits as to the current operative complaint.”
City spokesman Tim Swanson did not immediately respond to an email asking whether the city plans to close the camp and evict the residents.
The city has offered spaces at the Roseville Road shelter and motels for all residents, according to a court document, Talley said during the hearing.
The residents are waiting for permanent housing however, not shelter, Sacramento Homeless Union attorney Anthony Prince said. There is a woman who has been at the Roseville Road shelter for eight months and still doesn’t have permanent housing, he said.
“They’re gonna be put in a situation now where getting permanent housing is gonna become almost impossible,” Prince said. “Ask any service provider. If they break up that camp and people are dispersed they wont be able to find people. Camp Resolution has been a success ... the city cannot deny that.”
City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood explicitly denied Prince’s categorization of Camp Resolution as a success in a statement released after the judge’s ruling.
“Unfortunately, Camp Resolution has proven to be a failed experiment, largely because of the counterproductive interventions from the Sacramento Homeless Union and its attorney Anthony Prince,” Alcala Wood’s statement read, in part.
The statement did not explicitly mention evictions or describe a plan to close the camp.
Sean Richmond, an attorney for the city, said even though the lease says the camp won’t close until the residents get permanent housing, that promise goes away if the lease is terminated.
“As of tomorrow there is no lease,” Richmond said.
Alcala Wood wrote that the city “for months has provided every individual at Camp Resolution with shelter opportunities.”
“As with the relocation efforts for the camp itself, the offers to transition people to more stable shelter were rejected out of hand. Nevertheless, the City continues to make alternate shelter available to everyone staying at Camp Resolution.”
The homeless union last week blocked city employees from entering the camp to do an inspection and sign up residents for affordable housing waitlists. The city then got a warrant and inspected the camp, finding an “immediate potential for a large-scale fire,” a city blog post stated.
The city then re-inspected Friday and some of the issues were alleviated, Prince said.
The city will take control of the property Aug. 30, according to the lease, Talley said.
This story was originally published August 9, 2024 at 6:50 PM.
