Tent camp evictions beginning at Chico ‘triangle’
CHICO » More tent campers in Chico are being asked to move next from park areas in the city, such at a greenway location in near the Chapman neighborhood.
Sometimes called the “triangle” — the area by Pine and Cypress streets near Humboldt Road — the greenway has had a number of camps since spring 2020 and is the latest area where people started to get notices on Thursday to leave within 72 hours by Chico police.
The area is considered a park area falling under the city’s current park rules ordinance and anyone camping there is subject to those rules, Chico Police Department Chief Matt Madden said.
“We have begun issuing 72-hour notices in the Pine/Cypress area as this area falls within the Park Rules and Regulations Ordinance,” he said.
“As we have stated before, when we have the ability to move these illegal camps will depend on several factors,” he added. “These factors will include our staffing levels, prioritization of calls for service and the availability of other departments, such as the Parks Department and Public Works.”
It is not yet clear whether the number of camps had grown since the clearing of other camps in lower Bidwell Park during the week of Jan. 10.
Notices
A local resources list Chico Police Target Team officers have given to people who leave camps has drawn some scrutiny, as none of the usual resources for people who are homeless are open for shelter.
“It’s a dishonest approach,” Friends on the Street organizer Patrick Newman said. “You’re giving them this list of resources that are meaningless; there is nowhere for these people to go.”
Sgt. Cesar Sandoval was unavailable to explain why the list can help if most resources on the list cannot offer shelter or are not open to providing new services. Madden also declined to comment on what resources people are being offered to get free food, other than listing Butte County Department of Employment and Social Services for aid.
A protest of the camp evictions at the triangle location will take place Saturday morning, organized by different activist groups including Friends on the Street, according to Newman.
“They’re basically being dumped on the streets,” Newman said, adding he opposes punishing people for leaving property on public land, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic where no shelter is available in Chico. He added the enforcement will only move people to new locations in the public space, creating new issues in new places.
“The vast majority of people will wander; or they’ll end up at Comanche Creek Greenway,” Newman said.
The protest of moving camps will be a multi- day one, he added — ” We’ll probably be out there every day.”