City of Chico closes airport resting site
The city of Chico is closing the gates on its official resting site near the Chico Airport for homeless people.
According to a Monday morning news release from the city, the site will be closed Friday, with notifications going out to people on Monday.
The airport site, criticized by homeless advocates from the beginning because of its location and lack of amenities beyond basics such as water and restrooms, had been open since June 25. A few RVs and trailers were parked there along with a handful of tents — more than 30 vehicles were seen there late Friday afternoon — but an overwhelming majority of the 571 spaces were never occupied. The site was selected by the city in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of eight homeless individuals, who said their rights were being violated under ruling in the Martin vs. Boise case, which says a jurisdiction cannot prevent people from camping on public property unless there are enough available shelter spaces.
Morrison England, senior district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of California said the site did not pass the “straight face test” as a shelter while issuing a preliminary injunction in favor of the defendants July 8. He also ordered Chico and the plaintiffs to work out an agreement through a magistrate judge, an attempt that is ongoing. That effort was mentioned in the press release issued Monday morning.
“Through settlement hearings with a federal magistrate, Judge Kendall J. Newman, regarding the preliminary injunction, it became clear the TRC (temporary resting center) is not considered a shelter space,” the release read. “Therefore, and with approval from Magistrate Newman, the TRC will be closed Sept. 17 and city staff will continue to work toward a settlement agreement.”
The press release did not say what would happen to the restrooms or shade shelter at the airport site, which was costing the city $35,000 per month. Nor did it provide direction on where people at the airport site can go next.
Chico city Councilor Alex Brown said Monday the airport site never felt like a good use of resources, and added she hopes a better resolution is ahead.
“I’ve been very transparent since the airport site opened that I didn’t feel it was an adequate use of resources or an adequate resolution to the court case that the city finds itself in,” Brown said. “I think it makes sense to take a different direction and to see what we can do that actually satisfies the judge and hopefully in the process creates better conditions for the people living on the streets.” Brown would not comment whether plans were in place for resources to be moved to a location where campers are already staying, like the Comanche Creek Greenway. However, Brown said with the closure of airport site, the city should be doing something.
“I think it would be unwise for the city not to provide an alternative after removing the only site where camping has been sanctioned and resources have been deployed,” Brown said.
Erik Gustafson, Chico’s public works director, said “progress is being made” in negotiations with the plaintiffs through the magistrate judge, but said the city was not free to divulge further details or comment because of the ongoing litigation.
“A lot of diligent work is taking place,” he said. “We’re asking for the city’s patience during this process.”
Gustafson said people seeking shelter options can call Butte County’s 2-1-1 information line, or check with the Torres Shelter or Jesus Center. England had issued a temporary restraining order preventing the evictions in April, shortly before the city was to begin removing campers from the Comanche Creek Greenway location — steps it had previously taken at Bidwell Park and other public lands in Chico. At the time, England told the city what it was doing was “unconstitutional,” and “It seems like you’re trying to enforce ordinances to make the public feel good. You’re not enforcing ordinances that deal with the law.”
In documents filed Monday, Newman warned the city again to not disclose details of the case following an appearance of Councilor Sean Morgan on KPAY talk radio.
“Despite these warnings, it was brought to the court’s attention that a member of City Council appeared on a local radio program airing certain specifics of the parties’ positions as discussed during the settlement conferences, as well as disparaging the parties as a result of those positions,” the magistrate judge wrote in the filed report.
Newman has now ordered the city to provide evidence why the “city and/or the specific councilperson,” should not be fined for revealing closed session information. Newman referenced ancillary orders in July in which both parties agreed to confidentiality as part of settlement negotiations. At the start of the Aug. 30 conference between both parties, Newman gave another reminder of the confidentiality regarding discussions followed by another warning at the Sept. 10 conference. Representatives for the city assured Newman councilors had been informed to remain quiet on the negotiations.
Despite ongoing negotiations, city staffers arrived at the airport site Monday and began posting signs warning campers of the impending closure.
“I really enjoyed being out here. Other than the fact that the amenities aren’t really here for us, people here are awesome,” said Ronald Newman, who said he’s been homeless since May. Newman said with the closure, he’s not sure where he will go. He added due to health issues and having his phone and wallet stolen at a previous camp site, the airport site provided a way to feel safe, and he felt like he wasn’t impending on anyone’s space.
“I don’t want to be downtown illegally panhandling. I don’t want to be put in situations where I have to sleep somewhere where I’m not sure if I’m allowed to sleep or not,” Newman said. “I’m just trying to survive but I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Jay Gromacki who has also be staying at the airport site said he feels pushed out by the city. “I was a very productive member of our community. Now I feel like I’ve gone from second-rate citizen to a ‘less than’ in their eyes and I’ve got no where to go,” Gromacki said. “It feels like they bit off more than they could chew with this and instead of owning that and owning up to it, they just chose to sweep it under the carpet as fast as they could just to make them look like they’re the helpers and we’re the dirt bags.”
Gromacki also said he doesn’t know what’s next, saying the closure of the airport site is just one more obstacle.
“Now that we’re essentially evicted, what agency can we go to? People refer you all day long to all the different agencies and all you’re going to get is a whole bunch of ‘No,’” Gromacki said. “No one’s going to help us.”