TUSSLE OVER HOMELESS CAMP ENDS IN A DRAW

City plans to fence off a downtown public parking lot Wednesday morning were brought to a standstill during a confrontation with people living in tents at the site and their supporters.

More than two dozen people lined the edge of the public property, known officially as Lot 27, some filming or holding a banner reading “Where do we go? Martin v. Boise.” Across Front Street, a similar line of city workers and police officers stood watching as a city truck stacked with chainlink fencing segments pulled up. Next door, the Santa Cruz Community Credit Union branch closed its doors as a cautionary step for the day as its leaders observed the developing showdown.

After more than an hour of the standoff, the city vehicle drove off with its fencing materials, with city workers and police similarly departing soon after. A city delegation returned to the lot later in the afternoon in an attempt to negotiate a mutual agreement, which had not been settled as of press time.

The parking area at the corner of Front and Laurel streets has served as the unofficial home of the daily Food Not Bombs free meal offerings during much of the coronavirus pandemic. As has been the case with other sites where the activist group meets, those living on the streets soon followed, setting up long-term camp in the lot and along the adjacent San Lorenzo River levee.

Last week, the city issued notices that the parking lot and nearby levee would be “closed to camping” beginning this week. The notice hinged on an executive order signed Friday by City Manager Martín Bernal with findings of violations of coronavirus-related social distancing protocols and “public nuisance conditions,” including the presence of refuse buildup, rodents, human waste, hypodermic syringes, fires and flammable materials that had been occurring at the property for the previous 26 weeks. The executive order takes specific aim at Food Not Bombs’ food distribution activities, with orders for city staff to engage with the group to identify an alternate location to set up where organizers could practice physical distancing and adequate hygiene and sanitation be maintained.

Residents of a Front Street encampment face off with city workers who had threatened to evict them from the site.

PHOTOS BY SHMUEL THALER — SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL People living in an encampment in and around a Front Street parking lot and their supporters raise a banner as city workers and a group of police officers gather across the street. The city had ordered evacuation of the site, but after arriving on the scene at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, city workers and police left two hours later without taking any action.