SANTA CRUZ ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER CLOSING ENCAMPMENTS
San Lorenzo Park and Benchlands targeted; about 150 unhoused people living in park
SANTA CRUZ >> Unhoused people living in encampments at the San Lorenzo Park and nearby Benchlands will be forced to find new shelter under an executive city order that will temporarily close the park.
According to the executive order, which was issued Thursday evening, the temporary closure will be implemented in phases — by Jan. 6 the area is slated to be closed. The first phase of noticing occurred Friday morning and cleanup will begin Monday.
Residents of the San Lorenzo park encampments will be notified of closure in a stepwise approach, geographic section-by- section, Elizabeth Smith, city of Santa Cruz communications manager said.
There are approximately 150 unhoused people currently living in the San Lorenzo Park area, according to Smith.
Santa Cruz’s unhoused population began camping at San Lorenzo and Benchlands in April of this year. According to the park closure order, the city attempted to manage the camps, providing trash services and other services, as well as putting in place a socially distant layout. In the face of winter rains, the Benchlands, which is located on a San Lorenzo River floodplain that frequently sees overflow in the rainy season, the city and county relocated that managed camp to the National Guard armory in DeLaveaga Park.
But unhoused people who weren’t part of the relocated managed camp continued to reside in the San Lorenzo Park area.
“Eventually, nuisance conditions became overwhelming,” the closure notice states — at that point the city and county came together to manage Benchlands camp.
“We saw an increase of people camping in the park, as the increase happened there, health and safety issues, calls for theft, vandalism, and trespassing issues arose,” Smith said, citing additional issues of drug use, human waste and needle litter. “It just came to a point where it wasn’t working for residents nearby, it wasn’t safe for people in the park, it wasn’t safe for city employees, so, unfortunately, we had to make a decision to close the park.”
The services required at the camp, amidst budget cuts and furloughs, Smith said are putting a financial strain on the city. Because
of safety concerns, city employees have been working in pairs, and due to a hiring freeze parks and recs employees are down by 30%.
The city will also need to contract a cleanup out at the park. One such effort that took place at Pogonip cost nearly $250,000, according to Smith.
There is no prescribed next step for unhoused people that currently live in the San Lorenzo Park area. According to Smith, the city is working with Santa Cruz County to try and find out where available shelter beds remain.
“We’re g iv in g t hree weeks notice,” Smith said. “Hopefully that will allow people to make plans and figure out their next steps.”
But Jeremiah Hinesley, an unhoused park resident, said he doesn’t know where he and others living at the San Lorenzo Park can go.
“Every time it seems like I’m settling in some place, just when I feel I’ve caught a break, it gets taken from me again,” Hinseley said.
Hinesley, who used to be a teacher, said he became houseless when his father died. He’s lived in Santa Cruz for six years, and been at the San Lorenzo Park for seven months.
He’s found a community here he says. But when the closure order is implemented, Hinesley said he and other unhoused people will be forced to scatter around the county.
“I don’t think you’re going to be able to stop this, it’s just going to get worse, especially with the pandemic,” Hinesley said.
Part of that community at the unsanctioned camp has included showers, trash services and storage centers.
Showers have been offered twice a week at the encampment by the Association of Faith Communities. Harry Pruyne was on
site Friday helping people sign up.
“I see how people who are not housed come together, work together, to create their community, and they expect these types of situations to happen,” Pruyne said. “I don’t think they should have to be put through that every time, I think the system should get better.”
When contacted and asked for details as to why
the camp was being closed, and how the closure and cleanup would be enforced, Santa Cruz Chief of Police Andy Mills referred all questions to the city manager’s office.
“They have a compassionate but firm approach that has worked in the past so I imagine they will be taking the same approach this time,” the city’s Smith told the Sentinel.
At-large there are at least
2,167 homeless people living in Santa Cruz, 1,700 of which are without shelter. But those figures are “significantly underreported”, according to a Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury report published in July.
Brent Adams, who operates the Warming Center Program and Footbridge Services Center, said he is concerned about what will come next for this group of Santa Cruz residents.
While San Lorenzo Park isn’t an ideal location for an encampment he said, next steps need to be established before implementing a closure.
“Every single day I’m trying to get people into shelter and I have to wait weeks for them to get a shelter bed,” Adams said. “The shelter system isn’t accommodating everybody. These are people we’ve turned our back on.”