Largest homeless encampment in Antioch is cleared out
Outreach teams try to find shelter for people removed
ANTIOCH >> The rain didn’t stop city workers on Monday as they used a backhoe and dump truck to clear out the city’s largest homeless encampment on McElheney Road.
The encampment of around 20 to 25 tents is situated on low-lying land between the railroad tracks next to Fulton Shipyard Road and East Sixth Street. The city said it gave residents 72-hour notice to leave, but not all residents got the message.
A wooden sign spraypainted with the words “Where will we go?” was also posted at the camp on Monday afternoon.
“They just started bulldozing and said, ‘You gotta go,’ ” said Latisha Stephenson who has lived there and at other camps throughout East Contra Costa County. “They used to not bulldoze in the rain, but this time they didn’t care.”
Neighbors have complained about the site since mid-2017, according to Forrest Ebbs, Antioch’s community development director.
Earlier in the morning, four people, including one veteran, were placed in county shelters, according to LaVonna Martin, director of the county’s Health, Housing and Homeless Services. She said for the past two weeks, homeless outreach teams have been trying to find shelter for people removed from the camp.
Martin said several others declined shelter space, including a few who had pets. They were referred to other services in the area and surrounding communities. However, as of Tuesday morning, there were only six beds available in county shelters.
Some with pets were referred to Fairfield, said Ken Rickner, who operates Shower House Ministries nearby on Fulton Shipyard Road and provides free showers on Saturdays to the homeless encamped there.
Davis Spears was sitting on the corner of the road, watching over his possessions that he had moved from the campsite. He wasn’t sure where he was going to go for housing, but wanted to remind the public that homelessness could happen to anyone.
“You could go home and get some bad mail and you could be out here, too,” Spears said. “At the same time, it is what it is.”
Shane Agness was taking a break from cleaning up his camp and complained more about trying to find a job than a home.
“Giving me a chance to work for a week would give me a chance to save up for a car,” he said.
When Agness called 211 to find temporary housing for the night, he was asked to call back the next day.
The area was part of the former Hickmott Cannery site and has been used as a landfill for drywall waste, among other things.
After a city code enforcement officer testified in Contra Costa County Superior Court, the city was granted an abatement warrant to clean up the private property and remove any trash and hazardous materials.
The city of Antioch determined that the accumulation of garbage violated local zoning laws that prohibit blight and prevent a tent encampment in the zoning district. The city also argued that it is protecting the environment, because water runs from the area to the San Joaquin River, near the city water intake.
The site has not been properly cleaned up after years of pollution and use as a landfill, according to the Central Valley Regional water Quality Control Board. However, the board included the city’s Downtown Specific Plan in the documents on the regulatory website and suggested that a developer may come clean up the pollution.