Sausalito seeks funds as homelessness costs grow
City calls for more county aid amid camp expenses, lawsuits
Sausalito is seeking a new infusion of state and local dollars as lawsuits continue in connection with the city-run camp for homeless people.
Arthur Bruce, a boat resident on Richardson Bay, sued in mid-February to park at the Marinship Park camp and use its facilities. He won a temporary order, but the city is seeking to dismiss his case, he said.
The homeless residents said anyone who left the camp for temporary housing or relief was disallowed from returning. They also claim that prejudicial and bullying police enforcement
was intended to limit their recourse — a “process of removing the camp by attrition,” Bruce said.
A flurry of federal lawsuits has been filed since in an effort to restrain the city and lay claim to the public resources.
“As soon as the lawsuit is there, they back off,” said Robbie Powelson, an advocate for the campers.
“It's been stressful. It's been embarrassing. But it's also been empowering,” Bruce said on Monday, seated in the doorway to his white camper shell. “Maybe we can't change the whole world, but maybe we can change the way things are right here. Or at least we can try.”
"This crisis is breaking our bank."
— Mayor Janelle Kellman
Managing the homeless population has cost the city $1.5 million over the last two years, city leaders said. During a special meeting Wednesday, the City Council approved a letter to county officials appealing for $1.5 million in fresh funding.
“This crisis is breaking our bank,” said Mayor Janelle Kellman.
The letter said the city hopes some of the county's $51.5 million general fund surplus would be used to increase the resources of the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services.
The city has called for a mental health professional or social worker to act as a housing coordinator and service worker for 12 months at the Sausalito camp. It also asks to fund a 24-hour-a-day security service to support the police department and for additional emergency housing vouchers.
Benita McLarin, director of the county health department, confirmed the county is seeking additional funding for homelessness on behalf of the city.
“We have been working closely with our cities to secure additional funding from the state to address homeless encampments and feel confident we'll be successful in bringing even more resources to them this summer,” she said.
On Monday, the Marinship Park camp was quiet. City public works employees, dressed in orange vests, worked in one corner of the courts for a handful of hours. Urban Alchemy employees stood, masked, at their posts. Some residents toiled with tools in their sections — “this is how I'm making money today,” one said — while others smoked cigarettes, maintained their living quarters or came and went. One man worked on balancing a water-filled metal bowl on a post so he could make music. No police officers were in sight.
The city approved a sixmonth deal in December to have Urban Alchemy manage the camp. The agreement expires in June.
Powelson had 15 parking tickets as a result of parking at the Marinship camp. By the afternoon, he was served another: $68 for “blocking a public drive.”
“That was a true Marinship moment,” he said.
Powelson has an ongoing case against the city contesting the tickets and what he called alleging harassment by the police. He said he has been threatened with arrest if he goes into the tennis court encampment.
“They're using force and fear to try and force people out of the city,” he said.
Haley Allen, who also has an ongoing case against the city, moved to the camp in December. She said she left for three days to detox from alcohol, and when she returned, officials would not allow her back in.
Allen took up residence in the parking lot, living in her car. On March 15, her car was towed. She sued and gained access to her car, which is still in the tow yard, and a campsite.
“I'm more comfortable now,” she said.
The city is facing other cases filed by homeless residents. It also faces a $21 million suit filed by Jeremy Portje, a Black photographer, who alleges his civil rights were violated during an arrest at the city-run camp at Marinship Park.
Powelson said U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen, who has heard and ruled on many of the Sausalito court cases, plans to address the many hearings related to Sausalito on Tuesday afternoon. Powelson said there were ongoing settlement conferences every Wednesday with Judge Robert Illman.
Kellman said the city could not talk about the details of litigation outside of the courtroom.
“While the monetary request is underway and a number of lawsuits against Sausalito continue to be heard in court, our primary mission remains unchanged: to manage the encampment and keep it as stabilized and calm as possible while offering safer shelter options, including beds as they become available,” she said.
The county is planning to allocate over $10 million in new funding for homelessness countywide, McLarin said. Overall the county spends $28 million annually on homeless services, which funds ongoing support services for 243 formerly homeless people in permanent supportive housing, case management for an additional 52 people in the process of accessing housing, 165 emergency shelter beds and the ongoing development of 116 additional units of permanent supportive housing.
She said that over the last year the county worked with Sausalito and the Richardson's Bay Regional Agency to transition 18 people from the camp and off the water to housing. There are 12 current and former residents of Sausalito's camp who are connected to case management and prioritized for housing vouchers as they become available, she said.
Kellman said the city hopes to get everyone at the camp a “safe place to live indoors.” The city hopes to return Marinship Park to public use when the camp is eventually closed, she said.