Alternate campsites announced
The 3 locations in Chico will not be enforced for at least 60 days
CHICO » The city of Chico has announced the location of three alternate campsites required by the Warren v. Chico settlement agreement.
The locations are a one-acre site on the northwest corner of Cohasset and Eaton roads; a oneacre site north of Fair Street near the intersection of Fair Street and Country Drive; and a twoacre site at the northwest corner of Bruce and Humboldt roads.
Interim City Manager Paul Hahn said the locations are limited to homeless people who were determined not compatible for a shelter space — either at the Torres Shelter or the emergency noncongregate housing site — by an individual assessment with the city’s Outreach and Engagement Team.
“These sites are only meant for that small amount of people. … This is not a place to escape enforcement in another area,” Hahn said. “These are not sanctioned campgrounds — these are identified as part of the settlement agreement for those people who can’t get into the shelter.”
Within the settlement agreement, the city is allowed to begin enforcing its anti-camping laws but is unable to enforce on the three locations for at least 60 days. A person may only be moved twice in a 12-month period under this process.
If a person is determined through individual assessment to be unfit for an appropriate shelter space by the city’s Outreach and Engagement Team, they will be notified about these locations and that they may contact Legal Services of Northern California for information about their legal rights.
Factors that may disqualify a homeless person from an appropriate shelter space include physical or mental disabilities that cannot be accommodated by the shelters; cases in which a family cannot be separated and cases of having multiple pets not allowed by shelters.
“We expect that to be an incredibly small number of people,” Hahn said.
The three alternate campsites are confirmed to be within half-a-mile of food and transportation services.
At the Cohasset and Eaton roads location, opportunities for shade are minimal and there is a bike path that leads to The Esplanade. The lot is covered with gravel.
At the Fair Street and Country Road location, opportunities
for shade are better with some trees located across the lot. The lot is mostly grassy.
At the Bruce and Humboldt roads location, opportunities for shade are nonexistent. The lot is covered with gravel. It is also close to Marsh Jr. High School.
“It’s not necessarily a concern, but we’re certainly going to keep our eyes on it because we know there’s sensitivity to that,” Hahn said.
Hahn said the city will be supplying “modest facilities” including a portable toilet, water access and trash bins.
“If we’re putting people out there, we recognize they need to go to the bathroom and we want to make sure that there is a place to put garbage,” Hahn said.
As of Friday, May 13, the emergency non-congregate shelter site has 110 Pallet shelters available out of a total of 177.