Novato to create authorized homeless camp
Novato and homeless residents at Lee Gerner Park have agreed to create a temporary sanctioned camp in the park until a lawsuit challenging the city’s new anti-camping rules is resolved.
Under the agreement approved by a federal judge Monday, the city will create a fenced-in camping area on the eastern side of the park and provide amenities such as bathrooms, showers and onsite security. A 6-foottall wooden fence will be erected around the camping area, and residents will be required to follow a code of conduct or face being evicted.
The city also must offer to provide a two-person tent to each resident, though residents are not required to accept them.
The U.S. District Court of Northern California continues to prohibit the city from enforcing its recently approved camping restrictions for public lands, which it has done since issuing a temporary restraining order in July. However, city officials and county social workers are allowed to attempt to connect camp residents to temporary or permanent housing.
Jason Sarris, a park resident and the Novato chapter president of the California Homeless Union, which is representing the park residents in court, called the agreement a “big victory” for their community.
“This is what we’ve wanted since day one,” Sarris said Tuesday. “We’ve asked for something like this, a place to be safe, a place where we won’t be criminalized, and I think we have accomplished this with this preliminary injunction.”
Novato Mayor Pat Eklund said the agreement will “provide a better place for the homeless that have been camping there, yet allow for Lee Gerner Park to be brought back to the community.”
As to why the city entered into the agreement, City Manager Adam McGill said he cannot comment beyond what is included in a city announcement because of the ongoing litigation.
The new camping area is expected to be operational in 30-45 days, according to the city. City staffers did not have an estimate of how much it will cost to build and maintain the camping area, including the additional services, but said the project will be paid for using federal stimulus funds it received from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Eklund said she is confident the court ultimately will uphold the city’s camping restrictions that were adopted earlier this year.
Homeless residents have been living in the park off Novato Boulevard for several years, with the size of the camp increasing during the coronavirus pandemic. The park abuts a section of Novato Creek and is next to the Novato Library and several businesses.
The city did not remove the park residents during this time for two main reasons. Federal coronavirus guidelines recommend local governments refrain from relocating homeless campers in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, case law under the Martin v. Boise federal court case established in 2018 prohibits local governments in seven western states, including California, from preventing someone from sleeping on public land if no adequate shelter space is available.
In the face of continual concerns raised by residents and nearby business owners about the camp for more than a year, the Novato City Council approved two ordinances earlier this year limiting where people can camp on public lands and banning daytime camping.
The ordinances, adopted in June, would ban daytime camping from 7 to 9 a.m. and ban camping and related activities within 50 feet of streams, creeks and any facilities the city deems to be critical. The City Council defined these critical facilities to include government buildings, libraries, playgrounds, evacuation routes, utility equipment, schools and others.
Additionally, the city entered into an agreement with the homeless services organization Homeward Bound of Marin to reserve 15 shelter beds at its New Beginnings Center for residents of Lee Gerner Park. These beds would have allowed the city to evict Lee Gerner Park residents who refused referrals to Homeward Bound had the court not barred the city from enforcing its camping rules.
The ordinances delayed any enforcement until certain coronavirus cases dropped to certain levels in an effort to comply with federal health guidelines. City attorneys also stated the ordinance included reasonable restrictions that did not violate the Martin v. Boise case law.
The temporary agreement sets limits on what park residents and what the city can do with the campsite. Camp residents are not allowed to use alcohol or drugs, have social visits from non-park residents in the camping area, start open fires, possess weapons, or store belongings in paths or common areas. They must maintain a clean living space. No new campers are allowed to join the encampment and all residents in the park must accept being placed in the camping area or else face being removed.
Violations will require the city to provide notice to the resident and an opportunity for them to dispute the case, first with the city and then before a federal magistrate judge if necessary.
Sarris and Anthony Prince, lead organizer and general counsel for the California Homeless Union, say that some provisions in the agreement — such as requiring all residents in the camping area to wear face coverings when they are outside of their tent, mandatory 6-foot distancing between residents and banning social visits from outside visitors — will be difficult for the city to enforce.
“There’s no way they’re going to prevent people from visiting,” Prince said. “There’s no way they’re going to prevent people from exercising their rights of free association under the Constitution. If people come in and make a donation, they’re already visitors.”