“City discussions with Caltrans and the county have identified possible options to support Caltrans’ shelter needs,” Walsh said in an email. City spokeswoman Jean Walsh said Oakland has engaged in those talks.
District Judge William Orrick ordered Caltrans to work with officials from Oakland, Alameda County and Newsom’s office to figure out where the encampment residents can go. Both sides are scheduled to appear in court again next week to determine the next steps. A group of encampment residents promptly sued, and late last month a federal judge ruled the transit agency cannot close the camp until at least the end of August because it has yet to formulate a plan to relocate the residents. Twenty firefighters doused another fire Tuesday, which ignited an RV and debris surrounding the vehicle.įollowing the first fire, Caltrans said it planned to close the camps on its land beneath the Interstate 880 freeway - displacing about 200 people - by the first week of August. The camp has been a major point of contention for months, particularly after a fire there last month sent clouds of black smoke billowing through the area and closed portions of the Interstate 80 and 880 overpasses. Several hundred people are estimated to live in tents, make-shift shacks, cars and RVs along several blocks of Wood Street and in adjoining vacant land owned by Caltrans. “We are committed to finding solutions to shelter and house people experiencing homelessness,” Parker wrote to Patterson. She stressed that the city highly values its partnership with the state and is grateful for the support and “historic levels of funding” for homelessness. Parker replied to the letter Thursday, saying that her office is reviewing it and will respond more thoroughly next week. In the letter, the governor’s office threatened to redirect that funding to other local governments that are “willing and able to serve the residents of Oakland in fulfillment of clear responsibilities outlined in state law.”
The state has allocated $300 million to Oakland and Alameda County to fight homelessness since the COVID-19 pandemic began, including $4.7 million recently awarded to Oakland specifically to address the Wood Street encampment. The dispute points to the growing tension over homelessness in California cities, as Newsom has made clearing encampments a priority. “We write today out of concern that the city of Oakland is aiming to avoid responsibility for providing shelter and housing assistance to individuals at the dangerous encampment commonly known as ‘Wood Street,’ despite significant state funding the City has received, and is receiving, for this purpose over the last two years,” Ann Patterson, Newsom’s legal affairs secretary, wrote. In a letter to Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker, the governor’s office accused the city of washing its hands of the majority of the Wood Street homeless encampment residents because they are camped on land that is owned by Caltrans - not the city. Gavin Newsom’s office took Oakland officials to task this week, accusing the city of shirking its responsibility to clear a large, fire-prone West Oakland homeless camp.
OAKLAND - Threatening to take back millions of dollars in state funding, Gov.