Editorial: Novato needs plan for sanctioned homeless encampment

Novato City Hall is moving forward to clear out the downtown homeless encampment that was burned out in a July fire allegedly started by one of the campers, who set her own tent on fire.

The fire left charred remains of what was “Camp Compassion,” a temporary homeless encampment that took root in Lee Gerner Park and was eventually supported and sanctioned by the city.

Now taxpayers are footing the estimated $200,000 bill for removing the charred remains. That’s money coming out of the city’s cash-strapped budget.

The city is also hearing from homeless advocates – those who in 2021 sued City Hall to protect the camp they created – that the city’s settlement agreement called for it to be allowed to remain for two years.

That deadline has passed, but because of the fire, the camp has been off limits for more than two months.

The 15 campers displaced by the fire were put up at a hotel for one week at the cost of $15,000. About 10 of those people have set up camp elsewhere, according to Jason Sarris, a former camper who found housing.

He is also chair of the city’s Housing and Homeless Committee.

Since the fire, the charred site has been tagged by a city sign declaring the area “unsafe.”

The decision to move forward and clear the damage is a preventive measure concerning possible “hazardous debris and waste” from the fire draining into the creek during rains.

Removing the damaged camp and restoring the city’s creekside park could take a month, according to the city.

In addition to the city’s costs, which is coming from city funds (not state and federal grants), the camp has denied the public – beyond the campers – use of its park.

For several years, a federal court ruling tied the city’s hands, declaring the city could not ban the homeless from camping on public property if no other affordable housing was available.

A U.S. Supreme Court decision in June overturned that ruling, providing municipalities with greater legal leeway to remove homeless camps.

The city has been mum about its plans, even amid calls by those involved in the 2021 lawsuit that it should reopen the encampment in the park.

It has made no public commitment to rebuild the camp.

Meanwhile, in June, the city Housing and Homeless Committee, according to its minutes, voiced support for working toward creating a “tiny homes” village for the homeless, providing the inhabitants greater security than a nylon tent.

The City Council has some decisions to make. The city has received $1.1 million in state funds to find housing for the homeless who have established a camp in the Hamilton Marsh area. The grants are the result of a 2021 state legislation that dedicated money to find “safe and stable housing” for those in homeless camps.

The city is at a crossroads and, at least publicly, it has been less than clear in detailing a plan or near-term strategy for dealing with its homeless population.

Does it go to the public expense of reopening the Lee Garner Park encampment?

If so, for how long? At what cost?

Is it setting itself for another lawsuit? Legal saber-rattling by homeless advocates is sending that message.

With the October deadline for the end of Camp Compassion’s temporary status having passed, the city should have had a plan in the works – and made it public – on how it would handle its closure and clean-up.

Even before the fire.