HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.a.4) Rept-Homeless Near District Propertyaea* 9
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
October 28, 2010
TO: Budget and Finance Committee
VIA: Jim Kelly, General Manager 110- DYE
Randall Musgraves, Director f Ad inistration
FROM: Shari Deutsch, Safety & Risk Management Administrator 10
SUBJECT: Report on Homeless Near District Property
Imhoff Drive crosses over both Walnut Creek and Grayson Creek just east of the main
treatment plant campus. District property surrounds Grayson Creek at Imhoff Drive,
while only one side of Walnut Creek shares a border with District land. The two Imhoff
Drive overpasses crossing these creeks are a popular location for homeless
encampments because the areas underneath are somewhat sheltered from view.
Unfortunately, these encampments are not maintained in a clean or healthful manner.
Since there is no running water, sanitary or cooking facilities, people camped in the
creeks cook meals over open fires, excrete in the creek and stockpile garbage and
other debris throughout the area. The District and its neighbors are often victims of
theft. Thieves access the plant and surrounding areas through the chain link fences on
each side of the creeks and are especially interested in wire and other items containing
copper.
Although these areas abut District property, the creeks are owned by the Contra Costa
County Flood Control District, a division of the County's Public Works Department. As
such, we have no authority to clean up the areas or to relocate the homeless from our
borders. When homeless encampments arise, staff contacts the County to relocate the
homeless and clean up the area.
The County has developed a protocol for responding to such requests. In our
experience, these efforts take quite a long time before the areas are vacant. First,
Public Works staff post trespassing notices and give the campers 3 days' notice to
relocate themselves and their belongings. At the same time, Public Works notifies the
Health Department so that they can provide services or assistance to the homeless.
Public Works takes no further action until a) at least three days have passed and b) the
Health Department has offered assistance to the homeless. This can sometimes take
longer than the 3 days but generally occurs within a week of Public Works' notification.
Once both conditions have been met, Public Works calls out the Sherriff to escort any
remaining homeless from the area. In some cases, crews come in to clean up once the
areas are vacant but this does not always happen.
Since January, the District has contacted the County about encampments three times.
On April 9, 2010 staff reported the presence of encampments to the County and
requested they be removed. It wasn't until late the following month that any action was
taken. This delay was a major concern as we found a tent hung from the new recycled
water pipe under the Grayson Creek overpass.
April 9, 2010
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May 20, 2010
On July 21, 2010 staff advised the County that encampments had returned and
requested that they be removed. County staff asked us to contact the Sherriff directly
as such requests from the Public Works Department were not considered a high
enough priority to respond quickly.
7/21/10
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7/21/10
To protect our borders and to ensure a safer and cleaner perimeter, District staff offered
to assist the County in maintaining the areas along the levee next to our property. The
District was granted a temporary no -fee permit to cut back trees and spread out mounds
of wood chips that provide further shelter from view in both creeks. This work was
performed in late August, just after the County responded to our request from July.
Despite these efforts, there are now two new encampments under the Walnut Creek
overpass. We have advised the County and forwarded our photos.
10/26/10
Under the best circumstances, these areas remain vacant for several weeks after the
County takes action. It appears that after the County and Sherriff respond, the
encampments relocate farther south, under the Marsh Drive overpass and those
supporting Highway 4. The camps quickly reemerge, sometimes as soon as the next
day. After our clean up in August, District Maintenance staff reported seeing new tents
in the area the following morning.
On occasion, we have found small encampments in the lot behind the Household
Hazardous Waste Collection Facility. However, that area is free of encampments at this
time.