About 50 people will be forced to relocate to the streets of Oakland or elsewhere in the next three weeks when Caltrans starts clearing its property along Oakland's Wood Street that homeless people are inhabiting following a federal judge's decision Friday morning.
The city has only 40 beds available and about 80 people will be displaced from the northern portion of the Wood Street camp when Caltrans starts clearing that portion.
Caltrans can post notices on the property starting a week from Monday, U.S. District Judge William Orrick said at a hearing that dissolved a temporary restraining order against the state agency. The dissolution will occur in three phases, affecting a total of at least 200 people when Caltrans clears the whole property.
The phased relocation plan will start with evictions closest to the wastewater treatment plant near where multiple fires in the encampment have sparked the most concern. From there, every two weeks, a portion of residents will be offered services and shelter options if available until the area is cleared.
"Those temporary solutions don’t work because residents are removed from their community," Brigitte Nicoletti with the East Bay Community Law Center said. "People who have disabilities can not access those facilities."
Orrick's decision comes following a proposal brought to him by city of Oakland officials Thursday night that Orrick said was "thoughtful."
Orrick said he tried to create the possibility of relocation that is least harmful to the people of Wood Street.
Jaz Colibri is one of the people living at the encampment who is now trying to figure out where to relocate to.
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"It's all organized intentionally backward," Colibri said. "Evict first and get services later."
Officials claim with over 200 fires started and 12 just this past month, eviction is necessary and addresses the potential for catastrophic hazards at the encampment. But residents argue a majority of the fires were not started by them.
Friday's ruling only evicts residents on Caltrans land, but the encampment stretches onto city land as well. The city said it has cleaned up its portion and is planning to build a community site. But NBC Bay Area saw people living on the property Friday, leaving questions about what happens next.
"This is a healing place," encampment resident John Janosko said. "It's not just an encampment of drug addicts and psychopaths. It’s a place where people come because they feel safe and secure."
As the move out date approaches, unhoused residents plan to keep their community together.
"We are going to have to rebuild somewhere else and keep our community alive," Colibri said.
In a statement, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said, "The Court’s indication that it will lift the injunction in a week means Caltrans will hopefully be able to proceed to clean up the most dangerous portion of the Wood Street encampment in its efforts to ensure the safety of those living at the encampment and the surrounding community. The City of Oakland will support Caltrans by providing housing outreach and offering available shelter beds to those living at the encampment, and we look forward to our continued collaboration."
