The City of Oakland manages essential programs for our unhoused community, including a Community Cabin site and a Safe RV Parking site, on Wood Street between West Grand Avenue and 26th Street. More than 100 people are currently living in these programs.
As a condition of the City’s lease for the sites where these programs are operated, the City is required to keep the street space abutting the programs sites free of debris and encampments.
The City was recently notified by the lease holder that we are in violation of those conditions and at risk of losing the sites where we deliver these important services to the unhoused community, due to encampments and debris on the street. This would disrupt the programs themselves as well as the 100+ people currently living on these sites. To retain that lease and continue providing these services, as well as to protect critical City infrastructure, the City is conducting an encampment removal at this site, starting Monday, July 15.
The location is a few blocks north of last year’s encampment removal, on Wood Street between West Grand Avenue and 26th Street. It is a much smaller site than last year’s operation a few blocks away, with a recent canvass identifying between 8 and 12 residents. For multiple weeks our partners at Operation Dignity have engaged these residents with offers of shelter and program service. Every resident has received an offer, and the City is holding shelter beds available for all of them, consistent with the City’s Encampment Management Policy.
The operation has been properly noticed and is expected to last several days.
In December 2023 the Oakland City Council adopted a Safe Work Zone ordinance that the City will be implementing in this operation. After a safe work zone area is declared, everyone other than City workers will be required to leave that safe work zone to allow staff to conduct the cleanup work safely for both residents and workers.
The City will hold media briefings to provide updates and answer questions.