Judge orders controversial Oakland freeway encampment to be cleaned up

The encampment has suffered several fires in recent months.
The encampment has suffered several fires in recent months. Photo credit Matt Bigler/KCBS Radio

OAKLAND (KCBS RADIO) – After weeks of their fate hanging in the balance, the residents of the homeless encampment under Interstate 880 in Oakland have lost the battle to stay at the site.

For more, stream KCBS Radio now.

Judge William Orrick for the Northern District of California has ruled in favor of CalTrans, saying there is no constitutional right to housing.

Now the state has one week to prepare to post notices that the Wood Street encampment will be cleared soon, and the 200 residents will need to go somewhere else.

The current plan by the city is to do the clearing in two week phases.

Many camp residents are angry over the decision, as they've argued to stay at the site despite the issues plaguing the area, including recent fires.

Several of the residents have expressed their desire to stay at the site.
Several of the residents have expressed their desire to stay at the site. Photo credit Matt Bigler/KCBS Radio

"I'm not moving," said Theo Cedar Jones, who has been living at the site for two years. "They said because of fire we have to move, but they created the conditions of fire and we, 99% of our residents have never started any of the fires at Wood Street."

The judge also ordered the city, Alameda County and CalTrans to work together to safely store the RV's at the site, although representatives for all three groups have claimed that doing so would be difficult, if not impossible, given the deteriorated condition of some of the vehicles.

Notices about the camp getting cleared out are slated to go up in the next week.
Notices about the camp getting cleared out are slated to go up in the next week. Photo credit Matt Bigler/KCBS Radio

And while many nearby Oakland residents were pleased with the judge's decision, some are concerned about what comes next.

"This is what mine and my neighbor's concerns are is that they're going to throw these people out and they're going to end up all over our streets," said one such local, Daniel Burns.

"And it's just going to be whack-a-mole where you take care of one area and it pops up in another area," he said.

Oakland is preparing to open up at least 40 shelter beds, but that won't be enough to house all the site’s residents.

It's unclear how the site's residents will even be offered shelter beds – the city asked for assistance from Alameda County to help with outreach, but the county said there aren't enough resources for that.

DOWNLOAD the Audacy App
SIGN UP and follow KCBS Radio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Featured Image Photo Credit: Matt Bigler/KCBS Radio