CHICO — As rehabilitation continued Friday on the alternative site in north Chico, city officials elaborated on the impetus for the work and for seeking to exit the Warren v. Chico settlement agreement.
The northwest corner of Eaton and Cohasset roads is undergoing rehab with new security measures and designated areas for people referred there. Public Works employees have been on site since Aug. 5 doing clean-up work and installing pea gravel to raise tents above ground for spaces sized 20-by-20 feet.
Mayor Andrew Coolidge said in a recorded statement Friday that Chico is moving forward with work at the site and to exit the Warren v. Chico settlement agreement because underlying case law is no longer valid, referring to the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson.
He said he was disappointed that Legal Services of Northern California, representing the plaintiffs in Warren v. Chico, did not accept the city’s request to set aside the current agreement to avoid court action. The city is seeking to file a motion for relief with the court next week.
LSNC declined to comment on the city’s actions.
Until the city’s decision to seek exit from the Warren v. Chico settlement agreement, few changes have been made at the camp since March 2023 when the city maintained the site for the first time, removing about 36 people who were not authorized to be there. Chico did not give shelter assessments by Aug. 5 to people living at the alternative camp prior to work commencing at the site, unlike in March 2023 when it was ordered to do so by Magistrate Judge Kendall Newman.
City Manager Mark Sorensen said this project differs because it is considered a public works project, and people displaced by this project are not required to be assessed for shelter nor given seven-day notices; though in practice, 72-hour notices have been typical.
According to the city’s announcement, new management and site regulations will be in force, with changes including:
• Installation of a mobile security camera and lighting system;
• A limit of a 20 feet by 20 feet for each camp to be separated for fire safety;
• Prohibited entry for people, vehicles or service providers that are not authorized to be there;
• No dogs off leash;
• Quiet hours between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Regulation unclear
Chico’s move to improve the site cites Gov. Gavin Newsom’s July 25 executive order directing cities to remove camps from public places and Section 11 of the Warren v. Chico settlement agreement allowing the city a method to move people’s personal property.
The city claims its ability to institute reasonable rules at the alternate camp site is from a Feb. 24, 2023 order by Magistrate Judge Kendall Newman, stating Chico “may reasonably regulate (the alternative) site,” but gives no other language on how to do so.
Sorensen said the city and LSNC were supposed to work out finer details in a draft agreement, but it was never finalized, leading to a “stand-still” of site regulation. He did not cite any specific issues, but said, “I thought we were close many times over the seven months, but LSNC always seemed to (have) one more detail to add.”
The latest draft of an agreement, dated June 26, may be found at bit.ly/4dfrgUx.
Despite the lack of a finalized, executed agreement, Sorensen said the city is proceeding with implementing parts of the agreement to the alternative site, including conditions that LSNC expressed agreement with.
In the past, people were moved from the Mulberry triangle for a public works project, and work planned underneath Cohasset bridge over Sycamore Creek would also prompt removal of camps this way, according to Sorensen.
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“Imagine if we needed to get to critical infrastructure such as a sewer lift station needing maintenance, or repairs and encampments were blocking access,” he explained. “They would be removed immediately.”
Coolidge emphasized that the city has no plans to close Genesis, the Pallet shelter facility by Silver Dollar Fairgrounds.
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