- Chrissa Olson | Senior Staff
- Feb 12, 2025 (DailyCal.org)
Update 02/14/25: This article has been updated to reflect that the TRO was granted by a judge after review.
The Berkeley Homeless Union filed a temporary restraining order, or TRO, against the city of Berkeley on Monday to prevent the city from sweeping an unhoused encampment of about 45 people at 8th and Harrison Streets.
The TRO, which was granted by a judge on Feb. 14, alleges the city violated the American with Disabilities Act by denying requested ADA accommodations for residents, at least 31 of whom have mental and physical disabilities. The TRO also alleges that sweeping would put unhoused residents’ lives in jeopardy.
The city of Berkeley did not comment on the TRO.
A public notice posted Jan. 7 said the encampment constituted a health hazard and public nuisance due to debris obstructing sidewalks, loose syringes, human and animal waste, rodent burrows and rotting food.It warned that the city would close the encampment starting Feb. 10.
In the month following the notice being posted, the Berkeley Homeless Union organized cleanup efforts to meet the conditions set by the city.
Residents and volunteers spent a total of 10 days over the past month on cleanup efforts in which they dismantled structures, cleaned up trash and cut down on belongings.
“I (feel) anticipatory pins and needles waiting to hear what their assessment is of the situation as it presently stands,” said Gordon Gilmore, co-founder of the Berkeley Homeless Union.
“While we have made strides in ameliorating the conditions that led to the abatement notice, there’s still a ways to go,” he said, referencing an overflowing dumpster in which encampment residents had amassed trash and items that could be thrown away.
The anticipated Feb. 10 deadline came and went. Nobody from the city showed up.
Later that day, the Berkeley Homeless Union filed a TRO just before 5 p.m. By Tuesday, the encampment was once again quiet as Gilmore and Berkeley Homeless Union co-founder Yesica Prado waited until about 8 a.m. to see if the city would sweep.
The encampment closure has been declared a priority in a resolution authored by Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani.According to an Oct. 7, 2024 City Council report, the Homeless Response Team, or HRT, holds weekly case conferences with city and county unhoused service providers to create service plans for unhoused encampments and individuals before closing encampments.While not required, the city has said in public notices that it plans to take a “housing-first approach.”
The HRT utilizes over $10 million in Measure P funding and $15 million in state funding from the Encampment Resolution Fund grants, according to an Oct. 29 City Council report. The money has been used to lease three motels as non congregate shelters, provide 100 private shelter rooms, and clean up or close encampments 120 times.
Eighty-one percent of people in closed or cleaned encampments accepted noncongregate shelter offers, according to the Oct. 29 report.
The TRO also names defendants Kesarwani, as well as City Manager Paul Buddenhagen, Assistant to the City Manager Peter Radu, HRT Supervisor Okeya Vance-Dozier and ADA Program Coordinator Thomas Gregory.
It also names further plaintiffs as unhoused individuals who had ADA accommodations denied — Adrien Bouchard, Nicholas Johnson and Frank Moore.
The city said in a statement regarding disability accommodations that it was committed to accessibility for all, and that all individuals had a right to request reasonable accommodations to access shelter services from the city under the ADA.
