‘Camp Resolution’ gets a reprieve: City delays plans to clear large homeless camp in North Sacramento

City officials paused plans to clear a large homeless encampment in North Sacramento this week after dozens of people, both housed and unhoused, demanded it be left alone. 

Residents at what’s known as Camp Resolution say they’ll continue to occupy the city-owned site at Colfax Street and Arden Way, even though their future remains in limbo. 

Many people at Camp Resolution, like Denis McGlothen, said they previously lived at campsites along the American River Parkway that regularly flooded. McGlothen called the fenced and partially paved site on Colfax “a safe haven,” especially with rain and winter ahead.

“Why would you want to take this away? This is keeping us out of people’s neighborhoods,” McGlothen said on Thursday, as he cooked bacon for his fellow campers. “Just help us. That’s all we’re asking. Just help.” 

Denis McGlothen cooks breakfast for himself and his neighbors at Camp Resolution. Sacramento, Calif. on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022.Andrew Nixon / CapRadio

The city had planned to clear the site because it says the soil is contaminated and presents health risks, citing an assessment by the Central Valley Regional Regional Water Quality Control Board. 

“The people currently occupying the Colfax lot are violating the terms set by the state Water Board, and they are in potential danger from the toxic chemicals in the soil, especially people in tents,” Assistant City Manager Mario Lara said in a written statement issued this week. “The City is liable if people are allowed to stay there.” 

The camp has become a flashpoint in the debate over how to address Sacramento’s rapidly growing homeless encampments. 

In January, volunteers counted more than 1,600 tents and 1,100 vehicles being used for shelter at camps across Sacramento County. The totals were included in the region’s 2022 Homeless Point-In-Time Count and were nearly five times larger than in 2019.

Sacramento’s homeless population spikes 67% to nearly 9,300 since 2019

Last week, voters in the city weighed in on Measure O, a proposal to ban camps from public property if certain conditions are met. That measure led with 54% of the vote as of Thursday, though tens of thousands of ballots remain uncounted.

Dozens of supporters of Camp Resolution showed up to Tuesday night’s City Council meeting to urge city leaders to cancel plans for clearing the site. The council voted unanimously to back off the plans, though it’s unknown whether the reprieve will be permanent. 

Council member Sean Loloee, whose district includes the camp, said after speaking with City Manager Howard Chan at the meeting that the plans had been “delayed for a short period of time.” 

In an email on Thursday, city spokesperson Tim Swanson said “no specific timeline has been identified” for moving people from the site. 

Back at Camp Resolution, residents said they’ve created a network of support that will sustain them in the months ahead. Tables of donated clothing, shoes, pet food, fruit, pasta and other supplies line one portion of the camp, which also includes a stage for live music. Painted portraits hang on the fences inside the camp. 

Banners reading “Sweeps Kill” and “Housing Is a Human Right” line its perimeter fencing. 

“A lot of people are backing us,” said Holly Porter, a camp resident who also serves as a media contact. “Mainly, we just want to be given a chance.” 

Holly Porter lies in a hospital bed in her tent at Camp Resolution in Sacramento, Calif., with a bike from a visiting friend leaning against it, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022.Andrew Nixon / CapRadio

Residents say there’s a history of broken promises at the site. 

Last year, the city designated it as a future safe parking area, one that would allow people living in vehicles to legally park there — on paved surfaces to avoid the risk presented by the contaminated soil. The city noted it was never intended to be used for tent camping. 

The city then spent $617,000 to pave and fence the site but abandoned its plan earlier this year because it “had become cost prohibitive,” according to the city. This week, several tents lined the paved portion of the site, while RVs and other vehicles were parked in the unpaved areas. 

Late last month, the City Council voted unanimously to divert $19 million away from the city’s plan to build 20 new homeless shelter sites citywide. Instead, it agreed to spend the money on seven affordable housing projects, which will eventually offer more than 800 units across the city. 

Jeana Maes cuddles her cat, Orange Julius, at Camp Resolution in Sacramento Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022.Andrew Nixon / CapRadio