Rohnert Park starts work to close Roberts Lake homeless camp

Rohnert Park this week began the process of reducing capacity at the homeless camp on Roberts Lake Road as the city prepares to open a long-awaited interim housing facility within two weeks that could provide shelter to many camp residents.

City officials on Tuesday issued notices to the estimated 110 residents that the city planned to reorganize the space over the next several weeks as some residents are moved to a new 60-unit supportive housing facility on Labath Avenue and remaining residents move to a smaller, managed camp at the site.

“Our goal is to get a good chunk of the people at the camp into housing and provide a safer and clean option for those that remain,” said Mary Grace Pawson, Rohnert Park’s development services director.

Ultimately, the city seeks to move everyone in the camp, the largest of its kind in Sonoma County, into interim or permanent housing and permanently close the site.

Rohnert Park officials stressed that no fixed timeline existed for the closure. The camp was first established in February at a park-and-ride just east of Highway 101.

The reorganization comes amid heightened frustration from residents and business over the size of the camp and how to tackle rising homelessness in the city.

And it comes as the City Council in recent months supported updating the city’s camping ordinance to provide officials more teeth in prohibiting camping in certain areas of the city and limiting the size of camps and permitted items in camps on public property to address trash buildup, safety concerns and mitigate fire risks at encampments.

NOTICE OF CAMP REORGANIZATION - 10.11.22.pdf

City officials on Tuesday held a meeting at the camp to inform residents of the changes and answer questions. No new residents will be allowed to enter the camp after Tuesday and anyone wishing to remain there must have registered with the city.

Over the next two to three weeks, city officials will be working with service providers to identify people interested in moving to the new housing site, known as Labath Landing. The first residents are expected to move in Oct. 24.

Remaining residents will be offered space in a smaller camp on the east side of the park-and-ride where the city plans to set up 10-by-10 foot spaces. The city will provide tents for residents and all belongings are expected to be kept within the parameters under new city camping rules.

This will help address overcrowding and safety concerns, Pawson said.

Pawson anticipates about 40 to 50 people will remain in the managed camp after the reorganization, she said.

Those who refuse to move to the new camp will be issued a notice to relocate. No one will be allowed to camp within 1,000 feet of the camp effective Oct. 27, according to new city camping rules.

Milpitas-based nonprofit HomeFirst Services, which will operate the new Labath units, will provide round-the-clock services at the encampment and help connect remaining residents to shelter or housing.

The city has contracted with a security firm to provide 24-hour presence at the site, too. Guards will maintain a roster of residents, monitor visitors at the camp, enforce camping rules and address safety issues.

The city will continue to remove trash and provide portable bathrooms. The city currently provides trash pickup, portable toilets and hand-washing stations, which are paid for through its existing contract with waste hauler Recology, and spends up to $8,000 a month to remove hazardous material once a week.

Officials are reaching out to other service providers across the county to access shelter beds and is continuing to work with regional partners to create more interim and permanent housing, Assistant City Manager Don Schwartz said.

Pawson said the goal is to house everyone.

“Most of the residents there are very vulnerable,” Pawson said. “As we’re working through this effort to reorganize, the more people we can work to get into a better situation, the more helpful it will be to the residents of the encampment.”

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @paulinapineda22.