Tent City returns

One, two, three, four.

Only a handful of tents are visible from Highway 160 this Monday evening. The air is dry and the sky cloudless as the sun dips above the camp sites. A small group of men on bikes with gruff dogs on leashes congregates at the entrance to the American River Bike Trail. Others head west along the trail.

A quarter-mile up, there it is: five, six, seven, eight—dozens more tents, zigzagging along the base of the river levy for what seems to be at least three city blocks.

“There were more,” says a man seated in a chair. His name is Brother Eli, who oversees a drug-and-alcohol free area of this new Tent City. Eli says that there were at least 50 more tents here last week—before city police showed up and told everyone to move out.

Officers handed out notices last Thursday afternoon: “It is unlawful to camp in the city,” it read. “This location is scheduled for immediate clean-up. … Any items not removed will be considered abandoned and removed accordingly.”

Campers say a few police visited on Sunday night, but kept their distance. Eli claims to have seen police along the west side of the camp, near North 10th Street and the bike trail, as recently as Monday afternoon.

Police Sgt. Andrew Pettit told SN&R that there isn’t “a set date and time” when enforcement will take place, and that this order would come at the direction of the city manager’s office.

“In general, we have had business complaints in that area regarding the homeless,” explained Pettit. The Carriage House Door Company, whose property and warehouse backs the camp, declined to speak with SN&R. An employee with Home Town Trading, which backs the American River on the west end of the camp, says no complaints were filed on its behalf.

Meanwhile, most of the homeless remaining told SN&R they do not intend to leave. Signs printed by Safe Ground Sacramento, which are posted on many of the tents, make a statement: Where are people supposed to go now?

Amy Williams with the city of Sacramento says that the city manager is aware of the new camp and is working with the police department, which has lead on the situation. She also said the city is talking with Sacramento Steps Forward about emergency housing options, including motel vouchers and social-service needs to “help fill that gap” of need.

There is no immediate plan to clear the Tent City out, she reminds.

“There’s not a day,” said Williams. “There have been discussions about it, but right now, there’s not a day where we’ll be moving the camp.” The concern right now, she stated more than once, is to make sure people can access housing and help options.

A homeless man in a red sweater said it doesn’t matter: Based on experience, the police will come “anytime, when we least expect it,” he says.

The man also took the time to point out that the Tent City’s trash has been bagged and organized in piles a several spots; the garbage will later be taken to Loaves & Fishes and disposed of.

Another man with chin-length blond hair wearing a leather jacket, David King, insists that if you’re homeless, “you and your children would be safer out here than on the streets of Sacramento.” In fact, there are a couple families and at least three children at the camp this afternoon—although it’s uncertain if they will spend the night.

He shares his story: homeless for seven years, isn’t part of the current encampment but has seen American River-area homeless over the past years cited for “unlawful camping” and “unlawful property storage,” “unlawful removal of natural fallen ground cover,” and “encumbrance of a public thoroughfare,” namely the bike trail.

He agreed with Eli that there were 30 percent more tents last week.

As darkness arrives, more and more individuals return to the camp. Around the bend, there are a few more tents. Ninety, 91, 92, 93.

SN&R’s final count, as of December 5, Monday evening: 118 tents.

By Tuesday’s sunrise, the temperature dropped below 30 degrees for the first time this fall.