December 10, 2021
On Thursday, December 9, the City of Sausalito received court approval to relocate the Marinship Park tent encampment from the grassy area of the park to the tennis courts, providing a safe camping site for encampment occupants and enabling the City to broaden its analysis of the grassy area.
U.S. District Court Judge Edward H. Chen granted the City's request to relocate the encampment in response to concerns by encampment occupants regarding the condition of the encampment site following a massive storm that hit the Bay Area in October. Among other concerns, initial soil testing identified fecal matter near a sewer line that serves the park's public restrooms. City inspections found no indications of sanitary sewer line breaks or leakages, however, the City will conduct further testing — and remediation, if necessary — once the area is cleared.
Urban Alchemy, a nonprofit organization experienced in managing safe sleeping villages and tent encampments, has been retained by the City to help coordinate the relocation of the encampment, manage the encampment area, and assist encampment occupants. The City is coordinating with Urban Alchemy and efforts are underway to implement the relocation. Urban Alchemy was first retained by the City earlier this year to assist with management of the encampment and its relocation to Marinship Park.
To prepare the tennis courts as an encampment site, the City has installed wooden platforms suitable for accommodating tents. The City has purchased tents and will set them up and secure them. Sections of the chain link fence surrounding the tennis courts will be removed to allow for improved ingress and egress, in accordance with the recommendation of the fire marshal.
In response to this weekend's storm projections, the City is converting the MLK Gym at 610 Coloma Street into a temporary emergency shelter. The emergency shelter is scheduled to open at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 11 — unless heavy rain arrives sooner — and will remain open for the duration of the storm. A City staff member and a security guard will be on duty at all hours that the shelter is open, and social distancing and mask wearing guidelines will be in effect.
The court hearing on Thursday was part of litigation that began in February when the Sausalito/Marin County Chapter of the California Homeless Union filed a lawsuit against the City in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to stop the relocation of the occupants of the Dunphy Park encampment to Marinship Park and the enforcement of the City's ban on day camping.
In issuing his ruling on Thursday, Judge Chen also upheld a City resolution temporarily designating one location, Marinship Park, for overnight camping for individuals who have no option for sleeping indoors and denied a request by the lawyer for the California Homeless Union to allow daytime camping elsewhere in the City.
In addition to supporting the encampment, the City continues to promote, coordinate, and offer to place persons needing overnight shelter in seven beds that it has secured at the New Beginnings Center in Novato, four beds for men and three beds for women. The City is also applying for a state grant to accelerate housing solutions for those without shelter. The City has discussed this pressing need and has requested assistance from the county administrator and the Marin County Health and Human Services Department to provide interim and long-term housing solutions for encampment occupants in partnership with Sausalito.
December 10, 2021
Memo from the City Manager designating the Marinship Park tennis courts as the location for the encampment and adopting the Code of Conduct.
