CHICO –The city of Chico has filed an official plan to shelter up to 571 people near the Chico Municipal Airport as part of its efforts to settle a federal lawsuit.
That plan is expected to go into effect by 8 a.m. Friday, the city said in a press release Tuesday.
The city filed an official statement as the defendant in Warren v. Chico. et. al against eight unhoused plaintiffs opposing city enforcement moving people and their belongings without adequate shelter. After criticism of plaintiffs, and of the city for ordinances which the judge found did not meet U.S. Supreme Court conditions for shelter under Martin v. Boise, the city is proposing to settle with this plan.
The supplemental brief laying out the plan for shelter near Chico Municipal Airport were released from Chico’s Public Works Department staff Monday, by Public Works Director of Operations and Maintenance Erik Gustafson.
Gustafson declared it is his responsibility to construct a temporary shelter site for homeless people at the Chico Municipal Airport site owned by the city — located in the southern portion of the airport, “surrounded by open land and away from runways.” He provided an aerial image of its position.
Gustafson coordinated with Chico Municipal Airport and the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure the temporary shelter site could be developed on the property. The city has not yet determined which service provider will manage the sheltering site.
The property will have perimeter fencing, with pre-existing fencing once used for cattle grazing removed to allow road access. Of the spaces available, 471 spaces will be 20 feet by 20 feet and 150 will be 20 feet by 10 feet. There will be a security service in place.
Amenities include two dumpsters, three portable toilets, two handwashing stations and a large shade tent. Sanitation services are hired to collect trash, fill handwashing stations and empty portable toilets.
“As homeless individuals begin using the Airport Location and occupancy expands, I can order the placement of additional fencing, spaces, trash receptacles, toilets, handwashing stations and shade tents at the Airport Location,” Gustafson wrote. He added there are currently two 275-gallon potable water totes at the site with daily vendor servicing arranged, and additional water can be delivered if needed.
Anyone can bring tents, pets and belongings including vehicles to the location if those items fit in an allocated location they stay in, he added.
City Manager Mark Orme’s statement in the court brief reflects that he took feedback from a series of Homeless Solutions Committee meetings to suggest the site and the old BMX track as city-owned options.
He acknowledged the airport location to be temporary because it is on graded red dirt, while the BMX site could take a year to complete to relocate the current business and make modifications. If that site is completed, Orme wrote he would phase out the airport location to avoid further trash collection needs and potential for air traffic disruption.
Mayor Andrew Coolidge said Tuesday the old BMX track is only being considered for a more permanent location “if needed.”
“That was to be the site for the long term, if there is a long term,” Coolidge said.
He acknowledged the cost to alter the track for such a site could cost around $500,000.
“It depends on what the judge says,” he said. “He might say we need to do all kinds of crazy stuff.”
A shuttle service to help people get to the temporary airport site is already in place under contract with the Butte County Association of Governments, he added.
Transportation to the BMX site is still under consideration, as the city is still waiting on proposals from all service providers to offer management of at least one site. Those proposals are due by 5 p.m. today.
“Whereas could the people submitting those (requests for qualifications) extend beyond management of the site? Yes they could,” Coolidge said. “I believe the proposal does mention something about outreach as well.
“Staff has put a lot of time and effort and energy into this. I believe is a good comprise in our community and I’m hopeful that the judge sees that the same way. And that we took his order and his directions very seriously.”
The Chico Police Department’s Sgt. Gregory Keeney also filed a brief saying police officers have had to arrest homeless people for criminal activity, and said he is concerned the city must be able to enforce anti-camping ordinances in parks and waterways. He added it will be easier to enforce the law in one temporary site than by allowing unhoused people to “live anywhere in the city of Chico.”
Chico Fire Chief Steve Standridge also filed a brief stating an increase in vegetation fires from cooking fires, from 10 in 2015 to 69 in 2020, has been reported near encampments and he is concerned about the spread of hepatitis and wound botulism at encampments.
A large project
Hilary Crosby of the nonprofit Caring Choices said her organization is one of the service providers applying to manage a city sheltering site, and submitted a proposal for managing a site of 50, per the city’s first request for qualifications on June 14. Then, she said Caring Choices had to submit a second proposal under a new request for qualifications. But as of Tuesday, they suddenly learned the city actually wants a site of 571 to be managed, and Crosby said the group has determined it cannot manage a site of that capacity.
“We are going to resubmit our same proposal, but at this point we cannot in good faith sign onto a site or concept of more than 500 people,” she said. “It goes against best practices that were provided by conversations with the Chico police department and fire personnel.
“The site has no infrastructure, so no water, no electricity, no shade except for man-made shade. It is way out of the way. That being said, I’ve always said I could bring service to a site. But this is pretty barren, and with the weather we’re having right now it would be really hard to convince people to participate in a project at that location without having time to ramp up some of the infrastructure and make sure we have adequate services to provide to anybody.”
Waiting for approval
Multiple postponements mean the case will be heard in the U.S. Eastern District Court 10 a.m. July 2, to determine if the site meets the judge’s approval.
The brief argues that the site, along with spaces open at Torres Shelter and the Jesus Center, provides adequate sheltering space to meet Judge Morrison C. England Jr.’s directive to comply with the Martin v. Boise ruling and the city requests for the plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction to be denied.
The city argues there are 120 beds at Torres Shelter and 58 at Jesus Center. However, Torres’ Executive Director Joy Amaro told the Enterprise-Record on Tuesday there are only 18 beds open there at this time, and Jesus Center’s Laura Cootsona said only 27 beds are available there.
