"The city passed a controversial ban earlier this year that criminalized camping anywhere in the city with punishment of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. However, the city says Monday's sweep is not aimed at enforcing the ban. Instead, Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan said he wants the city to improve the area so families can walk safely through the park."
"He said there have been many community complaints about contamination of the waterway, and reports of fires throughout the park. "The creek is very dirty," Salwan said in an interview. "There's not a week that goes by where we don't have some call for service (at the park.)""
"When asked where the city plans to relocate the dozens of homeless residents of the park, he pointed to the city's Navigation Center and the Winter Relief Program, two services which provide temporary shelter and other resources to homeless and extremely low-income residents. Marisa Ornelas, an Abode Services associate director who regularly visits the encampment and its residents, said that many of the residents who receive temporary stays through the relief program will spend 90 days off the streets before they likely return back to homelessness."
Fremont city workers will clear environmental hazards along the Isherwood Park and Quarry Lakes watershed and creek, actions that will displace dozens of unsheltered residents. The city enacted a ban criminalizing camping anywhere in the city with penalties up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, though officials say the immediate sweep is for environmental cleanup rather than enforcement. Mayor Raj Salwan cited contamination complaints and park fires and urged improvements so families can walk safely. Officials pointed to the Navigation Center and Winter Relief Program as temporary relocation options. Service providers warn many residents return to homelessness after short stays and face trespass enforcement if they return.
Read at The Mercury News
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