Full Notification

Here is today’s update on the encampment at the Roberts Lake Park and Ride:

• To reduce health and safety risks, we conducted a clean up of trash and debris at the site today; see the attached photos.

• The County is conducting background checks on 7 high-risk individuals in anticipation of moving them into secured shelter spaces.

• We are unsure how many beds will be available at Sam Jones Hall in Santa Rosa, the County’s largest shelter, for those at the encampment. We are working with Catholic Charities, which operates the facility; as beds become available, they will be offered to those at the encampment.

As noted in our prior updates, we are continually looking for housing that works for each individual. We have secured 8 shelter beds at the County’s second largest shelter, the Mary Isaac Center in Petaluma, and are working with shelter operators to identify additional capacity. There are never enough beds in local shelters, and limitations because of Covid have reduced the number of beds from normal levels.

Courts have ruled that the City cannot require people to leave the site without first providing adequate shelter or housing opportunities.

We are issuing warnings and citing vehicles that are parked overnight. We prohibit parking from 1-4 a.m. as part of promoting safety at the SMART intersection. Police are continuing to patrol the area, as they do throughout the City.