Oakland begins final evictions at Wood Street homeless encampment
OAKLAND -- After nearly a year-long saga, final evictions were underway Monday at the Wood Street homeless encampment in Oakland.
Once the city's largest encampment with some 200-300 unhoused residents, there are now about several dozen people left. On Monday, the city said crews began removing tons of debris and illegally dumped material, along with stolen, burned-out and inoperable vehicles from the parcel.
Crews towed 12 vehicles from the site Monday, and four encampment residents agreed to relocate to a new cabin shelter program. City officials expect the eviction process to take about two weeks.
The once-sprawling camp in West Oakland beneath the MacArthur Maze highway interchange had been the source of concern due to unsafe and unhealthy conditions, along with multiple fires - more than 100 - in recent years. A large fire in April 2022 killed a person who was living in an RV.
Efforts to close the encampment which straddled property owned by Caltrans, the city of Oakland, and BNSF Railway were held up by litigation. Evictions began last September amid protests and brief standoffs and confrontations at the camp.
In February, the city opened the tiny cabin village to temporarily shelter unhoused residents, primarily from the Wood Street encampment, with a capacity of about 100 people.
The opening came a few days after a federal court issued an order allowing the city of Oakland to shut down the encampment to make room for a 170-unit affordable housing project.
"Every Oakland resident has a right to housing, safety, and dignity," said LaTonda Simmons, Assistant City Administrator said in a prepared statement. "That's why our teams are working so hard to transition residents off the street and into shelter programs that enable them to eventually secure permanent housing. We were able to acquire state funding to build a new cabin shelter program, taking into account the needs and desires of the Wood Street community. And we are eager to finally enable construction to begin toward a permanent affordable housing development on the Wood Street parcel for up to 500 Oakland residents."
The cabin community has 70 units for individuals, 12 cabins for couples, and six units for people with disabilities. Residents will be able to access the site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Up to two pets per person will be allowed in the community. The community includes a shower, restroom, laundry facilities, a kitchen, security, parking and two meals each day.
Storage for personal belongings is limited, city officials said. The cabins have a heater, locked doors and windows, an overhead light and at least two electrical outlets.
Money for the cabin community came from an $8.3 million grant from the state. The nonprofit Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency is managing the community.
More than 5,000 homeless people live in Oakland, according to last year's point-in-time count.
