Hours after Berkeley began dismantling one of its largest homeless camps on Wednesday, a judge ordered the city to immediately halt the sweep.
But by about 2 p.m. — just before the judge issued the emergency order — most of the longstanding camp in Northwest Berkeley with dozens of residents had already been cleared.
The sweep came just days before a court hearing set for next Tuesday on camp residents’ request for a preliminary injunction to temporarily prevent the city from clearing out the area around 8th and Harrison streets.
Yesica Prado said she and other camp residents were caught off guard when authorities arrived early Wednesday morning and told them to leave. She had expected the city would at least wait until the federal judge made a ruling on the injunction.
“We got no notice, nothing,” said Prado, adding that some residents lost possessions in the sweep.
Workers clear a homeless encampment on Harrison and Eighth Streets in Berkeley, Calif., on Thursday, June 4, 2025. A federal judge ordered the city to halt clearing work Wednesday afternoon. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)In an emergency hearing on Wednesday afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen said while he was “troubled” that the city may have attempted to circumvent next week’s injunction hearing, he decided to halt the sweep because the city failed to give camp residents sufficient notice.
“Anybody would have expected there would have been some notice, just as a matter of due process and fairness to the residents there,” he said.
During the hearing, attorneys for the city argued officials had informed camp residents in February that they intended to eventually close the encampment. A prior court order, which expired May 23, had prevented the city from clearing the area for months.
In an interview before Wednesday’s hearing, city officials said quickly closing the encampment, situated near a busy commercial district with breweries and cafes, was necessary to address the serious health and safety risks posed to both neighbors and camp residents. Last year, fed-up local businesses sued the city to shut down the encampment and others nearby.
“We’re seeing rats, feces, rotting food, hypodermic needles, combustible materials,” said city spokesperson Matthai Chakko. “This is not safe for anyone.”
Berkeley police standby as workers clear a homeless encampment on Harrison and Eighth Streets in Berkeley, Calif., on Thursday, June 4, 2025. A federal judge ordered the city to halt clearing work Wednesday afternoon. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Over the years, court orders have delayed past efforts to clear the longtime encampment. And even after judges allowed city officials to dismantle tents and makeshift dwellings in the area, homeless people often returned.
The latest effort to close the camp came as cities across the Bay Area, including Oakland and San Jose, have ramped up sweeps following a U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer giving local governments broader authority to disband camps even when shelter beds aren’t available.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has since pressured cities to act and threatened to withhold state funding if they fail to close more camps and move people off the street — even as most local governments lack anywhere near enough beds for everyone who needs them.
Following the high court’s ruling, Berkeley updated its encampment policy last year to allow authorities to clear camps without offering shelter. Even so, officials said they had made repeated efforts to offer beds to most, if not all, camp residents in the past, including at a nearby motel the city converted into a shelter.
But many of the residents turned down beds, officials said. Homeless people sometimes refuse shelter for a range of personal reasons, from health and safety concerns to a reluctance to follow curfews.
Workers clear a homeless encampment on Harrison and Eighth Streets in Berkeley, Calif., on Thursday, June 4, 2025. A federal judge ordered the city to halt clearing work Wednesday afternoon. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Anthony Prince, an attorney representing the homeless residents, said that although a prior court order blocking the city from closing the camp had expired last month, the city had acted “contemptuously” in carrying out the sweep ahead of next week’s hearing.
“The judge had ordered that hearing on shortened time so the hearing would take place sooner, given the urgency of the situation,” Prince said. “It is absolutely outrageous for the city to have undertaken the destruction this morning.”
In court filings, encampment residents have argued a sweep would upend the encampment community they rely on for support and put them in more dangerous situations, in turn violating their right to due process under the 14th Amendment. They also contend the city has failed to make adequate accommodations for their disabilities as required by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
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Prince is also representing another group of homeless people camped at Ohlone Park near downtown Berkeley, where neighbors have complained the encampment has overtaken much of the greenway. A hearing on a request by encampment residents to prevent the city from closing that camp was set for Thursday.
Meanwhile, the injunction hearing on the Northwest Berkeley encampment remained scheduled for Tuesday.
“Then,” Judge Chen said, “we will get to the merits of this and figure out once and for all where this is going.”
Michael Minix and his dog Lucy leave as workers clear a homeless encampment on Harrison and Eighth Streets in Berkeley, Calif., on Thursday, June 4, 2025. A federal judge ordered the city to halt clearing work Wednesday afternoon. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) Read More Details
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