The city of Berkeley said it would not sweep the Eighth Street and Harrison Street encampment Feb. 24, the date by which they asked all encampment residents to vacate the premises.
The city still has the legal capacity to sweep the encampment anytime after Feb. 24.
Yesica Prado, co-founder of the Berkeley Homeless Union and a resident of the encampment, said a city attorney approached BHU’s attorneys with news of the announcement shortly after 2 p.m. on Feb. 23. According to Prado, a BHU attorney had previously threatened to file a temporary restraining order against the city if it went through with the sweep.
The city put several copies of a notice calling for residents to vacate the premises by Feb. 24 around the encampment last week. The notice cited the presence of leptospirosis — a bacterial disease that can be fatal to humans — in the encampment as the reason behind the sweep.
Berkeley Public Health Officer Noemi Doohan filed a declaration Jan. 6 where she stated that at least one dog and multiple rats in and around the encampment had been found to be infected with leptospirosis since December 2025. In the declaration, Doohan also called for the entire encampment to be cleared “to allow for complete eradication of rat burrows.”
The cancellation comes as the city is fighting an ongoing legal battle with BHU over negotiations regarding Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations for disabled residents of the Eighth and Harrison encampment.
BHU is advocating for individuals who requested accommodations under the ADA to receive the assistance that they require.
“80% of the residents I live with in the encampment also have a disability, so we think that they also have a right to have that protection, an alternate place to go,” Prado said.
However, the city’s current policy, passed in September 2024, allows them to take enforcement action without needing to provide interim housing offers when there is a health or safety hazard present in encampments.
In a January interview with The Daily Californian, Assistant to the City Manager Peter Radu said there are “certain instances where there are very serious health and safety hazards where we may not have the luxury of waiting for a shelter to become available.”
In a Jan. 13 court order, however, U.S. District Court Judge Edward M. Chen ruled that the city must answer several questions such as why it can’t provide limited moving assistance or trash disposal services, in addition to information about where affected individuals can relocate, among other queries.
The next hearing for the case is set for March 20, where questions surrounding the city’s ADA compliance and particular residents’ ADA accommodations will be resolved.
According to Prado, city and BHU officials will meet today to discuss ADA accommodations and the potential closure of the Eighth and Harrison encampment.