Judge rules city can sweep 8th and Harrison encampment | Housing

At a March 20 hearing, U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen ruled that the city of Berkeley could legally sweep the Eighth Street and Harrison Street encampment, marking a definitive point in its protracted legal battle with the Berkeley Homeless Union, or BHU.

According to the order, the city must provide certain accommodations for the 16 residents who had filed for them through the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as residents who live in vehicles.

The city initially posted a notice to sweep the encampment in February, and later on in early March, arguing that the outbreak of leptospirosis — a possibly fatal bacterial disease — poses an imminent health risk that merits sweeping it.

The March 20 hearing came after multiple emergency hearings requested by the BHU to obtain a temporary restraining order, or TRO, against the city sweeping the encampment. Chen granted a TRO for the ADA claimants at the March 11 hearing.

“The judge has ruled that the closure of the encampment may proceed with certain protections for residents that filed accommodations requests and people living in vehicles (whether they have a disability or not),” said BHU officer Yesica Prado in an email. “So the preliminary injunction stays in place in part.”

BHU’s motion for relief included about 11 specific requests, some of which were granted and some denied. A few of the requests that were denied included an indefinite halt of sweeps on Eighth and Harrison, formation of a city-owned encampment and the city giving claimants a 30-day notice before sweeps.

On the other hand, Chen granted case-by-case exemptions for ADA claimants from city regulations that restricted people from taking up more than 3×3 feet of space on sidewalks. He ordered that the city must perform assessments to ensure the ADA claimants who filed for this request have enough space to set up shelter.

Chen granted BHU’s requests to obligate the city to provide additional accommodations for certain people who live in their vehicles. Furthermore, he required the city to physically assist all claimants with relocation and storage of all their belongings.

According to the order, the city has to provide a three-day notice prior to any sweep. The city and BHU met Wednesday to discuss next steps.