Encampment Abatement Policy<\/a> would significantly alter how Oakland addresses people living in tents and vehicles in the city. Currently, city rules say people must be offered shelter before the city clears an encampment. Houston\u2019s proposal removes that requirement, although following pushback, Houston and co-author Patricia Brooks, a staffer for Council President Kevin Jenkins, toned down the language in a second draft, requiring the city to \u201cmake every reasonable effort\u201d to provide shelter.<\/p>\nThe policy would also give the city more leeway to tow illegally parked vehicles people are living in.<\/p>\n
Houston, who represents deep East Oakland, has maintained that his policy is a forceful but humane and necessary response to a crisis that creates unsafe conditions for Oakland residents. While many people have praised the policy, many more have protested it at City Council meetings, excoriating councilmembers for considering cracking down further on the city\u2019s most vulnerable residents. The city doesn\u2019t have nearly enough shelter beds for the thousands of people who are unhoused in Oakland.<\/p>\n
A bumpy road for Houston\u2019s plan<\/p>\n
Houston first proposed revisions to the city\u2019s homeless camp rules in September. The policy was debated at a council committee meeting that month. But it was tabled after some committee members \u2014 citing Cal ICH\u2019s concerns, and a critical letter from the county \u2014 said it needed significant revisions.<\/p>\n
Cal ICH had, in August, advised Oakland that state funding requires cities to identify shelter or other places people can sleep before removing them, provide advance notice, and have a clear policy for storing belongings after a camp closure.<\/p>\n
Houston revised his proposal, still not requiring the city to offer shelter before clearing an encampment, but saying Oakland should \u201cmake every reasonable effort to do so.\u201d In December, the new version of the proposal made its way onto an agenda for a meeting of the full City Council. But the prior day, Dec. 1, a Cal ICH representative had sent Oakland another letter saying there were still problems with the policy.<\/p>\n
Marshall wrote that it was still unclear whether the policy met the state threshold. She said there were concerns about how much of the city is deemed off-limits to camping, leaving few places for people to sleep.<\/p>\n
In response, Jenkins delayed the council\u2019s discussion of the policy, saying, \u201cI think it\u2019s imperative that we as a city keep funding.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Ken](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Ken-Houston-encampment-proposal.jpg\")
Houston presents his encampment proposal at a committee meeting in September 2025. Credit: Natalie Orenstein\/The Oaklandside<\/p>\n
Cal ICH ended up meeting with city leaders to talk through the policy. Then on Dec. 24, Marshall sent a new letter that should ease some of their concerns. But she also issued advice that Oakland is \u201cencouraged, but not required, to take into account.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the current draft of the EAP meets the minimum requirements of State guidance, Cal ICH remains concerned about the practical implications of the City\u2019s proposed sensitivity map,\u201d she wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe strongly encourage the City to consider how persons experiencing homelessness, particularly those with mobility challenges, disabilities, or limited access to transportation, will be supported in moving from high-sensitivity areas to the designated low-sensitivity zones,\u201d Marshall continued. \u201cThe operational and safety implications of these transitions warrant deliberate planning before the policy is finalized.\u201d<\/p>\n
The division of Oakland into \u201chigh-sensitivity\u201d and \u201clow-sensitivity\u201d zones, where encampment sweeps are either prioritized or not, is a holdover from the city\u2019s current policy. But the map has stronger implications under Houston\u2019s policy, because the city wouldn\u2019t be required to offer shelter before closures.<\/p>\n
Marshall also said the input Oakland officials have gotten so far from the public is a sign they should do more to work with constituents and be transparent about decisions.<\/p>\n
Speaking with The Oaklandside on Thursday, Houston said nothing changed in his proposal between the time of Cal ICH\u2019s uncertainty in early December and its approval letter in late December. He said the agency\u2019s switcharound caused an unnecessary delay in the policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is disrespectful,\u201d Houston said. \u201cMy community is suffering for two more months.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also took issue with the phrasing that Oakland\u2019s policy meets the state\u2019s \u201cminimum\u201d requirements: \u201cEither it\u2019s in compliance, or it\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the advice and apprehension around the sensitivity zones, Houston said, \u201cYou can have all the concerns you want, I don\u2019t give a rip. I know the streets better than them, I know my community better than them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calling his colleagues \u201cbrilliant,\u201d Houston said he\u2019s been meeting with the city administrator and mayor about the proposal, and will take other councilmembers\u2019 opinions into consideration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to hear what they have to say, but I don\u2019t have to change anything,\u201d he said, saying his proposal is based on significant work and his experience with illegal dumping and homelessness. \u201cThis is probably one of the hardest lifts the city has seen in decades. They really know I\u2019m trying to make some change.\u201d<\/p>\n
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