Caltrans To Clear Homeless Encampment Off I-5 This Month

SAN CLEMENTE — An encampment of homeless people off Interstate 5 near south Orange County will be cleared by Caltrans, the state’s transportation agency said. Caltrans, which owns the land where the encampment resides, said that the roughly 20 homeless people who live there must leave in August. Caltrans will clear the encampment sometime in August, the Voice of OC reported.

Caltrans gave the people at the encampment no later than Friday to clear out, according to the Voice of OC. The state agency set Aug. 27 as the date for the camp to be cleared, the San Clemente Times reported.

Caltrans had set an earlier removal date of July 16 and notified those living at the encampment one week before, prompting advocates for homeless people into action. The advocates criticized Caltrans for its lack of outreach to those who call the encampment home.

Public pressure ensued, resulting in Caltrans pushing its action back a month. The new deadline gave Orange County adequate time to provide outreach and services to those camping out, according to news reports.

The encampment is situated between a coastal fence and the highway, an area of land sandwiched between two counties: Orange and San Diego. Advocates argued that most of the people living in the encampment were from San Clemente, and city officials said people in the encampment were also from San Diego County.

Advocates for homeless people and for affordable housing congregated Friday in front of San Clemente's community center to demand that elected officials provide more shelters for homeless people in San Clemente, the San Clemente Times reported.

The San Clemente Affordable Housing Coalition led the rally in which community members called for a “housing first” approach by the city.

Counterprotestors were also at the scene, arguing that such an approach would only enable people experiencing homelessness rather than uplift them.

Mayor Pro Tem Gene James attended the rally and was one of the elected officials who opposed building shelters in San Clemente.

“Enabling is not love — it’s not love,” James said at the rally last Friday. “Coming up with solutions that treat addiction and mental health — that’s love.”

The Caltrans sweep of the encampment located off of Interstate 5 comes after the state agency cleared a string of homeless encampments along I-805 in San Diego in late May, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The sight of homeless encampments has become more common over the past year, and the state agency followed guidelines laid out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The national agency recommended allowing outdoor encampments during the pandemic, arguing that homeless people who camp out may be safer than they would be in indoor shelters or in more crowded areas.

Caltrans generally followed CDC guidelines but added that if a particular encampment was deemed a safety threat, it would have to act. Caltrans previously said the encampment off I-5 posed a fire risk.

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