County and federal officials cleared a homeless encampment along the Santa Ana River Marsh in Newport Beach on Wednesday, Dec. 10, collecting at least 8 tons of garbage in the process.
OC Public Works, the OC Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers coordinated the county’s first cleanup effort since its anti-camping ordinance went into effect last month. The new policy allows law enforcement to arrest and fine individuals camping on county properties, including flood control channels.
Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley, whose office assisted the operation, said the encampment not only created a safety hazard for both the people living in it and the surrounding neighborhoods, but also threatened sensitive habitat along the marsh.
“It’s not safe for the individuals and it’s not safe for the nature preserve,” Foley said, adding that people cooking in the encampment increased fire risk. “We have a lot of endangered species out here. We want to make sure the biology of the park is kept intact.”
The encampment had proven especially challenging for the county to manage, Foley said, because it sat on federally protected lands that county agencies could not access without prior authorization. Over the past year, as the county obtained permission and assistance from the U.S. Army Corps in addressing the encampment.
OC Public Works employees had filled three dump trucks with trash and debris by mid-morning, including mattresses and tents, bicycle components and propane tanks.
Hugo Pineda, the agency’s deputy director of operations and maintenance, said hauls from two previous cleanups this year brought in pots and pans, camping gear and the occasional drug paraphernalia — all of which can disturb the “flora and fauna” in the preserve.
Pineda said previously, many people returned within a week of officials clearing out the area.
“What we’ve been trying to do is continue the enforcement right after a cleanup event, so they see the presence,” he said, adding that the county has installed a security camera near the marsh as a deterrent.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had delivered prior notice to vacate the area ahead of the cleanup, so no one who had been living there was around on Wednesday. Those who had previously refused to leave were told they’d be cited for a first offense and arrested for multiple offenses, the agency said.
Prior to the cleanup, the county’s Office of Care Coordination conducted outreach to offer people shelter, housing, treatment and supportive services. Foley said the county has developed a robust system of care for unhoused people, with up to 90 shelter beds.
During past cleanups this year, county officials engaged with 15 to 20 individuals camped out near the marsh, Foley’s office estimated.
“We’re here to help,” Foley said. “We’re not trying to criminalize anyone.”