Ross Homeless Camp 'Reclaimed' In Santa Cruz After Shutdown

SANTA CRUZ, CA — The Ross homeless camp that was shut down by Santa Cruz officials in May has reopened — but without city support.

Activists and homeless Santa Cruz residents "were spurred to reclaim the site" behind the Ross Dress For Less at 650 River Street after last month's death of 55-year-old Deseire Quintero.

Quintero, who herself was homeless and had filed a lawsuit against the city to halt evictions at the site earlier this year, was killed Oct. 27 after a tree fell on her as she camped out in the Pogonip Open Space Preserve. Quintero called the Ross Camp home, but after the city evicted some 200 people from the area in May she moved into the woods.

Activist Alicia Kuhl, president of the Santa Cruz Chapter of the California Homeless Union, has dubbed the reclaimed site “Ross Survival Camp.”

“It would have been better if the city had let us do this,” Kuhl said Monday afternoon after the weekend's reopening.

Indeed, the city is not inline with the campers.

"The City of Santa Cruz has not authorized any form of shelter campsite at the Gateway Plaza, a location others have referred to as the Ross camp," said Ralph Dimarucut, principal management analyst for the Santa Cruz city manager's office. "We are actively reaching out to those camping at this site to offer safe alternative places for them to stay.

"There are two alternative, sanctioned sites in the city that offer safe places to stay for those who are experiencing homelessness, and both of these sites have current vacancies and are operated by the Salvation Army," Dimarucut continued in a released statement.

"Consistent with all laws, we will make all possible efforts to prevent an unsanctioned camp from forming at the Gateway Plaza location to protect the public and the individuals camping there," Dimarucut said. "The City was forced to close the previous unsanctioned camp there due to significant health and public safety issues. We are monitoring the situation closely and will respond appropriately to avoid a similar situation from occurring again. In addition to revisiting the tools our City has to prevent unsafe and unhealthy conditions from occurring, we will also continue to work with the County and State to ensure that individuals living unsheltered have a safe place to stay and the support they need to get back on their feet."

The current “Ross Survival Camp" has encircling chain-link fence, and Kuhl said it also has rules. There will be no curfew, but residents will be required to set up their tents in neat rows with 5-foot buffers between them, per fire code. Other rules include no violence, no theft, no alcohol/illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia onsite or within a one-block radius, no constant disruptive behavior, and 10 hours a week of volunteer camp maintenance and operations work, according to Kuhl.

In a released statement, Santa Cruz Police Chief Andrew Mills said, "I am aware of the attempt to reestablish a place for homeless to sleep behind the Ross Store. I have spoken to the City Attorney over the weekend and we agree there are currently no tools that we are aware of to deal effectively with this situation.

"As you may know the city council removed the anti-camping law based on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Martin v Boise," Mills continued. "It is on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court."

Mills said the May eviction was due to public health hazards, and "those hazards have been abated."

"We are and will enforce all laws that are currently enforceable. This is extremely frustrating for citizens, the police and the homeless," Mills said. "Until there is a law in place that allows enforcement of camping, and a place for people to go, we will continue to have problems. The greater problem is far beyond the scope of the City. We also really need the County and State to provide services to the mentally ill and the drug addicted and compel those in need to use those services rather than empower them. We appreciate your concern and seek your voice in support of remedying unfortunate situation."

Brian “Panther” Funk Sr. is one of the camp’s self-policing organizers. Funk, who said that he “has a problem with stupidity” and has been on parole for more than half of his 55 years, will fill the roles of a camp host and camp security.

Funk said that he could not believe when he heard that the camp had reopened this weekend.

“I finally got a good feeling in my heart right now,” Funk said. “For some people, this is their last chance. This is not camping. Camping is fun. This is for people that want to be safe and who can leave their tents open and unlocked.”

A list of people signing up to stay at the new Ross Survival Camp had about 25 names, with seven tents already erected, within two days of its launch, Kuhl said.