Oakland Council Adopts Encampment Abatement Policy on Divided 5-1-1 Vote

After years of false starts, a prior deadlocked vote, and roughly 80 public speakers split down the middle, the Oakland City Council replaced its widely criticized 2020 encampment framework with a new enforcement-oriented policy — but only after five councilmembers attached amendments designed to limit displacement without alternatives. The result is a policy whose actual impact hinges almost entirely on whether the city can identify shelter sites and develop operational procedures in the next 90 days.

• Council votes 5-1-1 to repeal the 2020 Encampment Management Policy and adopt a 2025 Encampment Abatement Policy, with Gallo opposing and Fife abstaining

• Roughly 80 speakers pack special meeting, deeply divided between residents and businesses demanding action and legal advocates warning of litigation and harm

• Five sets of amendments reshape the policy, tying its effective date to the city actually identifying shelter sites, protecting families with children from vehicle towing, and requiring annual equity tracking

• Inhabited vehicles separated from encampment rules, subjecting an estimated 2,000+ vehicle residents to California Vehicle Code towing — a provision legal advocates say was struck down in a federal court case in Berkeley

• City staff testify that the current policy is broken: DOT staff forced into "alternative law enforcement," a 1,700-encampment backlog, and firefighters battling RV blazes near BART tracks

A Policy Years in the Making — and Still Incomplete

The basics: The resolution, sponsored by Councilmember Ken Houston (District 7), repeals Oakland's 2020 Encampment Management Policy — which all sides agreed was failing — and replaces it with a 2025 Encampment Abatement Policy. The item had previously failed on a 4-4 vote in December 2025, drawn more than 200 public speakers across prior hearings, and been scheduled and withdrawn multiple times before reaching this special meeting.

Why it matters: Oakland has more than 5,500 unhoused residents. The new policy fundamentally changes how the city manages encampments by creating tiered closure timelines (immediate, 24-hour, or 72-hour notice for urgent situations; seven-day notice otherwise), designating high-sensitivity and low-sensitivity zones, and — most controversially — removing inhabited vehicles from the definition of "encampment" entirely. That means people living in RVs and cars will now face towing under the California Vehicle Code rather than the notice-and-shelter-offer requirements that apply to tent encampments.

What Staff Said

City department heads delivered testimony that painted a picture of an existing policy in collapse.

Director Josh Rowan, Oakland Department of Transportation, described how his department had been pressed into a role it was never designed for:

"I had someone who's now formerly with the city tell me that I was an alternative law enforcement agency and that my job was to have my people knock on RV doors and, quote, 'tell those MFers to get out.' That is why I have intentionally introduced myself from that day forward as an engineer."

Deputy Chief Anthony Tedesco of Oakland Police Department (OPD) said officers need clearer rules:

"It is critical that our teams know precisely what they can and cannot do and that they can do it efficiently and they can do it where it is needed to be done."

Encampment Management Team lead Amauri Collins-McMurray described how vehicles complicate operations — of 20 RVs targeted for tow action, often only five are actually removed because operable vehicles simply move when notices go up. Fire Chief Damon Covington testified about RV fires near BART tracks and freeway infrastructure that endanger firefighters and critical transit systems.

The Public Weighs In

Approximately 80 speakers addressed the council in rapid-fire, one-minute comments — the time limit imposed due to quorum concerns. The room was sharply divided.

Supporters included BART, neighborhood associations, the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, and the Oakland Ballers. Henry Symons of BART thanked the council for adding BART infrastructure to high-sensitivity areas, citing past encampment fires that disrupted service for 34,000 daily Oakland riders. David Johnson, representing four neighborhood associations in the Melrose-Coliseum-Hagerboro corridor, called the policy a fair balance after 2.5 years of work. Stephanie Tran of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce supported quicker response to health and safety conditions affecting business corridors while urging the city to pair enforcement with real investments in housing.

Opponents brought legal warnings, personal testimony, and alternative proposals. Bridget Nicoletti of the East Bay Community Law Center warned that the vehicle towing provisions were specifically struck down in a federal court case in Berkeley. Petra Hilton of the UC Berkeley Policy Advocacy Clinic cited research showing enforcement-based sweeps do not reduce homelessness and noted that homelessness increased tenfold under the current EMP. Renee Hayes, a senior advocate at St. Mary's Center living in transitional housing, testified that sweeps destroy medications, documents, and medical equipment needed for permanent housing applications.

Father Dominic DeMaio, a Catholic priest working with unhoused residents, described a woman amputee living in a van who would lose everything if towed, urging safeguards against displacement without alternatives. Nicole Dean of the Civic Action Coalition honored a friend who died homeless on Easter Sunday and cited door-knocking data showing 60% of unsheltered Oaklanders live in vehicles.

Needa Bee of the Housing and Dignity Project submitted an alternative "pipeline to intergenerational permanent housing" proposal and pointed out that the Mayor's own strategic plan acknowledges sweeps are costly and ineffective. Damion Scott of East Bay Housing Organizations questioned whether supporters understood that low-sensitivity zones — where encampments would be tolerated longer — are concentrated in East Oakland.

Five Amendments Reshape the Policy

The council session's most consequential work came during deliberations, when five councilmembers offered amendments that were all incorporated:

Councilmember Zac Unger (District 1) laid out his red lines:

"I am absolutely unwilling to criminalize and arrest people for the simple act of being homeless. In non-emergency situations, I believe it's critical that we make reasonable offers of shelter before we move people from their encampments."

His amendments require OPD to contact the homelessness division before towing inhabited vehicles, prioritize vehicles posing imminent hazards and those near schools, parks, and businesses, and mandate the city administrator find low-sensitivity areas in every council district. On enforcement practicalities, he added:

"Nobody wants to chase people from corner to corner. That's like trying to pick up sand with a fork."

Councilmember Charlene Wang (District 2) focused on families, prohibiting the towing of vehicles where children are present absent imminent danger, authorizing Oakland Public Works to conduct debris removal around encampments without waiting for the encampment team, and establishing a tracking mechanism to locate displaced individuals and offer shelter when it becomes available.

"For us to consistently be the region's social safety net is just not fair and it's not sustainable," she said.

Councilmember Rowena Brown (At Large) required an annual equity analysis by the Department of Race and Equity, tracking encampment closure data — including demographics, costs, and repeated closures — and disability accommodations during operations.

Councilmember Carroll Fife (District 3) offered perhaps the most consequential amendment: tying the policy's effective date to the city administrator presenting a written report identifying city properties for shelter, safe parking, or low-sensitivity areas — including funding sources — within 90 days. She also required documentation of migration patterns from each closure.

Council President Kevin Jenkins (District 6) created a priority zone designation system allowing the city administrator to reclassify geographic areas based on objective criteria, including equity impacts, in consultation with district council members.

The Dissents

Councilmember Noel Gallo (District 5), a 12-year council veteran who personally cleans streets in his district, voted no.

"I'm not in support of this policy, but I am in support of making sure administration does the job that they were paid to do," he said, arguing the city needs more investment in direct services rather than new policy frameworks.

Fife abstained.

"From the day that this item came up, when Councilmember Houston was talking to me about it, every time — what did I say? Where are people going to go?" she said,

Fife further expressed concern that without designated spaces, the policy would simply shift people from block to block. She noted that 70% of Oakland's homeless population is African American and warned of racial equity impacts.

Decisions: The resolution passed 5-1-1 (For: Brown, Houston, Unger, Wang, Jenkins; Against: Gallo; Abstain: Fife; Absent: Ramachandran). All five sets of amendments were incorporated. Assistant City Administrator Betsy Lake noted some staffing constraints on the data collection requirements.

What's next: The policy takes effect the sooner of 90 days from adoption or when the city administrator presents a shelter-site report to council. The administration must develop standard operating procedures in consultation with council members. The Mayor's Homelessness Strategic Action Plan is expected to come before the council in May. The legal risk flagged by multiple speakers — particularly around vehicle towing provisions — remains an open question that could shape implementation or invite litigation.

Minor Items

• Open forum speakers continued to address encampment policy themes after the main vote, including James Vann of the Homeless Advocacy Working Group, who criticized what he called "bullying of the council" and "illegal meetings behind closed doors." Josephine Guzman of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce supported the policy and urged ongoing stakeholder engagement during implementation.