The Marin County Board of Supervisors is a step closer to moving unhoused people living in a large, controversial encampment into permanent housing.

The encampment sits along Binford Road, a county-maintained road parallel to U.S. Highway 101 just north of Novato. It is bordered by a protected open space preserve. Parked RVs and other vehicles flank the shoulders of a 2-mile stretch of the road through the area which unhoused residents are currently calling home. The ragtag encampment has also become a lightning rod for national pundits critical of California’s response to homelessness, as it sits in the state’s wealthiest county.

Supervisors on Tuesday approved new initiatives to bolster supportive services for individuals in the encampment “with the goal of identifying safe, permanent housing destinations without relocating occupants in need to other jurisdictions,” the county said.

Supervisors also moved to protect sensitive habitat near the encampment.

A makeshift ‘shabby’ neighborhood

According to the county, the encampment began with about a dozen recreational vehicles during the COVID-19 pandemic and ballooned into a space accommodating 101 people and 132 vehicles as of Dec. 1. The county said many people living there cannot afford Marin County’s high rents, have lost their housing or job, or have experienced unexpected medical expenses. Critics have described it as a makeshift “shabby” neighborhood for drug users, as the New York Post wrote in May.

The Board of Supervisors was updated on the situation in August with a three-year plan to clear the area. The county now says that in the last 100 days, progress has been made.

Recreational vehicles are shown parked along a 2-mile stretch of Binford Road near Novato in an undated Google Street View image. The encampment that took root during the coronavirus pandemic has been described as a makeshift “shabby” neighborhood for drug users by critics who point to it as a symbol of California’s homelessness criris. (Google image)

According to the county, 10 people have been moved into housing, with 19 more “on a pathway to housing” with the help of social workers. More than two-thirds of the Binford population has been connected to a coordinated entry system for more stable housing. Eighteen vehicles have been removed, and vacated roadside parking spaces have been fenced off to prevent new arrivals.

Health upgrades are being implemented, such as biweekly sanitary pumping services, portable restrooms and hand washing stations. A slower speed limit in the area will also go into effect on Dec. 28.

The county has implemented a pilot vehicle buyback program, paying $175 per linear foot for occupied vehicles if the owner can demonstrate that they are relocating to permanent housing.

To address concerns from local businesses, the Board of Supervisors approved prohibiting parking along the west side of Binford Road to allow more parking turnover.

Effective immediately, a new pilot vehicle buyback program has begun for people who are transitioning from their vehicle to stable shelter. The program will provide $175 per linear foot for occupied vehicles if the owner can demonstrate that they are relocating to permanent housing. This program will expire in June, however.

“The community and businesses along Binford Road have raised valid concerns,” said Supervisor Eric Lucan in a statement released by the county. “I will continue to advocate for acceleration of transitional housing and supporting measures to protect the sensitive environment along the water.”

Money for the Binford Road project over three years is coming from a state encampment resolution grant in the amount of $1.6 million, which the county has matched with $600,000 per year.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.