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# Judge orders Berkeley to stop Harrison encampment cleanup
- URL: https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/06/05/community/judge-orders-berkeley-stop-harrison-homeless-encampment-cleanup/
- Published: 2025-06-05T00:00:30.000Z
- Updated: 2025-06-06T03:19:39.000Z
- Description: "The City’s abatement shall cease immediately," U.S. District Judge Edward Chen wrote Wednesday afternoon.
- Author: Emilie Raguso
- Tags: Community, Northwest Berkeley, Homeless encampments, Breaking news, #articles, Harrison Street corridor, Courts, Berkeley Homeless Union

A federal judge has ordered the city of Berkeley to stop the removal of a longstanding [homeless encampment](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/topic/homeless-encampments/) on Harrison Street until at least next week.

"The City’s abatement shall cease immediately until further order," U.S. District Judge Edward Chen wrote Wednesday afternoon. 

The next court hearing on the encampment is set for Tuesday, June 10.

The city of Berkeley began removing the [Harrison Street encampment](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/topic/harrison-street-corridor/) early Wednesday morning, citing serious problems such as rats and feces, rotting food, hypodermic needles and combustible materials.

"We want safety for all — both the unhoused and the housed," city spokesman Matthai Chakko said Wednesday afternoon. "And the conditions here were not good for anyone."

Chakko said about a dozen people who were staying in the area were told to leave. City staff were on hand to help them pack their belongings, he said.

[Berkeley police](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/topic/berkeley-police-department/) were also part of the operation, which took place on Harrison Street between Eighth and 10th streets in [northwest Berkeley](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/topic/northwest-berkeley/).

One man who initially left the area was arrested after returning to the block, Chakko said.

[Berkeley encampment closure lacked proper notice, judge says“Safeguarding due process is imperative for all, but particularly important for the unhoused,” Judge Edward Chen said in Thursday’s ruling.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/icon/The-Berkeley-Scanner_Icon_Color-1-847.jpg)The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_6291-1-1.jpg)](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/06/06/community/berkeley-homeless-camp-harrison-closure-lacked-notice-judge-says/)

At some point Wednesday, attorney Anthony Prince filed an emergency request, on behalf of the Berkeley Homeless Union, to stop the removal of the encampment, according to court papers.

Prince wrote that he had learned about the cleanup at 9:30 a.m. after the city showed up with bulldozers and "was ordering everyone to leave in 20 minutes."

According to his declaration, he called Marc Shapp, Berkeley's deputy city attorney, to ask for an explanation and "insist that he call off the action."

"He refused to do so," Prince wrote.

In the filing, in which Prince misstated the encampment location as well as the date, he asked the court to stop the city from clearing the camp, citing a hearing already scheduled for next week.

In response, the city asked a judge to reject Prince's request, describing it as "procedurally improper and substantively deficient."

In its filing, the city wrote that an earlier order blocking it from taking action on Harrison Street had expired May 23.

The city also argued that Prince had missed a deadline Monday and called his motion "improper."

But, at least for now, Judge Chen did not appear to have been convinced. 

He wrote that an "explanatory order" about his emergency ruling would be forthcoming.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/2025/06/IMG_6291.jpg)

New city signage prohibits lodging, personal property and unattended property in the Harrison Street corridor. [**Scanner Insider*](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/support/#become-a-scanner-insider-by-sharing-tips)

Earlier in the day, Chakko, the city spokesman, said Berkeley had "focused a tremendous amount of attention" on the [Harrison Street corridor](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/topic/harrison-street-corridor/) dating back to at least 2021, offering housing and services to many unsheltered residents in the area.

From September 2021 through December 2024, the city made nearly 740 shelter offers, with more than 20% going to people in the Harrison Street corridor.

Over the same period, the city carried out approximately 18 encampment operations throughout Berkeley, both deep cleanings as well as closures, he said, with more than 20% happening in the Harrison Street corridor.

The city also used a $5 million grant from the state, Chakko said, to [master lease The Campus motel on University Avenue](https://www.allhomeca.org/solutions/the-campus/?ref=berkeleyscanner.com) — formerly a Super 8 — to [help house unsheltered people](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2023/07/12/crime/berkeley-lease-super-8-homeless-encampments-harrison/) who had stayed in the encampment.

According to current estimates, Berkeley has more than 400 unsheltered homeless people who sleep on city streets, in city parks and elsewhere in the community, he said.

### Harrison Street homeless camp: A troubled history

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/2025/06/eighth-harrison-tent-berkeley.jpg)

Eighth Street north of Harrison Street after an encampment cleanup in October 2022\. **Emilie Raguso/The Berkeley Scanner*

On Wednesday, Chakko explained that conditions in the [Harrison Street encampment](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/topic/harrison-street-corridor/) were "not reflective of what we are seeing elsewhere."

"What's been happening here is not reflective of the unhoused population as a whole," he said.

In October 2022, the city did a [large-scale cleanup in the area](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2022/10/22/arrests/berkeley-encampment-fight-head-injury/#rat-infestation-imminent-health-hazard-prompt-cleanup) after declaring an "[imminent health hazard](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1%5FYqbJQsfc5jZwbyzj8TToVnY-JzhoK-g/view?ref=berkeleyscanner.com)" on and around the Harrison Street homeless encampment.

In May 2023, the city [pledged to address serious ongoing public safety issues](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2023/05/13/crime/berkeley-pledges-cleanup-homeless-camps-business-summit/) in the neighborhood, but little seemed to change.

Last year in January, a [homeless shelter worker survived a shooting](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2024/05/09/shootings/berkeley-shooting-harrison-house-homeless-shelter-update/) on Harrison Street west of Fourth Street.

Then, in June, a man [tried to set a woman on fire](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2024/06/14/arrests/berkeley-police-man-tried-to-set-woman-rv-on-fire-harrison-street/) outside her RV on Harrison Street, according to police.

The same month, BFD put out an [encampment fire at Eighth and Harrison](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2024/06/21/berkeley-fire-department/berkeley-encampment-fire-harrison-street/) that created a heavy column of black smoke that was visible for miles.

In August, a [resident was killed by his bunkmate](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/topic/marcel-jones/) in a shooting at the same homeless shelter where a shelter worker was shot in January.

[City pledges cleanup of West Berkeley homeless campsMembers of the business community are pleading with the city to do more to tackle encampments and problematic behavior associated with them.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/icon/The-Berkeley-Scanner_Icon_Color-1-830.jpg)The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_8283-1.jpg)](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2023/05/13/crime/berkeley-pledges-cleanup-homeless-camps-business-summit/)

In September 2024, city officials said Berkeley needed to get "[more aggressive](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2024/09/09/policing/berkeley-homeless-camp-enforcement-resolution-city-council/)" in its approach to problematic camps, adopting a resolution to allow [stepped up enforcement amid hazardous conditions](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2024/09/11/policing/berkeley-votes-to-tackle-most-hazardous-homeless-camps/) and citing Harrison Street as one example.

The same week, nine businesses and property owners in the area of the Harrison Street encampment [filed a lawsuit demanding action](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2024/09/11/courts/berkeley-businesses-file-lawsuit-harrison-homeless-camp/).

Problems continued this year: In January, a woman [died in a tent fire](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/01/04/community/berkeley-fire-fifth-street-harrison-body/) at Fifth and Harrison streets. 

In early March, police said a homeless camp resident used a metal broom handle in an [unprovoked attack](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/03/13/arrests/berkeley-homeless-camp-unprovoked-attack-charges-filed/) near Seventh and Harrison streets.

In May, a man was charged with multiple felonies after [attacking two people](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/05/28/arrests/man-ordered-anger-management-classes-homeless-camp-attack/), and threatening to kill them, on Eighth Street north of Harrison, according to court papers.

The same month, there was an [RV fire on Seventh Street](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/05/06/community/berkeley-rv-fire-seventh-street-gilman/) south of Gilman Street, not far away.

[Homeless camp attack: Man sentenced to anger classesBerkeley police said they found methamphetamine as well as replica firearms and a BB gun when they arrested Alejandro Padilla.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/icon/The-Berkeley-Scanner_Icon_Color-1-835.jpg)The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/thumbnail/Screenshot-2025-05-28-at-5.02.46---PM-1-1.jpg)](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/05/28/arrests/man-ordered-anger-management-classes-homeless-camp-attack/)

The city has held two large community meetings this year to address concerns at other Berkeley homeless encampments — in [Civic Center Park](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/02/28/community/berkeley-civic-center-park-town-hall/) ([now cleared](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/04/11/community/berkeleys-civic-center-park-homeless-encampment-removed/)) and [Ohlone Park](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/05/28/community/berkeley-ohlone-park-homeless-camp-closure-planned/), where a recent city cleanup was [stalled by new legal action](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1piECN-XlQxhWCkgZYsuehelUzBoPe4uF/view?usp=sharing&ref=berkeleyscanner.com) by the Berkeley Homeless Union.

During the community meetings, the city said much of its work in northwest Berkeley had paid off.

And, while much of the public comment at those meetings came from residents and business owners concerned about worsening conditions, advocates and activists have decried city "sweeps" they say simply push problems from block to block, separate unhoused individuals from critical property and break up community bonds and support.

[Ohlone Park homeless camp closure set for this weekPeople on both sides say they are considering legal action.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/icon/The-Berkeley-Scanner_Icon_Color-1-836.jpg)The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_9888-2.jpg)](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/05/28/community/berkeley-ohlone-park-homeless-camp-closure-planned/)

In February, the Berkeley Homeless Union [filed its original lawsuit against the city](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MjxWYkbAsUyHD0EIBzMxlDUIbe5RdB0E/view?usp=sharing&ref=berkeleyscanner.com) seeking a temporary restraining order to block enforcement on Harrison Street, which the judge ultimately granted.

"Plaintiffs are disabled individuals, who rely on their tents and encampment setups for safety, shelter, community and essential accommodations, and the removal of these will likely lead to the rapid deterioration of their physical and mental health," they wrote in the February filing. "Many residents, due to physical disabilities and mental disabilities, lack the ability to pack their belongings or move their possessions without assistance, putting them at risk of losing critical items such as medications, identification, and mobility aids."

On Wednesday, the Berkeley Homeless Union did not respond to requests for comment.

Stay tuned for ongoing coverage.

### Related coverage

[City says Civic Center Park encampment has its attentionStaffers say they’re working to get up to speed and added that, if the city finds grounds to take action, it will likely face another lawsuit.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/icon/The-Berkeley-Scanner_Icon_Color-1-834.jpg)The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_4322-7.jpg)](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/02/28/community/berkeley-civic-center-park-town-hall/)

[Berkeley may start cleaning up problematic homeless camps“We need to be more aggressive in our approach,” Rashi Kesarwani said, adding that the city will continue to offer shelter as often as it can.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/icon/The-Berkeley-Scanner_Icon_Color-1-833.jpg)The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/thumbnail/PXL_20240822_153547339-1.jpg)](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2024/09/09/policing/berkeley-homeless-camp-enforcement-resolution-city-council/)

[Berkeley aims to lease Super 8, remove last big encampmentThe city hopes to move the residents of northwest Berkeley homeless encampments into “interim housing” at Super 8.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/icon/The-Berkeley-Scanner_Icon_Color-1-831.jpg)The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_8278-1-7.jpg)](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2023/07/12/crime/berkeley-lease-super-8-homeless-encampments-harrison/)

[City pledges cleanup of West Berkeley homeless campsMembers of the business community are pleading with the city to do more to tackle encampments and problematic behavior associated with them.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/icon/The-Berkeley-Scanner_Icon_Color-1-832.jpg)The Berkeley ScannerEmilie Raguso![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8e/3b/8e3bb516-9b88-46c2-aa85-566ed9c3647c/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_8283-2.jpg)](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2023/05/13/crime/berkeley-pledges-cleanup-homeless-camps-business-summit/)

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