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Homeless residents have built elaborate living arrangements along the San Benito River, and some of them include underground dwellings and walled communities, according to a recent census conducted by the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office. The encampments are slated to be removed by the county.
At the Dec. 10 San Benito County Board of Supervisors meeting, Sheriff Eric Taylor said deputies conducted an encampment census in the riverbed between Fourth Street and Hospital Road on Nov. 19. In addition to documenting 53 encampments, deputies found 55 cars, trailers and boats, 38 people and 21 dogs and cats.
The riverbed census is part of ongoing efforts by the county to adopt a guideline to remove encampments from public property and right-of-ways. No cleanup has been conducted and the county has not given a date for when it will occur.
“As we’re going through this process I felt it was necessary to get down into the river area and find out what are we looking at and what this effort is going to look like,” Taylor said. Some encampments, he said, include multiple tents.
The county conducted a state-mandated biannual homeless point-in-time count in January. According to the count, 621 people were living on the streets or in homeless shelters—a 73% increase from 2022.
The county’s encampment cleanup effort was triggered by the Supreme Court’s June 28 decision that people can be legally moved or face arrests and fines for sleeping in public areas. On July 25, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order requiring local jurisdictions to adopt policies to address encampments.
![Sheriff Eric Taylor said the woman lived in the RV while her adult daughter lived in the adjacent wooden structure. Photo courtesy of the San Benito County Sheriff's Office.]()
Sheriff Eric Taylor said this woman lived in an RV while her adult daughter lived in the adjacent wooden structure. Photo courtesy of the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office. ![An underground dwelling in the riverbed. Photo courtesy of the San Benito County Sheriff's Office.]()
An underground dwelling in the riverbed. Photo courtesy of the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office. ![Photo courtesy of the San Benito County Sheriff's Office.]()
Photo courtesy of the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office. ![Sheriff Eric Taylor said deputies found several vehicles that were stripped for parts. A vehicle reported stolen from San Jose was also located in the riverbed. Photo courtesy of the San Benito County Sheriff's Office.]()
Sheriff Eric Taylor said deputies found several vehicles that were stripped for parts. A vehicle reported stolen from San Jose was also located in the riverbed. Photo courtesy of the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office. ![An underground room. Photo courtesy of the San Benito County Sheriff's Office.]()
An underground room. Photo courtesy of the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office.
On Aug. 13, the county approved an ordinance prohibiting people from using certain public right-of-ways for sleeping or living accommodations. It took effect Sept. 26.
On Dec. 10, the Board of Supervisors discussed guidelines to clean up encampments and continued the topic for a future meeting.
The draft guideline states that the county will collect and store people’s personal property deemed not a health or safety hazard for 90 days. If unclaimed after that period, the items will be discarded.
According to the staff report in the agenda, the guideline is “significantly based” on policies adopted by the city of Los Angeles and CalTrans.
The county anticipates costs of about $215,000 for contractors and other cleanup-related efforts and up to $7,000 for storage containers. It has allocated $130,000 for a full-time sheriff’s deputy position.
Existing housing services
The county has a 44-bed homeless shelter known as the Housing Opportunities Meal Empowerment (H.O.M.E.) Resource Center, located at 1161 San Felipe Road and operated by Community Homeless Solutions.
It’s open 24 hours a day between November and April and overnight the rest of the year. Occupancy is greater during the winter months.
The county has discussed options to increase the shelter’s capacity for several years, including transforming a conference room into living quarters. The conference room is adjacent to the shelter building.
Health and Human Services Agency Director Tracey Belton said her team has discussed other options such as pallet homes. She said the people that live in the riverbed know about the shelter but don’t want to use it.
“Most folks don’t want to live in congregate settings,” she said. “It’s just not comfortable.”
Belton said a primary challenge to implementing additional transitional housing is funding for staffing and land. She said although there are grants available, they are not guaranteed any given year.
“The shelter is not the end-all, be-all,” she said.
According to the presentation to the supervisors, it cost $579,000 to operate the shelter last year. Staff said funding the shelter in previous years has included the state’s Homeless Housing Assistance Program, Community Development Block Grant and local funding from San Benito County and the city of Hollister.
The shelter was renovated in 2023 through grant funding.
The county also has six transitional housing units that can be used for up to 12 months by persons experiencing homelessness, as well as hotel vouchers and assistance to pay utilities.
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