The Chronicle article spins Binford situation as a homeless issue and blames it on Marin housing prices.
Not to sound insensitive to the humanitarian issues, but as local Novato residents know, this is secondarily a homeless issue as there are plenty of places for these people to go elsewhere in the county.
The County Supervisors are not taking appropriate action and the law is not being enforced while the taxpayers are footing the bill for this mess. Many of the these people live this way by choice, most of them are certainly not from Marin County, and the Chronicle has found a couple of people for their story to make a case instead of doing proper investigation.
This is, however, a MAJOR POLLUTION ISSUE that is totally destroying our sensitive Wetlands! Many of the vehicles are not occupied, only being stored free of charge and are leaking fossil fuels into our Wetlands. There are RV’s dumping human waste into the wetlands, trash, and other toxins. Check the updates and photo’s on this site, it is well documented.
THIS DUMP NEEDS TO BE MOVED NOW!
From the San Francisco Chronicle below:
Vehicle encampment stretching 2 miles long has come to symbolize Marin’s affordability crisis
After reading, feel free to write Annie Vainshtein: [email protected] the author of the article.
I think it’s important to note that there is not currently any organization that is tracking where the campers originally lived prior to taking up residence on Binford Rd. So, how can anyone claim that the cause is the cost of Marin housing prices. Fact: The County Board of Supervisors allows anyone seeking free housing and services, regardless of reason or previous location of residence, to live on Binford Rd as long as they can find a place to occupy the land there. [Source: Eric Lucan, 5th District County Supervisor] Even the campers on Binford Rd are quoted as being “left alone here.” Furthermore, the County has not defined homelessness, so anyone can claim the “right” to stay on Binford Rd. And, in fact, they have. And, that population is growing. In addition, despite the numerous agencies offering services to Binford campers, some of the people living their “can’t be contacted” to determine why they’re camping there. The Chronicle completely failed to investigate this story before publishing. Shame on them. I won’t be able to take their “news” seriously in the future. The public deserves to know and understand what is happening with the vehicle encampment on Binford Rd. They deserve to understand how it is negatively impacting the Rush Creek Preserve — a once protected and thriving wetland — and a public resource for all to respect and enjoy.