Tag: berm

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Important! FOIA Request

Toni Shroyer made a FOIA request on our behalf to determine where the money is being spent by the County to relocated the Binford rd encampment.

The exact request was:

“I am requesting via the FOIA, proof of all taxpayer funds (Federal, state and county) spent on Binford Rd since January 2023. This includes the recent state funds allocated specifically for Binford Road. Of said funds spent, I need them itemized with trailing documentation.”

The County provided 80 documents, some data had been redacted and we are making them available to you here.

The analysis shows that the majority of the money is being spent on trash pickup and hauling.

Much less than 10% is being spent on determining who is living there, if they are actually homeless or mentally ill, and getting them moved to a location that is not impacting the Wetlands.

Details of our analysis are here. Please draw your own conclusions & let us know if we missed anything.

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FOIA regarding all taxpayer funds spent YTD on Binford Road

To: [email protected], etc.

On Wed, Sep 27, 2023 at 3:57 PM Toni Shroyer <[email protected]> wrote:

Hi Eric,

I am requesting via the FOIA, proof of all taxpayer funds (Federal, state and county) spent on Binford Rd since January 2023.  This includes the recent state funds allocated specifically for Binford Road. Of said funds spent, I need them itemized with trailing documentation.

As Binford Road has gotten worse since August 22 2023 (and under your leadership), with new vehicles/residents, more trash/hoarding and consistent crime, I and others are curious as to where said taxpayer funds are going.

When speaking in public, please address although the county has provided berms, the campers on Binford are and have been digging them out with shovels to allow more vehicles—-with no consequences.  Recently you publicly talked about the berms, but not what the campers were doing with them.

Thank you for your help.  Day 1 starts tomorrow regarding my FOIA request.

With regard to the August 2023 County staff report regarding Binford Road, the staff stated people are living on Binford Road because they have been “priced out of Marin.”  I asked the staffer after the August 22, 2023 BOS meeting where the statistics were to back up the statements in the report.  She stated there weren’t any statistics.  I asked her to not state things that were not true on public reports.  She said, “ok.”  Please have your county staff provide accurate information, and not made up statements to the public.  One doesn’t have to look very far on Binford to see out of state license plates and parolees and ex-cons from other counties.

Attached is a photo of Terry Kramer, ex-con and current con, who was sent to Binford Rd via Petaluma PD. When arrested on Binford, he had lots of cash, weapons and drugs.  Last I heard, he is still at large.  The Catch and Release Program does not keep our community safe with criminals coming into neighborhoods. Meanwhile the clean-up of Mr. Kramer’s garbage/hoarding/camper he left on Binford, cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars to remove.

Marin sheriff makes meth arrest in Binford Road homeless encampment

Best,

Toni Shroyer

Bcc: many members of the public.

Terry Kramer Photo referenced:

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IJ Article: Marin County unveils plan to clear Novato road camp

CALL TO ACTION : We can all call in at 9am on Tuesdays to the BOS meetings, speak at public comment about Binford via zoom (although they do not show our faces—just a black background) say what we have to say and hang up. That way people don’t have to leave work and drive down there and speak —and its easier than having to stand up and speak.

We didn’t get what we wanted, but there is movement.  Without all of us getting involved, nothing would have happened.

Marin County unveils plan to clear Novato road camp
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Binford Bulletin from Mr. Lucan – Aug 1

Posted on the County Site here.

Binford Bulletin

I have received many inquiries about the vehicle encampment on Binford Road in Novato.

Since taking office in January, I have been to Binford Road weekly. I have spent the past several months meeting with unhoused residents, community members, adjacent businesses, airport users, and county staff to explore opportunities to address community and environmental concerns, while working to connect unhoused residents with services and permanent housing.

It is clear to me from these meetings that we need more communication on this issue. I am committed to sharing information as it becomes available and will include a “Binford Bulletin” in upcoming newsletters as we have updates to share.

Actions we have taken:

  • Installed physical barriers in the vacant spaces on Binford, limiting the capacity of total vehicles. As individuals are housed or move on, additional barriers are installed to further reduce and limit the number of vehicles. As numbers decrease, we will begin additional efforts to limit parking near the water.
  • The Sheriff assigned a full-time Homeless Liaison focused primarily on Binford Road. Several abandoned vehicles have been removed, and this effort is ongoing.
  • Expanded outreach presence on Binford. Outreach workers visit Binford weekly with the goal of connecting people with services including employment, social services, mental health and/or substance abuse and are working to get residents on a pathway to permanent housing. Additionally, we added a monthly service fair on Binford to offer these connections and additional services.
  • Approved hiring a full time, senior social service worker who will coordinate staff, programs, and essential services for unhoused individuals, primarily focused on the Binford encampment. The hiring process is underway.
  • Added Binford Road to the County’s Data Dashboard that tracks homelessness statistics including the number of individuals and vehicles on Binford, as well as the number of people that have been housed.


In June, the County was awarded $1.6 million in Encampment Resolution Funding from the State for the Binford encampment. Several County departments have been working to create a coordinated action plan to use these funds to connect residents to permanent supportive housing while also reducing the encampment’s environmental impacts. The plan is scheduled to be presented to the Board of Supervisors on August 22. The meeting is open to the public, and I encourage your participation and comments. Please double check the meeting agenda as we get closer to the date to ensure this item has not been moved to a different date (agendas are posted the Thursday afternoon before our Tuesday meetings).

This funding and corresponding plan mark a critical next step in getting our unhoused residents on a path towards housing with additional outreach workers, case management, housing vouchers, and rapid rehousing options (such as first-month’s rent, move-in costs, or a security deposit to quickly house someone) – as well as help to address many of the community concerns that have been raised.

This is a complex and complicated issue, and we still have a lot of work to do. As we move forward, my approach will continue to focus on treating people with dignity and respect. Our end-goal is to move people into permanent supportive housing. I understand there are differing views and opinions, and I want to continue to hear from you and work with you. I welcome your suggestions, concerns, and willingness to be part of the solution.

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Citizen Letter to Mr. Lucan July 30

To: Eric Lucan <[email protected]>

Subject: Binford Road

Hi Eric –

Well, week after week after week I see the crime report of assaults, vandalism and theft on Binford Road. It appears, since you and I talked, nothing has changed.

You and I discussed requiring people to not have anything hanging around outside the RVs. There is still lots of material outside the RVs.

You told me contact was going to be made with local RV parks about having some people going there and the county paying six months rent for them. Has that happened?

I was saddened to see the article on the dogs being chained up out there.

It really seems that the County is just waiting for the problem to disappear or that those who want new locations for the unhoused, and for the environmental issues to be taken care of, will go away and forget about this. I don’t believe that will happen.

What are the concrete plans at this time for the RV’ers to be relocated?

What are the plans to not let the marsh get more environmentally damaged?

What are the plans to take care of the dogs that are chained up or allowed to run loose?

All dogs on the Rush Creek trail have to be leashed, and if not oftentimes MCOS is out there giving tickets.

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“Letter to the Editor” from Francis Drouillard

I am a 40-year resident of Marin County and have resided in Novato for the past 30 years. I speak for Friends of the Rush Creek Preserve, a group of over 140 individuals that use and enjoy the Open Space trails along the preserve. I believe that the County can protect the Rush Creek Preserve AND provide services to the homeless that deserve our compassion.

The wetlands of the Rush Creek Preserve improve the water quality of the preserve and connected waters of the north bay. The preserve also provides essential habitat for protected species, including migratory birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (16 U.S.C. 703-712). 

The homeless parked illegally along Binford Road have a significant adverse impact on the Rush Creek Preserve, the habitat it provides for protected species and the local community. Shoulders lined with illegally parked vehicles adversely affect public safety as well because they block passage of emergency vehicles when a traffic accident closes the two-lane roadway (so do the earth berms erected by the County). Some of the homeless have deliberately strewn bent nails and screws on the road to impede normal use of the road by the public.

By spilling their human excrement and spreading trash onto the ground or directly into the wetlands, the homeless adversely affect public health and water quality as well. It is clear from the extensive algae blooms growing adjacent to the illegally parked vehicles that they are having a detrimental effect on water quality. Privately organized cleanups by civic minded volunteers have reported retrieving trash that included used adult diapers, tampons and dead fish from the waters.

The homeless have also had an adverse impact on migratory and predatory birds, birds that returned to the preserve after the wetlands were restored at great public and private expense. They now stay away from the shore due to the presence of humans and their trash, and because fewer fish are in the waters near the shore. One must walk ½ mile east before seeing birds in the numbers once seen near the shore. And the blackbirds that once sang in great numbers at the trailhead to the Open Space trail along Rush Creek are no longer present at that location. The same is true of other bird species that once thrived near the shoreline along Binford Road.

 That the County permits harm to the wetlands to continue is shameful. Some of those living in illegally parked vehicles have ample means to live elsewhere, like the owners of a fully restored Chevy Nova, nice boats, and jet skis parked on the shoulders. One resident even set up a shop complete with unconfined industrial waste such as spent oil. 

It includes those living in nice RVs with ample means to park them legally at a nearby campsite designed for them and available for a small daily fee. It also includes felons, drug users, and drug dealers. Those homeless are there by choice. They are grifters living off the generosity of Marin residents at the expense of the homeless that deserve our compassion.

The County is too eager to garner state and federal funds to provide services to the homeless without addressing its root causes. Their approach is all carrot and no stick. Officials from other counties and cities direct their homeless to Binford Road. They must snicker at the gullibility and incompetence of Marin County officials. 

By providing services, placing porta-potties and erecting earth berms on the shoulders, the County has created a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As a result, the County is required to evaluate the adverse impact of its project on protected resources and to establish mitigation measures that reduce those impacts to levels less than significant. If the latter cannot be achieved the County must consider alternative locations to providing services to those homeless. No exclusions apply; the County must comply with CEQA.

As pointed out by numerous citizens during public comment at Board of Supervisor Meetings, there are far more suitable locations where services can be provided that have far fewer adverse impacts. Suggestions include the vast parking lot at the Civic Center, or the old Honor Farm and the now defunct San Geronimo Golf Course purchased by the County. 

One of those locations will have the fewest impacts after mitigating them to levels less than significant. It is the responsibility of the County to identify and choose that location to provide homeless services!

Francis Drouillard

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Citizen Letter to Mr Lucan – July 11, 2023

Dear Eric,

Thank you again for taking the time to meet with me regarding my concerns about the Binford Rd vehicle encampment. After our meeting, I shared with you the website that Novato residents have created to track the environmental impacts to the Rush Creek Preserve as a direct result of the vehicle encampment on Binford Rd. Steve Pollock created and maintains the site, so I have copied him on this email. Please understand that this site and our efforts are a direct result of our frustration with the County for their continued negligence in leadership, beginning when the encampment started up many years ago. You inherited this problem and it has grown out of control, creating conflict in our community and degrading the natural resources of Novato (resources that the County once protected.) I want to follow up with an outline of the problem and my suggestions for the County:

Problem: We have numerous people, pets, vehicles, personal belongings and trash taking up permanent residence on Binford Rd in Novato. The County has thrown numerous financial and human resources at providing services for campers on Binford Rd., but there is no accountability or plan in place. Many speculate as to why they are there, but the reality is that we really don’t know more than what Binford campers tell someone who takes the time to interview them – media, case workers, etc.

Solution: We need data and it needs to be clearly documented and kept in County records.The *County employees who are already funded to work on Binford need to take inventory of every person and pet that is residing on this County land and figure out who is truly “in need” and which services they specifically need, and who needs some motivation to find another lifestyle choice elsewhere. County employees, in partnership with the Humane Society should also ensure that all pets are living in humane conditions. If not, they need to be removed, as they would from any other home. 

*County employees: I’m referring namely to Deputy Michael Thompson, who has a County-paid, full-time position as the Homelessness Liaison. My understanding is that there are also County social workers, among others, assisting Binford residents. They could help as well. 

Problem: As Binford residents move out of the encampment, they leave a vacant place for others to fill, either with new “homes” or simply a further expansion of personal space and belongings. Binford has become known as a place for semi-nomadic, transient and homeless people to live for free with many support services in place. Opportunists will take advantage of an open spot because there is no reason not to do so. There is plenty of evidence of this based on history in the last few years on Binford. 

Solution: Empty spaces need to be filled by County agencies immediately. This should be part of a Strategic Plan for not allowing any newcomers to live on Binford Rd. If the County doesn’t act more efficiently than campers, the vehicle encampment will always exist there. In addition, there should be rules posted and enforced for those currently allowed to live on Binford, including a clause that bans further encroachment into the wetlands and along the roadway. This would include all property for each Binford camper(s) — dwelling, personal property/strorage, trash, patios, gardens, pet runs, etc. A maximum number of registered and operational vehicles per person should be part of these rules. Anything else should be removed/towed within 30 days, as would be the case with tenants not following rules and leaving personal property behind.

Problem: The County is not prioritizing management of Binford Rd that would lead to moving people off the side of the road and away from the sensitive wetlands. Novato, as a whole, is one of the lowest socio-economic cities in Marin. The northern part of Novato, is generally even lower than the surrounding areas. The homes closest to Binford Rd are an RV Park and a mobile home park. Binford Rd itself leads to a handful of small businesses (who have been negatively impacted by the encampment), that have few resources and no political clout/connections to get the attention of County representatives. I am of the strong opinion that part of the reason the County has failed to take action to create any real and lasting change is because it serves other district representatives and their constituents not only to keep the encampment on Binford Rd in Novato, but to also send campers from other parts of Marin to live on Binford Rd. It’s the whole “not in my backyard” (but I’ll promote it in someone else’s) mentality.

Solution: Many Novato residents have complained for years about the encampment. We are trying to work through the proper channels to make positive change; however, those heartfelt complaints and concerns seem largely overlooked. I understand that there are also homelessness advocacy groups and Legal Aid of Marin in support of keeping the encampment on Binford Rd. Those opposed to the encampment are circulating a petition about the County not taking appropriate action. A group of business owners and residents are discussing a lawsuit against the County. I would hope that we could all work together to find a reasonable solution that uses County funds responsibly to provide housing options and services for those truly in need, encourages those not in need to move on and protects our wetlands and public resources. In order to do this, the County must: 1) Create a Strategic Plan for Binford Rd, which clearly outlines a long-term plan for how funding will be spent on alternative housing and services for those who qualify, 2) Set an end-goal of no one camping on the side of the road by a set date, 3) Monitor water quality of the wetlands and put programs in place to improve water quality by eliminating point source contamination. 4) Collect and share data throughout the process to create transparency. Your constituents deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent. The campers on Binford deserve to know that there is a long-term plan and how it may influence their housing in the future. Perhaps, this is issue raises an opportunity for some consensus-based decision-making, where all stakeholders are represented.

Problem: The wetlands are being contaminated by the vehicle encampment on Binford Rd. I have personally seen the changes in water quality because the contamination is visible to the naked eye. The algae is now overgrown, cutting off the oxygen supply to the marine life there. There is a decrease in resident and migratory birds that inhabit these wetlands.

Solution: Work with Fish & Wildlife to get water quality testing done in the wetlands. They can’t do their job without County support. I know because I’ve spoken with several officials regarding water quality testing — and the lack of it at Rush Creek. The County must cooperate to test the water for contaminants. The purpose of testing is to determine the current contaminant levels, take action to reduce those contaminants and retest to ensure that our efforts are working.

As the Supervisor of District 5, I implore you to make protecting Rush Creek Preserve and creating a data-driven, strategic plan for Binford Rd a top priority. Novato is part of Marin. It’s time that the Board of Supervisors represent Novato in the same way that they would represent Tiburon, San Anselmo, Ross or Mill Valley. I don’t want to keep writing these emails. I want solutions. I want action. And, I want it five years ago.

Sincerely,

Naya Calmels

Novato resident for 40 years