Encampment cleanup near marshlands on track, county supervisor’s office says

Although there have been some challenges in getting it organized, the cleanup of homeless encampments near marshlands between Huntington Beach and Newport Beach is on track to begin late next week, according to the staff at Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley’s office.

In an interview Wednesday, deputy chief of staff Alyssa Napuri said Foley’s office has been in contact with roughly 50 residents from Newport Beach for about a year. Residents had been asking for the county to coordinate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the federally protected marshlands in the area for some time, but in the last two weeks, those same residents raised alarm about the proliferation of encampments there.

“[Residents] said they noticed the encampments growing at an exponential rate and that the trash and debris were flowing out into the creeks. That marshland is protected because it is sensitive habitat and home for a number of endangered species. We have a trash and debris catcher in the flood channels to trap what can, but we were told by some of our staff that some individuals would try and break the [catcher’s] gate,” Napuri said. “It’s been fixed, but people also sent videos of those individuals starting fires in the marshland.”

In a statement issued Tuesday, Foley said her office has been working in coordination with the federal agency since at least February to try to get county and Newport Beach public works personnel onto the land near the Santa Ana River. Foley said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has allowed access, but that the planned cleanup date — April 26 — is too far off to wait for access.

A gate closes off the protected marshland nearby the Santa Ana River. The gate was apparently cut open, though the office of County Supervisor Katrina Foley said Wednesday it has since been repaired.

(Courtesy of the office of Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley)

“We must clear this unsafe encampment and help the residents into treatment, shelter or housing,” Foley said in the statement. “Our county care and coordination team remains ready to help relocate individuals and connect them with wrap-around services, including permanent housing.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not respond to requests for comment.

Napuri said the cleanup was originally scheduled for this Friday, April 12, when the corps delayed it to the end of April. It was her belief that pressure put on the agency by local legislators and Foley pushed the cleanup to get underway April 19 and 20.

Napuri said it was unclear how many unhoused people might be camping in the marshlands. She said it’s possible they could be farther out into the protected lands than expected because there was evidence of kayaks and other boating equipment used to navigate the channels.

Newport Beach city spokesman John Pope said a formal count has not been made but that at least six to 12 people are camping there.

Anyone encountered who is trying to live in the marshlands will be referred to the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter and other emergency temporary housing.

“Our position has been that we are ready and eager to work with our partner agencies to get the job done. It is federal land, so we are deferring to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but our public works department will be out there to assist in the cleanup along with the police department,” Pope said. “It’s a multi-jurisdiction effort, and I believe we all have the same goal of cleaning up the encampments and placing people through services into, hopefully, permanent housing.”

Pope said a cleanup took place in the same area last year. Residents have raised concerns to the city for a few months, with those complaints increasing over the past two weeks.