Responding to local homeowners and politicians, Orange County will clear homeless encampments from a riverbed and stormwater channel under its control.
Orange County has decided on an aggressive approach to growing homelessness encampments along the Santa Ana River. On January 22, the county plans to clear the riverbed of homeless encampments, a process that will require the closure of the Santa Ana River Trail in two cities.
"County officials said the move is necessary to remove debris, trash and human waste that has accumulated over the months that hundreds of people have been living along the trail," reports Jill Replogle. "The trail will be closed for as many as three months while crews also perform a backlog of maintenance projects, officials said."
According to advocates cited in the article, 1,000 homeless individuals live in the riverbed. Brooke Weitzman, a lawyer with the Elder Law and Disability Rights Center, says those people will have no choice but to sleep on sidewalks if the encampments are cleared. Weitzman and the Elder Law and Disability Rights Center sued the county in 2017 to block a similar action. "It’s unclear whether county officials will be allowed to go through with the evictions now," according to Replogle. The county is persisting, regardless.
Read the full story: Orange County to start clearing out massive homeless encampment on Jan. 22
Protests Push O.C. to Kill Its First Real Plan to Help the Homeless
The affluent county finally authorized a concrete plan to address a housing crisis, but forceful opposition from residents put them 'back to Square One.'
Phoenix Takes a New Approach on Homelessness
Phoenix is centering housing—affordable housing, permanent supportive housing, and eviction protections—in a new planning framework designed to reduce the number of homeless people living on the streets of the city.
What Will Disneyland Be Like When it Reopens?
According to a study, Disneyland could comfortably accommodate 50% of the 110-acre theme park’s pre-COVID-19 attendance capacity.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Colorado’s Largest Data Center Could Rise Next to Homes — Without a Public Hearing
The proposed campus would consume 11 times the power of Denver International Airport; as it has across the country, opposition mounts.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
'This is going to be painful:’ Virginia stares down $1.7 billion funding gap for highway maintenance
The state may address the deficit by shifting $290 million from its construction budget to maintenance projects.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello