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Los Banos clears G Street encampment; city installs tents, removes 60 tons of debris and orders rules for remaining occupants
Summary
City crews, police and fire removed about 60 tons of debris from the G Street encampment, installed temporary 10x10 tents and directed staff to enforce rules for staying at the site while housing outreach continues.
Los Banos city, police, fire and public works staff executed a multi‑agency cleanup of the G Street encampment this week, removing roughly 60 tons of trash and replacing informal structures with secured 10‑by‑10 seasonal tents while continuing outreach and enforcement.
Police Chief Reyna described a coordinated operation: "Monday, 6 a.m., about 25 staff members from public works, police, Code Enforcement, met at the police station for an operational briefing... we removed about 60 tons of trash... and replaced everything with about 68 10 by 10 all season tents." He said staff began work Friday and would return to finish outstanding material later in the week.
Interim City Manager Gary and Housing Division staff said extensive outreach and case work are underway. Housing staff maintain a weekly census of people living in encampments and provide case management, benefits assistance and placement support. Community Development staff reported that 20 people are currently in bridge housing and about 15 are screened and ready for permanent supportive housing units when they become available.
Chief Reyna said the city will require encampment occupants to comply with rules intended to protect public health and safety: keep personal belongings inside tents, refrain from building unlawful structures, and avoid illegal activity such as unauthorized vending or drug dealing. He said the city will increase evening monitoring and will deploy technology — including cameras and license‑plate readers discussed elsewhere in staff briefings — to reduce illegal dumping and criminal activity that occurred after hours.
Council members said they supported the humane, rules‑based approach and thanked staff for the work. City staff emphasized the effort is part of a continuing strategy to maintain the site temporarily while pursuing longer‑term housing solutions such as the One Tree permanent supportive housing project; staff noted the latter is still months to years from opening. Interim City Manager Gary said the city will seek to "hold this thing together" for six to 12 months while additional housing options are developed.
Ending: City staff said the cleanup is ongoing; more debris removal and site maintenance work was scheduled later in the week, and staff will continue outreach, case management and enforcement to keep the area clean and to transition eligible residents into housing when available.
