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Residents say homeless encampment on Zedekar Avenue is worsening; council to agendize response
Summary
Residents told the Parlier City Council on Aug. 7 that a large homeless encampment on Zedekar Avenue is creating public-safety and health problems. Council members said they will place the issue on the next meeting agenda so city staff can develop options.
Several residents urged the Parlier City Council to act after describing an expanding homeless encampment on Zedekar Avenue that they said has brought crime, fires and human waste into a neighborhood. The council agreed to agendize the matter for the council’s next regular meeting so city staff can develop recommended steps.
Debbie Sudejaz, who identified herself as a resident of Zedekar and Danube avenues, told the council the area has become “a waste system that was once there” and said the encampment now hosts children and adults living in unsafe conditions. “There has been robberies. There has been everything imaginable that happens out there,” she said at the podium.
Manrouh Dhaliwal, who also said he lives on Zedekar, described break-ins, sightings of firearms and thefts of agricultural equipment. “There was a breaking in our house. There was a breaking in my cousin’s house at 1 a.m.,” he said, and said residents have repeatedly called police.
Mayor Alma Beltran said the issue has continued for years and promised to place the matter on the agenda for the council’s next meeting so the city manager can prepare options. “For the next meeting, we will agendize that. That way we can have our city manager figure out a solution for that area,” she said.
Council members and staff did not adopt a policy or direct a specific enforcement action at the Aug. 7 meeting; the council’s decision was limited to asking the city manager to prepare a report and recommendations for a future meeting. The mayor also said she would ask the city manager to join the next meeting so residents can present photos and other material directly to staff.
Speakers at the meeting asked the city to coordinate with county public health and the board of supervisors; a resident said she had already contacted the county public-health environmental staff and the board of supervisors. Council members did not commit to a timetable for action during the Aug. 7 meeting.
The council asked residents to provide evidence to the city manager in advance of the next meeting. The city said it will add the item to the next regular council agenda, scheduled for Aug. 21, 2025.
