Oakland tightens rules for homeless RVs as vehicle sweeps accelerate
Oakland city workers began towing vehicles and requiring owners to relocate on San Leandro Street south of the Oakland Coliseum in late August, accord...
Oakland city workers began towing vehicles and requiring owners to relocate on San Leandro Street south of the Oakland Coliseum in late August, according to council member Ken Houston. The action follows an April city council vote that removed inhabited vehicles from the official definition of a homeless encampment, effective in July, allowing RVs and cars with people living in them to be treated as abandoned and towed with less or no notice. Of Oakland's nearly 3,660 homeless people counted on a single night in 2024, about 2,120 (58%) lived in vehicles. The city has 1,260 shelter units for 4,410 homeless residents. In March, Oakland closed a safe RV parking site for 31 vehicles at 71st Avenue and San Leandro Street due to budget shortfalls.
