The City follows a Personal Property Impound Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which was updated by the City Council on March 3, 2026 (link to Council Item). The SOP is designed to protect items essential to a person’s identity or health.

Advance notice is provided at least 72 hours before abatements, so individuals have time to organize and take their belongings. Notices include written and verbal instructions — in Spanish and Vietnamese — on how to retrieve any property left behind. Most individuals gather their belongings and leave the site prior to the abatement.

During the notice period, staff also inform people about the Good Neighbor Guidelines and the requirement to place all personal property within a 12-by-12-foot space during the abatement. Items within that space will be sifted through and may be collected and stored in accordance with the SOP.

Items found outside the 12x12 space are generally presumed abandoned and may be disposed of, except for items essential to a person’s identity or health. Clearly identifiable and indispensable items — such as government-issued identification and prescribed medications — are documented and impounded for at least 30 days. Larger personal items (i.e., bulk items) are stored for at least 14 days. Any item that staff cannot clearly categorize as trash, hazardous material, contraband, perishable, or abandoned is treated as personal property and impounded.

When items must be impounded, they are documented and stored securely. Individuals may coordinate retrieval by phone or email, or request delivery if transportation is a barrier.

This large encampment along Coyote Creek — formerly known as “the Jungle” — existed for many years before the City dismantled it in 2014, relocating hundreds of residents and fencing off the site to prevent re-encampment. 

Since then, periodic abatements and creek cleanup efforts have taken place as the City balances public safety, environmental protection, and outreach to connect people with services and housing in the area now referred to as Coyote Meadows. 

This is one of the last large encampments within City limits, and once cleared, the City will take proactive steps to prevent encampments from reaching this scale again. 

A “No Encampment Zone” will be established in the area to prevent re-encampment.  

Once clearly marked with posted signage, the City can immediately remove any encampments found in the area without additional notice, as the signs serve as permanent notification. No Encampment Zones are monitored frequently to prevent encampments from forming.