Nude trespasser, fires and gunshots: Nearby homeless camps worry SLO Elks Lodge
A community of homeless campers in San Luis Obispo Creek area near the Elks Lodge have caused repeated disturbances and left the club with a $10,000 trash bill, according to an Elks manager who has expressed risings concerns about club safety.
SLO officials, meanwhile, say the city is working to address homelessness citywide and they’re seeking the public’s help in doing so.
Reggie Greenwood — manager of the private club that has more than 2,000 members — said that multiple disturbances have occurred over the past few months at its private property located off South Higuera at 222 Elks Lane that have encroached on the privacy and safety of the Elks grounds.
The lodge borders an area of San Luis Obispo Creek where Greenwood said dozens of houseless campers had set up tents and kept their personal items before a recent clear-out.
“I’ve seen anywhere from 200 to about 250 people down there, and they’ve had campfires, trespassed on our property, fired gunshots and created other problems,” Greenwood said. “It’s gotten a lot worse, and I’m concerned for safety.”
City officials said in this instance, “a property owner called us to report trespassers on their property,” but cited a much lower number of violators.
“We confirmed that about 10 or so individuals were indeed trespassing on private property, which includes the creek there,” said Whitney Szentesi, SLO’s public information manager.
Szentesi added: “While property owners and law enforcement are not required to give advance notice when asking someone trespassing on private property to leave, our Community Action Team spoke ahead of time with the individuals illegally camping on that property. The team both assisted the property owner and helped those trespassing by guiding them to locally available services, including our Safe Parking Program at Railroad Square.”
Greenwood said, however, those trespassing left behind trash, personal belongings and hazardous waste such as needles that cost the lodge about $10,000 to clean up.
Greenwood said it’s likely some of the unhoused people who were camped out in the hidden area behind the lodge could eventually return to a spot long known to be a homeless hangout.
“We hired the 2 Mexicans Junk Removal guys, and they came in hazardous materials suits to clean up all the needles and debris out there,” Greenwood said. “They shouldn’t be on private property, and if they’re in the creek, they’re not supposed to be camping there either. In the winter, where do their belongings go? That washes downstream into Avila Beach. Why are we stuck with covering a $10,000 bill?”
Impacts spreading
The lodge isn’t the only property in the area reporting problems.
A neighboring business, Wheeler-Smith Mortuary, also has had break-ins to its storage area and discovered charred wood from a campfire near the creek at the back of its property.
Representatives from Wheeler-Smith recently allowed a Tribune reporter onto their property to show trash, campfire remnants and tents near its cemetery and office headquarters.
They declined to comment publicly for this story but acknowledged that a large group has re-settled on their private property after recently being moved out of the creek area behind the Elks lodge.
Greenwood is speaking out on the need for solutions to a homeless problem that has drifted closer to the Elks’ property, which includes a lodge with a restaurant and bar, pool area, storage space for RVs, and parking area for overnight visitors and their vehicles.
“We’ve had to call the Police and Fire Department,” Greenwood said. “I’m worried about the fires because the RVs our members park have propane, and it’s extremely dangerous if a fire were to spread or if a firearm incident were to go wrong. Some of the homeless there were yelling late at night and disturbing our RV camping visitors. The problem has gotten a lot worse in general.”
City response and homeless advocacy
In response to questions about the apparent rise in the number of homeless people in the area, city officials said that “we have seen an increase in calls for service related to unhoused community members, which is why the city has made it a top priority to address homelessness locally over the next two years.”
SLO police calls for service related to the homeless community traditionally account for about 18% of its citywide responses in the year to date, and about 31% of downtown calls for service, according to year-to-date police data compiled by the SLO Police, shared by SLO Police Capt. Brian Amoroso (downtown is defined as a 1000-foot radius from 858 Higuera St.).
SLO City Manager Derek Johnson said the increased number of calls for service related to unhoused community members speaks to the need for a regional coordination between jurisdictions.
“While many homeless residents prefer to stay in the community they feel connected to, other unhoused community members will travel between different communities in our region,” Johnson said. “Fortunately, the (SLO) County Board of Supervisors adopted a new framework for a regional homeless action plan this summer to address these types of issues. This will help build collaborative relationships and improve engagement and communication across jurisdictions in the region.”
A $1.5 million allocation sets aside funding for encampment abatement, a Blue Bag trash removal program, safe parking and behavioral health case management, among other programs.
Johnson said once the city learns about a problem, it’s addressed with compassion and enforcement.
“If the issue is happening on private property, we can only help when we’re called, if we observe illegal activity while on patrol, or if the property owner authorizes SLO police officers to respond to trespassing on private property even if we haven’t been called,” Johnson said.
Johnson added: “It’s important for people to understand that outside of what is observed by patrolling police officers, we may be unaware of incidents involving unhoused community members unless they are reported. We need community members to call us if there is an incident.”
Elks Lodge disturbances
Greenwood said that the city’s clear-outs of transients camping along the stretch of the Bob Jones trail area closer to Prado Road, as well a COVID-19 outbreak this summer that limited intake, may have led unhoused campers to set up on the creek area closer to the Elks Lodge and Wheeler-Smith.
While some access to the Elks Lodge is blocked by a high, barbed wire fence, other spots are easily reachable from the creek area, either over a small fence or through open access spots to the lodge parking lot.
Greenwood gave several examples of problems that have occurred:
▪ A handful of campfires in the creek area in recent weeks (contained to campsites but worrisome).
▪ Shots fired overnight at a member’s stored RV on site (nobody hurt) for no apparent reason, leaving bullet holes in the vehicle that was later scrapped by the owner.
▪ Trespassing incidents including a woman stealing ice from a cooler; homeless use of the Elks’ pool and jacuzzi areas after hours at night with soap and shampoo left behind in the water.
▪ A partially nude woman escorted off the property during operational hours.
▪ A police bust of a makeshift methamphetamine lab located nearby the Elks property.
After some of the incidents involving the unhoused, the lodge has called police, Greenwood said.
“The problem just seems to be getting worse, and we have campers parking next to where people down in the creek are shouting and yelling at night,” Greenwood said. “They walk onto our property all the time.”
Community homeless response measures
Johnson said that SLO County government provides “the primary public resources for people living on the streets — supplying comprehensive forms of aid, drug and alcohol addiction treatment, mental health counseling and housing program solutions.”
But he also acknowledged “gaps in services.”
“The city of SLO is helping by identifying these gaps and either working with the county to find solutions or implementing pilot programs to effectively address these gaps,” Johnson said. “At the City Council meeting on Aug. 24, the City Council approved a request for proposals for a mental health technician to support our new Mobile Crisis Unit, which will pair an emergency medical technician with a mental health technician to help community members in crisis.”
Johnson is hopeful the program will expand countywide and be supported through SLO County government funds spent regionally.
“The Mobile Crisis Unit is being launched in addition to an expansion of our Community Action Team,” Johnson added. “Similarly, the city recently requested proposals for an additional mental health clinician to expand its Community Action Team.”
Resources and a call for help
If residents do experience problems with the houseless community, SLO officials listed resources that include a non-emergency dispatch line (meaning it’s not an immediate danger to life or property). That number is (805) 781-7312. For emergencies, SLO officials urge calling 911.
Property owners who want to report a trespassing also can submit a form to authorize access for SLOPD. The form can be found at www.slocity.org/homelessness.
Johnson emphasized that public and private partnerships are necessary to help prevent and address homelessness, adding “government agencies cannot solve the issue alone. We need property owners and community members to help as well.”
“There are many ways to help, including new landlord incentives to encourage landlords to provide housing to our most vulnerable community members,” Johnson said. “More information can be found on our website or by visiting https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Departments/Social-Services/Homeless-Services.aspx.”
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