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Ross Encampment Remains 04-24-19 04:30 DC

On Monday, it seemed as though a downtown Santa Cruz homeless encampment would be moving to a new location within 48 hours after a Superior Court judge ordered the existing camp vacated amid ongoing safety concerns.

Yet the Ross homeless encampment remains in place this morning and the state judge’s ruling to close the camp has been delayed until a hearing can be held Friday morning in federal court.

That hearing was ordered Tuesday afternoon, even as the Santa Cruz City Council was meeting to discuss plans to move the 150-200 residents to a new location on what are called the Benchlands near the County Government Center.

That won’t happen now until after a hearing scheduled for 9AM Friday in San Jose federal court. Monday’s state court ruling came after a Santa Cruz judge determined that health and safety concerns required the existing camp to be closed within 48 hours.

The closing has now been delayed until after the federal court can weigh-in on Friday. The new location has been designed by the Santa Cruz fire department to be safer for residents.

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