After months of debate, Oakland has passed a controversial measure allowing the city to clear RVs and cars used as shelter from public spaces, even when no alternative housing is available. Officials said they’re still required to make reasonable efforts to offer housing, but in emergencies, th e city can shut down encampments with little notice. Councilmember Ken Houston, who led the effort, said the current system isn’t working. “The encampment management plan five years ago has failed us,” he said. Until now, RVs and cars were treated as encampments, limiting how quickly they could be towed. The new policy speeds up removals, especially in what the city calls high-sensitivity areas such as near schools, churches, and along business corridors. “We have low sensitivity areas where we say, okay, you have a car, you have an RV, move to the low sensitivity areas until we can get your shelter or housing. That is the misperception, that they think ‘Oh, we are going to close you down. We are going to tow’,” Houston said. The change is drawing strong reactions, with some business owners cheering the it and urging the city to classify more areas as “high sensitivity.” But homeless advocates warn the policy could make things worse,saying there simply isn’t enough shelter available. “If the goal is to reduce homelessness, an amendment like this that increases sweeps and further criminalizes unhoused residents is likely a step in the wrong direction,” Petra Hilton said. Derrick Soo has lived on 77th for 12 years. He represents 300 homeless in east Oakland through the Homeless Advocacy Working Group and fears the new policy  will only increase the number of people displaced. “People are going to lose their homes, their property, their medications, their safety and security because living on the street, without those RV’s and some sort of shelter or collective group, you’re in danger,” he said. He says the focus should shift to more long-term solutions. “It is important that we set up 100% affordable housing for everybody,” Soo said. Houston said he is working with Alameda County to provide safer parking sites. ...read more read less