Judge to rule on homeless evictions

Jace Radke

Friday, June 29, 2001 | 11:22 a.m.

A U.S. Federal Court judge was expected to rule today on a complaint from 41 homeless people who are requesting a temporary restraining order to stop the City of Las Vegas from forcing them from a vacant lot, dubbed "Tent City."

The complaint, filed Wednesday by attorney Matthew Callister on behalf of a group of homeless people who are living on a lot between Owens and Washington avenues, alleges that the homeless did not receive sufficient notice to vacate the site under Nevada Revised Statutes and that they may have real property rights.

"We have filed the motion for a temporary restraining order to try to keep the city and the police from ejecting these people until a preliminary injunction can be heard," said Dale Kleven, a law clerk at Callister's office. "We have several theories that the plaintiff's rights to travel, due process and equal protection under the law may have been violated."

Callister, who was in Reno Thursday but was expected to go before U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson today, could not be reached for comment Thursday evening. Attempts to reach him early today also were not successful.

An estimated 80 to 100 homeless remain at the site near the Union Pacific Railroad tracks at A Street. These people are part of a group that numbered closer to 150 earlier this month. Metro Police have canvassed the area with fliers informing the homeless that they are trespassing and must vacate the area by tonight.

The complaint alleges that the defendants, including the city, Metro Police and the owner of the Tent City property -- William Smith -- may not have complied with state law by informing the homeless via the fliers. According to state law, a sufficient warning of trespass can be given only by fencing the area or posting a sign of not less than 50 inches of florescent orange paint.

The complaint further alleges that the homeless are entitled to a judgment on their real property rights, as the people living at the encampment have met the Nevada legal standard for prescriptive easement by using Smith's land continuously, openly and peaceably for a five-year period.

The complaint includes sworn affidavits from the 41 homeless people, who range in age from 18 to 65. There are also affidavits from Patricia Price and Linda Lera-Randle El, two homeless advocates who say the homeless have resided at Tent City for at least 15 years.

"Ninety to 120 days pre-eviction notice is essential so that this most at-risk homeless population can be properly absorbed into the variety of programs and, most critically, bed spaces in a reasonable and regulated fashion," Price states in her affidavit. "The system cannot accommodate these impoverished men, women and children upon such short notice."

Plans to clear the encampment began with Smith, a Boulder City resident who received an abatement notice from the city stating that he could face a fine of $500 and up to six months in jail if the homeless were not removed from his property.

Earlier this month Smith signed a formal trespass form, asking police to remove the homeless people living at the encampment.