A collaboration between a winery, brewery, and bagel shop is taking a stand against Berkeley's lenient approach to homeless encampments.

The City of Berkeley is being sued by several businesses, including a winery and a brewery, for not removing homeless encampments near them, resulting in a decline in profits.

This week, eight businesses, including Covenant Winery, Emily Winston of Boichik Bagels and Fieldwork Brewing, filed a lawsuit against the City of Berkeley in Alameda County.

The City of Berkeley is being sued for not following the same nuisance laws as private landowners while also being responsible for maintaining its streets and public rights of way free from obstructions.

For several years, the city has permitted homeless encampments to persist on Harrison Street, between Fifth and Ninth Streets, near Codornices Creek, and in the Lower Dwight neighborhood.

The lawsuit claims that the city permitted the encampments because the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit made a mistake in two cases, stating that a city cannot penalize public camping if there is no other place for campers to move to.

The city permitted and invited encampments in Harrison and Lower Dwight, despite knowing they would create a public nuisance, according to the plaintiffs.

Despite having available shelter space, the city permitted encampments to continue.

In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Ninth Circuit's rulings and allowed municipalities to remove public encampments even if there is no alternative space available.

The lawsuit claims that the businesses believe the city is not taking action, in part, due to the fear of litigation from advocates of homeless individuals and those living in RVs.

The businesses are seeking legal action by filing a lawsuit, requesting the court to intervene and compel the city to adhere to the law and remove the encampments, thereby eliminating public and private nuisance conditions in the neighborhoods.

The city manager and some businesses who filed the lawsuit were contacted by Planet Chronicle Digital for comment.

Tully Bailey LLP, an Arizona-based law firm, won a case in 2023 that required the city of Phoenix to clear a homeless camp within the city limits. Gavrilov & Brooks of Sacramento also represented businesses in the case.

An attorney from Tully Bailey LLP, Ilan Wurman, stated on Planet Chronicle Digital that the Supreme Court's decision this year did not mandate cities to remove homeless encampments, even though they have the authority to do so.

"Berkeley, despite having shelter to offer, continues to refuse its offers, and does not plan to address the encampments. A public nuisance lawsuit is the only way to force the city to take action and clean up the city, as demonstrated in Phoenix."

Winston, who owns a business near the encampment in San Francisco, spoke with FOX 2 about her efforts to work with the city to control the homeless population.

Winston stated, "Driving down the street is terrifying for customers due to the filth and trash everywhere. It's not safe for our customers or staff."

She demanded that the station provide shelter and treatment for the homeless, while simultaneously criticizing the city for its failure to improve living conditions and prompting her to take legal action.

She expressed her lack of enthusiasm for the task, stating that it was not what she had in mind as a fun activity. She wished the city had taken care of it beforehand.

Homeless encampments are a growing problem across California.

In August, Gov. Gavin Newsom toured California's streets to clean up trash left by homeless encampments, warning municipalities that they would lose state funding if they did not address the issue next year.

"I want to witness the outcomes," Newsom stated at the time. "I don't want to hear about them. I don't want to view the data. I want to experience it."

Under Newsom's leadership, the number of homeless individuals in California has increased from approximately 131,000 in 2018 to approximately 172,000 in 2024, as shown by the 2024 point-in-time count.

In response to a state audit report revealing that his own homelessness task force had not effectively tracked the allocation of billions of dollars over the past five years, Newsom's administration placed blame on counties and cities.

The audit's findings showcase the advancements made in tackling homelessness in California, including the completion of a comprehensive assessment of statewide homelessness programs.

The audit found that the CICH had not consistently tracked whether the money was effectively improving the situation over the past five years.

Local governments are mainly responsible for implementing these programs and collecting data on outcomes that the state can use to assess program effectiveness.

Over $25 billion has been spent in California since 2016 on addressing homelessness, with funding from state, local, and federal sources being used to support the state's "housing first" approach, which prioritizes housing placement before addressing mental health or substance abuse issues.

Planet Chronicle’ Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.