Gonzales

​Click here for more information about the city's current plan for managing homeless sheltering and how the plan may affect Gonzales Neighbourhood, as well as a chronology of sheltering in Gonzales Beach Park.

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​Here is a message from a local BlockWatch group in October 2025 egarding their frustrations from 5 straight years of Gonzales Beach Park being designated for sheltering and from recent criminal activity.

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For over 5 years now the folks immediately adjacent to Gonzales Beach have had to deal with threats to their personal safety and property crime. They asked to meet with Mayor Alto to explain what was happening to them; sometimes on a daily or weekly basis. They tried for a year to meet with her and she refused every time. They have also asked Councillor Matt Dell and Jeremy Caradonna to close down the beach to camping and people sleeping in cars without success. Signs were put up to stop the car camping but they are routinely ignored. This is the latest post from the Blockwatch captain:

"Some of our members have been directly impacted or indirectly affected or have heard about the nasty business going on in the neighborhood. There have been several thefts, break ins, threats and other illegal activities throughout the area. This may or may not be a result of Gonzales Park continuing to attract homeless and drug addicted individuals. BW members on the periphery of the park witness suspicious, illegal and dangerous activity and we continue to solicit Mayor and Council to close the park to all overnight sheltering—to no avail (Gonzales Park has been on the front lines for over 5 years). Just a few days ago, one of our members living close to the park was robbed. A couple of weeks ago a very dangerous situation occurred where an individual wielding a weapon broke into a home. Police locked down Thrifty's and other (?) businesses until the perpetrator was arrested. A few days ago, we had an individual tenting in the park just outside our home. Apparently, there were warrants out for his arrest and police arrived and took him away. There have been police calls to attend domestic disputes in the park. These are just a few of the more recent incidents in our immediate neighborhood.

The Gonzales neighborhood is apparently no longer the quiet, benign neighborhood we have enjoyed.

This email is a reminder to us all to keep our doors always locked even if we are just working in the yard or we are in our homes. Remember to keep vehicles locked as well. If you have a security system (alarm, cameras) please keep these systems activated. If you witness suspicious or illegal activities or have been a victim of a crime, it’s imperative that you inform police."