The city of Ojai has started moving residents of a homeless encampment in the 8-acre City Hall Community Garden area to a nearby parking lot.
About 30 people live at the site, officials said.
They will be moved into white tents on fire-treated platforms at the Kent Hall parking lot, 111 W. Santa Ana St., about 100 feet away from the garden.
Jamie Nelson, 74, was the first to move to one of the new tents. She has lived in Ojai for 29 years but moved to the encampment in November after being homeless since September. She stayed at a Motel 6 in the area until she ran out of money, she said.
Nelson, who uses a cane and lives with Mae Mae, her 3-year-old Chihuahua and dachshund mix, was appreciative of her tent and the community.
“Most everybody here is way over wonderful,” Nelson said Wednesday.
Nelson, who moved in Monday, proudly showed off her new quarters with a bed, portable chair and shelf. Each tent will house one resident.
The temporary encampment at the community garden has been at full capacity since December 2023, officials say. The city published answers to common questions about the camp on its website Monday.