BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The City of Bellingham is beginning what it calls a years-long process to clear out the city’s largest homeless encampment.
The city announced on Thursday, Nov. 14, that crews will begin cleaning and fencing the western property line of the encampment off E. Stuart Road near Walmart next week.
The work will be coordinated with the owners of the neighboring Tullwood Apartments, who will also clear and fence the northern part of the property.
The city says it’s the first step in what’s expected to be a multi-year effort to clean up the 20-acre property and its surrounding area.
My Bellingham Now has previously reported that a judge in September of this year ordered the property’s owner to immediately clean up the encampment following the city’s lawsuit against them.
Mayor Kim Lund is also urging the owners near another major encampment at Northwest Avenue and W. Bakerview Road to clean up and secure their properties. If the owners do not take immediate steps to address what the city calls public health and safety violations on their properties, they could face “enforcement actions.”
It comes as a coalition of concerned citizens and property owners are meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 19, to discuss next steps to manage the Bakerview Road encampment.
Mayor Lund says the city will reconvene with the property owners in December to hear their action plans.
