BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Bellingham is partnering with several private property owners to clean up the city’s largest homeless encampment.
Mayor Kim Lund’s office said in a letter to the King Mountain Neighborhood Association that the coordinated cleanup will begin on the first week of August.
It will be done in several phases, starting with notices to vacate being delivered to residents within the encampment. After all the residents have left, the city said access roads will be built to prepare the property for cleanup and timber harvest.
The sprawling 40-acre encampment is located near Walmart in north Bellingham between E Stuart Road, Kellogg Road and James Street.
A judge previously ordered the owner of the largest parcel within the encampment to pay the city for cleanup costs after Public Works fenced off part of the property and removed over 17 tons of waste.
Residents within the King Mountain neighborhood have since urged the city to take further action as crimes, fires and other activity have created unsafe conditions.
Whatcom County will lead outreach coordination to connect the encampment residents with shelter, treatment and other support services.
