A Whatcom County judge ordered a landowner on Wednesday to immediately begin abating an encampment on her property behind the Bellingham Walmart.
The encampment has been active for at least 15 years and had 50-150 residents when the City of Bellingham filed a lawsuit against property owner Li-Ching Fang in February, after complaints from neighbors and public health concerns related to the encampment.
The summary judgment, issued by Judge Lee Grochmal in court Sept. 25, declared the encampment a “nuisance” and authorized the City of Bellingham to enter the property at any time to start cleaning up the property themselves. The landowner is responsible for all cleanup costs.
Since the lawsuit was filed, the encampment’s numbers have dwindled in anticipation, said Hanah Warthan, founder of nonprofit Mission for Missy, who frequently visits the camp to provide Narcan, water and other resources to people living there. She said the encampment has decreased from at least 70 people living there permanently at the beginning of the summer to around 30 this week, from her count. Many have moved to other encampments, she said.
Where do encampment residents go?
In the hearing, Grochmal asked the city about its plans to abate the “nuisance” and prevent the people currently on the property from returning.
“Hopefully, the city’s working on finding places to relocate the folks that have been living there, not just telling them to go elsewhere, farther into the woods, I guess. That’s not obviously what we want to see,” Grochmal said.
Assistant City Attorney Michael Good said the city does not have a “full plan” to present to the court, which is why they asked permission to go on the property to develop that plan. He said the plan will include having the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) inform people in the encampment of the abatement and offer them services, but said the city does not have a jail to hold the people in encampments nor housing available for them.
HOT team coordinator Marisa Schoeppach confirmed that HOT often engages with people in encampments ahead of anticipated cleanups to connect and reconnect people with services, resources and benefits.
City employees, Whatcom County health officials and Bellingham Police Department officers went on a walk-through of the 20-acre property in May and reported an estimated 1,000–2,000 tons of solid waste and about 10 significant encampments on the property, with some two-story structures, according to court documents. The encampments had debris and drug paraphernalia in the surrounding tents and tarps.
The city estimated it will cost roughly $2 million to remove the solid waste on the site, and repairing the wetlands will require an additional $2-4 million, according to court documents.
Warthan, who also visits other encampments in town like the one at Northwest Drive and East Bakerview Road behind the Jack in the Box, said some people from the Walmart encampment have simply relocated to other encampments.
Warthan said she’s trying to coordinate a cleanup at the growing Jack in the Box encampment to clean up trash along Northwest Drive.
“We want to get them motivated to clean up some of that garbage before it starts getting like Walmart [encampment] and turns into a $6 million cleanup,” Warthan said.
The City of Bellingham is aware of the Jack in the Box encampment, and recently issued a criminal citation and two civil infractions against one of the property owners.
Mayor Kim Lund told city council on Sept. 16 that the city is urging property owners of that encampment to work together to “secure their properties.”
“We are committed to addressing unauthorized encampments with diligence, compassion and transparent communication,” Lund said in a statement to CDN. “We remain committed to finding long-term solutions that balance public safety, private property rights, and the well-being of individuals experiencing homelessness, substance use disorders and/or behavioral health challenges.”
The city created an internal team to coordinate responses to encampments.
Deputy Administrator Janice Keller added that when a previous encampment off Deemer Road was cleared out, multiple organizations offered services “months and weeks prior to the cleanup,” and service providers were on site the morning the cleanup began, at the city’s request.
Keller added that the city offers and funds “extensive housing, health and human services programs and will consider ways we can do more as we proactively and compassionately address encampments.” She said the city contributed to the new Millworks housing project, the new YWCA shelter and more.
Schoeppach said some common misconceptions are that people want to be in encampments, that only negative things are happening there, and that people aren’t willing to leave.
Some people in encampments can be hesitant to seek indoor shelters due to having a conflict with someone at a shelter, an active domestic violence situation, or just feeling like their needs aren’t being met at shelters, Schoeppach said.
Background on the lawsuit
In February, the city filed the lawsuit against Fang after she failed to address the growing encampment on the property. The owner of the adjacent Tullwood Apartments, 52nd & Brooklyn LLC, intervened in the lawsuit in May and pushed for a summary judgment to expedite the cleanup. Residents of Tullwood Apartments have reported hearing gunshots, seeing the distribution and use of illegal drugs and more on the property.
Fang, who does not speak English and lives in Taiwan, appeared online on Zoom, along with June Wang, who Fang had asked to serve as her power of attorney. Wang was denied the ability to give legal arguments on behalf of Fang as she is no longer a licensed attorney in the state of Washington but did some translating for her and offered her version of events.
Wang said that Fang bought the property in July 2019, and when she realized there were homeless people on the property, she authorized the Bellingham policy to issue trespass warnings and arrest the trespassers. She also put up fences and signs, but they were taken down by the trespassers, Wang said. Fang paid $460,000 for the property.
But Grochmal said it was “ultimately” Fang’s responsibility to abate the property. “That hasn’t happened,” she said.
This story was updated at 3:27 p.m. Sept. 26, 2024 to include additional information.
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
