City of Bellingham is actively pursuing compassionate and effective solutions to the unauthorized encampment located on private property near the corner of Northwest Avenue and W. Bakerview Road. We are acutely aware of the concerns expressed by area residents and businesses regarding the recent growth of this encampment and its negative impacts on the community.
This encampment spans multiple properties owned by different people and entities, which presents complex and unique challenges. While the City is responding as swiftly as possible within its authority and available resources, property owners bear the primary responsibility for addressing the unauthorized encampment on their land. The City has limitations in what it can do on private land and focuses on providing support, facilitating coordination among property owners, and ensuring public safety.
To address the situation with care and urgency, the following actions are currently underway:
- Firm deadline for property owners: The involved property owners have been given a clear deadline to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for cleaning and securing their properties to prevent future encampments. If property owners fail to meet this deadline, the City will pursue enforcement actions as necessary to ensure compliance.
- Collaboration recommended: The City has recommended a collaborative approach to reduce costs and increase success, drawing on best practices from our work on public properties, and we will provide guidance and support throughout this process.
- Direct assistance to area property owners: In addition to supporting property owners involved in this encampment our staff is proactively reminding other property owners of their responsibilities. We are offering technical assistance in planning preventative measures to secure their undeveloped properties and will notify them in advance of any planned cleanups.
- Increased police presence: We’ve requested additional police patrols in the area to deter crime and ensure public safety. Additionally, we are providing support to neighboring businesses as they implement their own crime prevention and loss mitigation strategies.
- Enforcement action: The City has issued citations to one of the property owners who has failed to address public health and safety violations, reinforcing the importance of timely action.
- Exploring additional solutions: We’re actively exploring other strategies to address this issue and will provide updates as they become available.
- Social services coordination: In addition to our actions to resolve the encampment, the City has coordinated with area providers to encourage social services outreach to people living in or visiting this encampment.
We are committed to finding solutions that balance public safety, private property rights, and the well-being of individuals experiencing homelessness, substance use disorders and/or behavioral health challenges. We also are committed to keeping our community informed about our actions and progress.
For more information about the responsibilities of private property owners regarding encampments, please visit Unauthorized Encampments on Private Property.
Page last updated on:
