Akron's tent city is closing, property owner Sage Lewis says

The private property owner who allows people experiencing homelessness to stay in tents on his Middlebury property said he's closing down Akron's "tent city."

The news of the closure came two days after the Summit County Sheriff’s Office said it’s investigating “suspected sexual offenses and human trafficking violations” at the camp, which the city was in the process of trying to get shut down.

Sage Lewis announced his plan on social media Friday afternoon.

He reiterated his belief that human trafficking was not occurring at the camp, and said the complaint being investigated likely grew out of a dispute between two people staying there. He also said he fears that the people he is trying to help have become targets for prosecution as a result of his long-running dispute with Akron authorities over  accommodations for the homeless.

"After some serious thought and consideration, I have decided to shut our tent city down," Lewis wrote on Facebook. "I have determined that these people are not safe from the city at this location... This is not the end. Far from it. It’s just a turn of the page."

He further said on Twitter that he "[doesn't] believe the city will stop coming after these people. They are not safe from the government at our place any more."

Lewis said that people will have about 10 days to take their belongings, and he will be bringing a dumpster June 27. No one will live outside on the property after that date, he said.

Lewis — who is running for mayor of Akron next year — also asked people to come help move "and make a new friend," as "it’s incredibly difficult to move when you have no transportation."

The current encampment is on part of Lewis' commercial property on Broad Street, as well as around a house at 85 Kent Place and two vacant pieces of land. Lewis owns the house and one of the vacant parcels. The properties are listed under his nonprofit Church of the Nomadic Spirit, which he formed in March “for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a place for the love and respect and celebration of all nomads everywhere.” The other piece of vacant land is owned by Larue Corn.

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Summit County Sheriff's Office human trafficking investigation

According to a news release from the sheriff’s office issued Wednesday night, the agency said it received “several credible complaints of possible exploitation and potential human trafficking violations.”

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Summit County Prosecutor’s Office and Akron Police Department on Tuesday conducted a welfare check at the site on Kent Place in Akron, known as “Tent City.”

Detectives said they discovered people had been “victimized and required immediate intervention” and were offered medical treatment, counseling and shelter service options, according to the news release, with one person taken to an area hospital because of their medical condition.

Summit County Sheriff's Office Inspector Holland said the number of victims is still being determined.

The sheriff’s office also said 3 people living in and around the Kent Place location had active felony warrants and were taken to the Summit County Jail.

City of Akron was already trying to shut down tent city

The city of Akron this month sued to shut down the tent village, citing ordinances that govern health, safety and sanitation; littering; environmental health; and zoning, which in Akron prohibits campgrounds and living in or under tents, sheds, campers and tarps.

Citing public safety concerns, violation of local ordinances and non-compliance with zoning rules, the city of Akron filed its lawsuit June 3 in Summit County Common Pleas Court, asking a judge to force Lewis to disband the encampment of tents, a camper, tarp awning and sheds occupied by more than 30 chronically homeless people.

The city told him in 2018 that it’s illegal to shelter chronically homeless people in tents behind his commercial property on Broad Street, which was the original tent city, known as Second Chance Village.

After it was outlawed by the city in 2018, Lewis began allowing homeless people to return in April 2021. City inspectors have been keeping tabs, according to the lawsuit. The city said it’s received numerous complaints from surrounding property owners.

Lewis told the Beacon Journal that the reopening of the camp happened like this:

In April 2021, Akron native Rob Pierce pitched a tent behind the Broad Street property on a sliver of vacant land. Lewis didn’t tell him to leave. Instead, he gave Pierce a donated pop-up camper.

Six months later, a second man came with a tent.

As winter approached, dozens of men, women and children stepped out of the woods or off the streets. Lewis didn’t complain to the Department of Neighborhood Assistance.

He wired a fuse box in a nearby home he owns and ran extension cords to their tents, each on its own breaker. He helped them get space heaters, which he said are safer than heating tents with portable propane tanks and open flames. He gave them access to a bathroom while regularly hauling off their trash. He even set up free wi-fi.

Reporter Doug Livingston contributed to this article. Contact Beacon Journal reporter Emily Mills at emills@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter @EmilyMills818.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron's tent city is closing, property owner Sage Lewis says