Closure of Clarkston homeless camp expected this week
Feb. 5—The city of Clarkston is conducting a special meeting Tuesday to declare an emergency concerning the homeless camp near Walmart.
It was recently discovered the camp is sitting on private property, and the owner wants it cleared of all trespassers. The mayor plans to declare an emergency in light of the "crisis situation" faced by the city and the unhoused population, said Steve Austin, city administrator.
The special emergency meeting begins at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Clarkston City Hall. No public comments will be allowed.
About 75 or more homeless individuals have tents pitched on a small stretch of land at the end of 10th Street that was marked as public right of way on maps. The fenced area, which sits between Walmart and a parcel of property under contract for affordable housing units, was believed to be public land when the camp was set up in November.
However, recent title searches conducted by the city of Clarkston and William Larson, owner of Clarkston Estates, provided a more accurate description, Austin said Monday. The homeless camp is actually located on Larson's private property.
In a call to city officials Friday, the owner indicated trespassers pose a significant liability risk and cannot remain at the site. Once the camp is vacated, the city will have to restore the area to an acceptable state, Austin said.
Larson is in the process of selling an adjacent 6 acres on the 1000 block of Port Drive to Horizon Housing Alliance and Catholic Charities for an affordable housing development. The fully funded project is slated to provide 72 units for families and could be completed in 2025, if the rest of the process goes smoothly.
In addition to the emergency declaration, an ordinance on the "regulation of public property" is on Tuesday's agenda. If passed, it goes into effect immediately.
The ordinance, which was still in draft form late Monday, will likely spell out the exact hours public property can be used for camping. Higher courts have ruled being homeless is not a crime, and public property can be used for camping if no shelter is available.
A map containing all of the available public property in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley will be provided to the council at the meeting, Austin said.
The people living at the camp will be notified as soon as Wednesday morning that they have to leave. How long the dismantling process will take and what it will entail remains to be seen.
Clarkston has already contacted Quality Behavioral Health, the nearby Port of Clarkston and the Army Corps of Engineers about the situation, Austin said.
City leaders are in the process of contacting disaster response businesses to get estimates on cleanup costs at the camp. Any needles, human feces or other hazards must be properly removed, Austin said.
The Clarkston Police Department is aware of the camp's impending upheaval.
Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com.
