Is a recently sold $1.5M Tri-Cities lot becoming a homeless camp? Owner is taking action
A company paid $1.5 million for a prime Kennewick lot for a new car wash just six months ago, and now they’re dealing with illegal dumping and people living in RVs staking a claim to the long vacant lot.
The two-parcel property at West 7th Avenue and Highway 395 is on the corner of one of the most trafficked routes in the Tri-Cities. It’s a perfect spot for a car wash, with no competition within a few miles in any direction.
Surf Thru Express Wash bought the property in March and has been working since to get permits for the facility.
Surf Thru President Todd Gall told the Herald that it’s become pretty common for the California-based company to have to partner with cities and local law enforcement to keep the properties clear during the often-long stretch between purchase and groundbreaking.
He said the company was recently notified about dumping and possible illegal camping, and is in the process of getting a cleanup crew out to clear the lot.
Over the past few months the property has gone from having the occasional 18-wheeler parking overnight to having multiple RVs begin parking along the fence at the western edge of the lot.
One Facebook commenter described the area as a “homeless camp,” but there’s no evidence anyone is living on the property outside of the RVs that have been seen more frequently on the lot this year.
There’s also an abandoned pickup camper, partially torn apart with the plywood exposed sitting on the ground with trash and shopping carts accumulating near it. Next to it is a red SUV that has had the wheels removed sometime within the past few weeks.
The camper top has been there since at least June when Google Maps last scanned the area with Street View. It appears to have been dumped sometime after the property was sold in March.
The Herald has reached out to Kennewick police for more information about the complaints.
The cleanup at the property would be the second time this year a private property owner has had to partner with the city to remove debris and broken down RVs.
After months of concerns being raised about RVs along East Fruitland Street by the railroad tracks in downtown Kennewick, including one that had caught fire, Columbia Industries was able to get a crew in to demolish and clean up the non-running campers.
That first encampment had even caught the attention of Kennewick’s City Council, after nearby business owners came before city leaders to ask for help due to theft and vandalism.
Before destroying the abandoned campers Kennewick police attempted to make contact with anyone who might be living in them, to give them a chance to move any of the RVs that might have been in working order.
Kennewick police will likely need Surf Thru to have “No Trespassing” signs posted before they can begin asking people to move.
They hope to break ground on the car wash in the spring.
More and more people are living in vans, vehicles and RVs in Washington in recent years, in part due to the skyrocketing cost of housing.
During Tacoma’s most recent Point in Time homeless count, it was estimated that more than 4,000 people in the area were living in vehicles.
The Tri-Cities Point in Time count has not tracked people living in vehicles, but RVs parked overnight in parks, lots and other public areas has become much more common in recent years.
