SPOKANE, Wash. — Newly filed court documents give a more detailed timeline of when and how Spokane officials plan to clear the I-90 homeless encampment by the end of June.
The City of Spokane and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) filed a plan to close the I-90 homeless encampment, commonly referred to as Camp Hope, on or before June 30. According to that plan, the city and the state intend to provide campers with better housing opportunities and other assistance before cleaning up and clearing out the camp.
WSDOT announced the plan to close the camp on or before June 30 on May 25, adding there are currently about 20 campers remaining on the property. That's down from a peak population of more than 600 last summer.
As the number of campers continues to decrease each week, the city of Spokane and WSDOT has outlined a 10-point plan to move the remaining campers into housing and to clear the property on I-90 and Freya.
Below is a summary of the plan to clear the homeless camp:
- WSDOT contractors plan to keep offering better housing opportunities to campers. Court documents say those efforts will continue until June 30, when the camp is set to close.
- "Notice to Vacate and Remove Property" notices will be put up around the camp on June 23.
- The same day the notices are put up, Spokane's Code Enforcement Department will give each camper upon request two 55-gallon storage bins to gather up their personal items. WSDOT plans to help the campers clean up their campsite and pack up their belongings. Once the campers have filled up their storage bins, the city will store the campers' belongings at a city facility for a maximum of 60 days. Any property that isn't claimed after those 60 days will be disposed of.
- Campers that have not accepted an offer for better housing or voluntarily left the camp by 4 p.m. on June 30 will be required to leave. If they don't, they could be arrested for trespassing.
- The Behavioral Health Unit of the Spokane Police Department (SPD) will be allowed to enter the camp at 4 p.m. on June 30 to enforce the notice to vacate the property.
- Once the last campers have left the property, WSDOT will start the process of getting rid of anything left at the site.
- WSDOT will remove any "structures" left at the camp, including storage containers, portable toilets, motorhomes, RV's and trailers, unauthorized vehicles and fencing. Any garbage left at the camp will also be removed.
- "No Trespassing" signs will be hung up around the site.
- WSDOT will be responsible or monitoring the property after June 30, and SPD will respond to any requests for police assistance after that point.
- Ahead of the closure, attorneys for WSDOT and the city of Spokane will continue to meet once a week to implement the plan and share new information from service providers as they work to close the camp.
WSDOT is still finalizing plans for 'mitigation' of the land once the camp is vacant but says the fences may stay up for a time after campers are gone.
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