SPOKANE, Wash. — The Washington State Department of Transportation is on notice tonight after the City of Spokane said they need to clear the homeless encampment by Interstate-90 and Freya.
The City is giving WSDOT until October 14th to clear out the camp.
Over the last year, the homeless camp near I-90 and Freya grew to more than 600 people.
Now with the city's deadline to the Washington State Department of Transporation to clear the land, people who work closely with and to the camp have a lot of differing opinions.
The City says once a plan is submitted, it expects the state to start clearing out the camp by September 23rd and be finished by October 14th.
Several business owners near the camp couldn't be more excited about the news.
"I am ecstatic, it is absolutely wonderful. I can't wait, it's going to be a celebration. I think all of us will help clean up the area once the homeless have relocated,” said Kay Kallenbach, an owner at Spencer Antiques.
But for non-profits like Empire Health Foundation who work with the camp's occupants, they're frustrated the City's trying to clear out the encampment so fast.
"I don't think it helps in the work we're trying to do," Zeke Smith, the President of Empire Health Foundation, said. "It's frustrating that the city seems to be aggressively pursuing this idea that we can just get rid of the camp in a short period of time and I was saying that's not really possible."
Another non-profit, Compassionate Addiction Treatment, says the City's plan isn't going to change anything they're doing.
"My initial reaction was stunned. I was stunned into silence,” said Hallie Burchinal, the executive director of Compassionate Addiction Treatment. “My reaction now and my reaction as a team is we're here to do the work and we're not going to be distracted by city politics."
The City says it plans to take legal action if they don't get a response by Monday. If that's the case, they'll deem the state's property a "chronic nuisance" and issue a citation.
"We've seen a very big uptick in crime and things like that in the area. And we just kind of hope if they get some help, that'll resolve itself. The place they're living in right now shouldn't be a place where anyone should live so I'm just really glad the city is stepping up and really trying to help those guys,” said Carli Karlson, the owner at Axels Pawn.
The City says its spent more than $350,000 addressing nuisance issues at the camp since last March.
The letter says the city plans to seek reimbursement from the state if they can't come to an agreement.
The City is giving homeless people housing options, but many have yet to leave their tents or vehicles to live in other housing.
About two dozen people have showed up to the new Trent Avenue shelter.
WSDOT Transportation Secretary Roger Millar sent the following letter to the city on Monday:
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