SPOKANE, Wash. — The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has issued a response to the City of Spokane's "Chronic Nuisance Notice" over the homeless encampment near I-90 and Freya, also known as Camp Hope.
In the response, WSDOT objects to the "unlawful" notice, which the department says holds them wrongfully responsible "for a situation that resulted from the City of Spokane’s own failure to provide beds/housing and social and health services for people experiencing homelessness in Spokane."
WSDOT is now asking the city to remove the notice, saying that the blame should lie with the city.
"Because the City both caused and contributed to the conditions at Camp Hope through its own actions and inactions, its attempts to shift blame to the State must fail," WSDOT said in the response.
WSDOT says they are still collaborating with the Washington State Department of Commerce (WSDC) and Washington State Patrol (WSP), Empire Health Foundation and City of Spokane in accordance with the state's Right-of-Way Safety Initiative (ROWSI) to transition people living at the camp into shelters.
"Unfortunately, instead of engaging in meaningful collaboration with the State and other local partners to address this important local issue, the City served an unlawful Chronic Nuisance Notice on WSDOT for alleged violations of the Spokane Municipal Code, presenting an unreasonable and unrealistic “Chronic Nuisance Abatement Agreement” with an arbitrary and significantly truncated timeline," WSDOT said in the response. "The City’s counterproductive approach of seeking to shift blame onto WSDOT rather than working collaboratively ignores not only the complex challenges at Camp Hope but is also constitutionally suspect."
On Wednesday, Oct. 5, Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl sent a letter to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), stating the homeless encampment near I-90 and Freya Street is "in danger of being declared a chronic nuisance" property.
In the letter, Chief Meidl said multiple crimes have occurred at the encampment since its formation in December 2021, including littering, trespassing, drug use and distribution, burglaries, theft and, most recently, a drive-by shooting.
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