People illegally staying at Samish Way motel asked to leave as city boards up rooms
People who had been illegally staying at a former motel on North Samish Way were removed Tuesday morning as city and public works officials boarded up rooms.
Law enforcement and the city said they removed unauthorized people who were staying at the Villa Inn, at 212 N Samish Way, due to what they said was a growing public health and safety concern.
Since the Villa Inn’s closure in mid-December, people who were not authorized to live there moved into some of the rooms. The current property owners, tenants and the Northwest Justice Project alerted the city planning department to the trespassing issues and escalating health and safety concerns in late January, according to Darby Cowles, a senior planner. Cowles said the city also became aware of a high number of police calls to the motel since its closure, and that the property owners said the situation was “out of their control.”
Since Dec. 18, the Bellingham Police Department has responded to and written reports about incidents at the Villa Inn 36 times, according to public records.
The Villa Inn and neighboring Cascade Inn motels are slated to be demolished to make way for a building that will have 196 apartment units and ground-floor commercial space. The Seattle developers are still in the process of purchasing the property, which is expected to close this spring.
There is also a current civil legal dispute determining whether some long-term residents who had been staying at the Villa Inn have tenants’ rights.
After the city became aware of the issues at the motel, the planning department, Bellingham police, the current property owners, the developers, the Northwest Justice Project and several homeless outreach teams met on Jan. 31 to discuss the situation and talk about next steps. A list was made by early February of those who were believed to have been former tenants staying at the motel, and was then vetted over the next several weeks, Cowles said.
Late Monday morning, the property owner and Bellingham police knocked on doors to check people off the list as former tenants. If they were on the list, their door was spray-painted with a green OK. If they weren’t identified as former tenants or had legal standing to stay there, they were asked to be gone by 9 a.m. Tuesday, Bellingham Police Lt. Don Almer said.
Almer said several people left Monday. At 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, eight Bellingham police officers, and city, public works and property officials went to the motel and started asking the remaining people who weren’t on the list to leave. Almer said everyone cooperated and no one had to be removed forcibly.
Almer also said no arrests were made, and that police weren’t checking IDs or warrants or looking for criminal activity. Almer said Bellingham police assisted the other groups involved, including those staying at the motel, due to the safety and health issues involved. Almer said the police are not involved in the civil eviction process and they reminded the current property owners to follow the law.
“We were being utilized as a resource for everybody involved, and were just maintaining the peace,” Almer said. “We’re not here to make any problems with anybody, and everybody was more than cooperative, which was nice. Our role in the community is a little different than in other places and we want to make sure they’re safe and know what’s going on.”
Most of the 43 rooms available at the motel were occupied. The groups identified 16 rooms in which the residents might be tenants, with another five additional rooms that were in question. After Tuesday, about 10 of the rooms remained occupied by possible tenants, Cowles said.
After the rooms were cleared out, public works began boarding up the doors and windows. They also posted a bright orange sign on the doors that stated not to enter or occupy due to unsanitary and dangerous conditions. In the future, a fence will go up around the property, Almer said.
Cowles said when the city received the permit application in September or October for the building project, it let the developer know it suspected there were long-term residents who were staying at the motel. Based on prior experience with the former Aloha and Macs motel sites, the city then got several of the homeless outreach teams, such as those from Lighthouse Mission Ministries and Opportunity Council, involved to help with resources and the residents’ transition to other housing, Cowles said.
Cowles said there have been no issues with people illegally living at the Cascade Inn, or a high number of police calls generated there, so the city will not be intervening.
