Protesters block roads, enter City Hall in response to planned Camp 210 cleanup
Protesters and advocates for people staying in a temporary tent encampment on the lawn of Bellingham City Hall created a human barrier and later broke into and entered City Hall in order to stop City of Bellingham officials from attempting to clean up the site Friday morning, Jan. 22.
The protesters and advocates showed up Friday morning in opposition to the city’s plans to move the temporary encampment, known as Camp 210, 25 feet away from City Hall.
Camp 210 is a group of homeless campers living in tents on the lawns of City Hall (210 Lottie St.) and the Bellingham Public Library (210 Central Ave.).
It was set up in November to protest the lack of shelter in the area.
Several wooden structures and large tents have been erected on the City Hall lawn. As of Friday morning, none of the tents or structures had been moved. Parts of City Hall had also been spray-painted.
City officials and law enforcement had driven by, but none had been on scene as of 11 a.m. Friday, and no cleanup actions had been taken.
Shortly after 9 a.m., protesters used cars to block Grand Avenue in front of the county courthouse, leading some cars to drive across the sidewalk in front of the steps of the courthouse to get around the barricade.
The cars were later moved to block the intersection at Grand Avenue and Lottie Street, leading to City Hall. Several protesters standing in the line blocking the intersections held signs that read “Services now”, “Do not sweep” and “Provide an actual solution for the homeless.”
Journalists with The Bellingham Herald left the scene for safety reasons and moved a distance away after 10 a.m. after a confrontation began with protesters who had asked the journalists not to film, take photographs or document the protest on public property. Other members of the media and an official with HomesNOW! also were harassed over documenting the morning’s events and eventually left.
As of a drive-by shortly before noon, there was no longer a human barricade, but some protesters were still gathered nearby on Lottie Street. Cars still blocked the intersections on both sides of Lottie Street.
Some of the protesters opened the doors to City Hall and roughly 20 people went into the main lobby, Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald. No damage was done to the interior of City Hall and no one was hurt, Murphy said.
It’s unclear if the protesters were affiliated with Camp 210 or not.
Several Bellingham police officers responded to the scene and asked the people inside City Hall to leave, which they did, Murphy said. The officers assisted city employees in securing the City Hall doors, as City Hall is closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
Murphy said the doors were secured without incident. She said no arrests were made Friday at City Hall.
In a statement provided to The Herald, Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood said the city seeks a peaceful end to the encampment. He said most campers have not complied with the request to create a 25-foot fire and safety protection barrier around City Hall.
“Circumstances at City Hall and the Library lawn are entirely untenable, escalated largely by protesters and outside agitators who are not residents of the encampment. Their actions are a disservice to people who are experiencing homelessness and putting them at increased risk,” Fleetwood said.
He said he encourages residents at Camp 210 to seek services that are available at Base Camp, a homeless shelter on Cornwall Avenue operated by Lighthouse Mission Ministries.
At around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19, the City of Bellingham notified residents of Camp 210 that they have to stop camping within 25 feet of City Hall and move their belongings outside that boundary by 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 22.
Eve Smason-Marcus, a Whatcom Human Rights Task Force board member and volunteer with Camp 210, said the encampment has had roughly 90 to 120 campers per night, with numerous other people coming through daily to get supplies and food.
Advocates say negotiations and communication with city and county officials has slowly dissipated, leading them to believe a cleanup was a possibility, according to Smason-Marcus. After being in negotiations with city officials for over a month, advocates canceled a meeting in late December because the city was unwilling to meet their demands, Smason-Marcus said.
She said the advocates and residents at Camp 210 had asked for 100 units, such as tiny homes or pallet shelters, and the city offered 25.
“They were unwilling to work with us and house everyone on the lawn. In negotiations we did our best to advocate for campers based on conversations we were having daily with campers. They will not leave city hall unless there is housing for everyone,” Smason-Marcus said.
Fleetwood said the city engaged in good faith, professional and civil discussions with advocates of the encampment in an effort to work together on providing additional shelter options.
The city offered to provide funding for credentialed professionals to help oversee an additional winter shelter option. The city, in collaboration with the Port of Bellingham and Whatcom County, offered a site and additional tiny homes, Fleetwood said.
“We offered reasonable conditions for working together and were eager to do so,” Fleetwood said.
Advocates and volunteers with Camp 210 and city officials met more than 10 times, including on Thursday afternoon, Fleetwood said. He said the advocates and volunteers with Camp 210 rejected the site offered with 25 tiny homes. He said the advocates wanted to move every City Hall camper to the same location.
“This is in addition to many additional hours of staff time exploring ways to meet the interest of the collective. During our first meeting, the collective stated that 50 additional shelter spots were needed. With the City’s establishment of Swift Haven and the proposal for the Port site, that demand was met. Unfortunately, the demands increased over time without consideration of what is already available,” Fleetwood said.
Swift Haven is a temporary tiny home village operated by HomesNOW!, at the Civic Athletic Complex. Fleetwood said the city remains in close contact with HomesNOW!, which has expressed interest in operating another site.
Fleetwood also said the city will be establishing an additional tiny home village in Spring 2021, the location of which has yet to be determined.
“We will continue our collaboration with Whatcom County officials and service providers on short- and long-term solutions to providing safe shelter for those experiencing homelessness,” Fleetwood said.
Smason-Marcus said the city and county have failed hundreds of its residents. She said Camp 210 wants accessible and affordable housing with access to social services for all in Whatcom County. Camp 210 also wants emergency shelter space, she said.
Smason-Marcus called the situation “a human rights issue” and said that the people staying in the encampment are our neighbors and community members.
“It is cold, it has been so stormy, and there is snow in the forecast. Bellingham claims we’re a progressive community, but with hundreds sleeping outside in the middle of winter, in the middle of a global pandemic, how are we not ashamed?,” she said. “Camp 210 is strong, Camp 210 is resilient, Camp 210 is community.”
The city told The Bellingham Herald that the 25-foot boundary around City Hall is being established as a fire protection area.
The cleanup notice provided Tuesday afternoon states that if campers remain within the 25-foot boundary, they could be arrested for trespassing.
The city will remove garbage, litter, waste and personal property that is left within the 25-foot area. Personal property that poses a health or personal safety risk will be thrown away, according to the notice. Other personal property that is left will be collected by the city and stored at no cost for 60 days. After 60 days, the property will be discarded.
City officials asked that a safety zone, free of campers, fires and belongings, be left around the perimeter of City Hall at the beginning of the tent encampment, Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood said in a prepared statement. Throughout the duration of the encampment there has been an increase in fire pits, burn barrels, propane tanks, wood and structures. Fleetwood said this increase of combustible materials has increased the risk of fires and explosions.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 10:12 AM with the headline "Protesters block roads, enter City Hall in response to planned Camp 210 cleanup."
