The owner of the property behind Walmart, where an estimated 50 to 150 homeless people camp, responded to the city’s lawsuit and denied claims she’s not “proactively addressing” the encampment.
The City of Bellingham filed a lawsuit on Feb. 23 against Li-Ching Fang, owner of the property. The city’s lawsuit seeks a judge’s order granting the city the authority to remove illegal campers on the property, while clearing the site of drug-contaminated garbage, broken-down vehicles, dozens of shopping carts and contaminated soil.
According to court documents filed March 25, Fang argued she has taken “necessary measures” to address the encampment ever since she became aware of it, including authorizing Bellingham Police Department officers in 2019 to issue trespass warnings and arrest, when necessary. Fang said the police “provided very little assistance.”
Homeless people have lived on the 20-acre undeveloped lot southeast of Walmart for at least eight years, according to camp residents. In recent months, residents of nearby Tullwood Apartments have reported theft and disruptions due to the encampment.
Police responded to 236 calls and made 45 arrests at the encampment from June 2021 to October 2023, according to the city’s lawsuit. During a law enforcement search on Aug. 31, 2023, officers found drugs, four guns and 13 dogs.
Fang hired Abatement & Decontamination Specialists on March 1 for $25,000, at the city’s instruction, to “address the issues caused by the presence of homeless people on the Property,” according to her response.
The court filing says it is “evident” that Fang is “proactively addressing” the issues on the property, so the claim that she had taken no steps to abate the nuisance is groundless.
Fang is asking the court to dismiss the city’s complaint with prejudice, enter judgment for the plaintiff, and award her the costs associated with the lawsuit and other relief the court “deems just and equitable.”
Company contracted for cleanup
Abatement & Decontamination Specialists will be leading the cleanup, according to court documents and a March 7 letter from CEO Sean Simmons to assistant city attorney Michael Good, included in Fang’s response.
In the letter, Simmons wrote that the encampment has produced “extraordinary volumes of biological, chemical and physical hazards, contamination, debris and trash,” and has been the source of “pervasive unlawful activities.”
Simmons said Fang contracted Abatement & Contamination Specialists to coordinate aerial imaging, surveillance and reconnaissance of the property to “safely ascertain the current state and scale of the problem” (or ask the police department or sheriff’s office to provide this footage, if it’s already been captured), to coordinate with stakeholders to develop a strategic working group for cleanup of the property and to develop an action plan, budget and timeline for the cleanup.
Simmons did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
