Tacoma’s homeless camping ban starts this week. When will the first cleanups happen?

Liz Moomey
Pete Caster/Pete Caster / The News Tribune

Homeless encampments near 35th and Pacific will be the first to be removed under the implementation of Tacoma’s new ban on such camps near the city’s temporary shelters and protected waters.

The 3561 Pacific Avenue mitigation site, a low-barrier temporary shelter, opens Wednesday. Encampments in a 10-block radius of the shelter are prohibited as of Monday and will be removed after notice is given to those violating the new law.

On Oct. 11, the City Council passed the ordinance that restricts homeless camps from being set up within 10 blocks of the city’s temporary homeless shelters and 200 feet from rivers, waterways, creeks, streams and the shorelines of Puget Sound.

Encampments are also banned near Aspen Court, Tacoma Emergency Micro-Shelter Sites at 6th Avenue and Orchard Street, South 69th Street and Proctor Street, 60th Street and McKinley Avenue; the stability site at 1421 Puyallup Ave.; the mitigation sites at South 82nd Street and Pacific Avenue and 3561 Pacific Avenue, the RISE Center Emergency Stabilization Shelter, Altheimer Memorial Church of God in Christ, Bethlehem Baptist Church and Shiloh Baptist Church.

The planned schedule for posting notices to move in areas where camping and storage of personal property are prohibited are:

  • 35th and Pacific: The anticipated posting start date is Nov. 15. The anticipated date all encampments in areas are posted is Nov. 18. The anticipated date people illegally camping in the zone are sufficiently notified is Dec. 2.

  • Stability site at 1423 Puyallup Ave.: The anticipated posting start date is Nov. 22. The anticipated date all encampments in areas are posted is Nov. 30. The anticipated date people illegally camping in the zone are sufficiently notified is Dec. 14.

  • Bethlehem at 4818 Portland Ave.: The anticipated posting start date is Dec. 6. The anticipated date all encampments in areas are posted is Dec. 9. The anticipated date people illegally camping in the zone are sufficiently notified is Dec. 23.

  • 23rd and MLK: The anticipated posting start date is Jan. 3. The anticipated date all encampments in areas are posted is Jan. 6. The anticipated date people illegally camping in the zone are sufficiently notified is Jan. 20.

  • Altheimer at 1121 S. Altheimer: The anticipated posting start date is Jan. 10. The anticipated date all encampments in areas are posted is Jan. 13. The anticipated date people illegally camping in the zone are sufficiently notified is Jan. 27.

  • Shiloh at 1211 S. I St.: The anticipated posting start date is Jan. 10. The anticipated date all encampments in areas are posted is Jan. 13. The anticipated date people illegally camping in the zone are sufficiently notified is Jan. 27.

  • TEMS 3 at 602 N. Orchard St.: The anticipated posting start date is Jan. 17. The anticipated date all encampments in areas are posted is Jan. 20. The anticipated date people illegally camping in the zone are sufficiently notified is Feb. 3.

  • Aspen Court at 8620 S. Hosmer St.: The anticipated posting start date is Jan. 24. The anticipated date all encampments in areas are posted is Jan. 27. The anticipated date people illegally camping in the zone are sufficiently notified is Feb. 10.

  • 82nd and Pacific: The anticipated posting start date is Jan. 31. The anticipated date all encampments in areas are posted is Feb. 3. The anticipated date people illegally camping in the zone are sufficiently notified is Feb. 17.

  • TEMS 4 at 3860 S. 69th St.: The anticipated posting start date is Feb. 7. The anticipated date all encampments in areas are posted is Feb. 10. The anticipated date people illegally camping in the zone are sufficiently notified is Feb. 24.

Council member John Hines, District 1 brought forward the ordinance, and was supported by Mayor Victoria Woodards, council members Sarah Rumbaugh, Joe Bushnell, Kristina Walker and Olgy Diaz.

When the ordinance passed, the implementation and enforcement were not determined.

Violations of the ordinance carry a maximum fine of $250 and/or a maximum imprisonment of 30 days.

The city’s Neighborhood and Community Services - Homeless Engagement Alternatives Liaison Team will post and distribute notices in each prohibited area where the city observes an encampment, according to the standard operating procedure for enforcement and removals in prohibited areas under Chapter 8.19 Tacoma Municipal Code.

The removal notice will state the number of days of the notice, area description, date/time the notice was posted and date/time of encampment removal. It also states “violations of TMC 8.18 ‘Use of Public Property’ subject offenders to removal, arrest and prosecution.”

The notice also states:

  • Garbage, debris, waste, litter, abandoned and wet property will be disposed of immediately.

  • Personal property remaining may be stored at 1423 Puyallup Avenue

  • If personal property is stored, call 311 to arrange for retrieval.

  • Failure to claim within 60 days may result in the destruction of stored property.

  • For outreach and community resources, including shelter alternatives, call 211.

Once two weeks have passed since the notice date of the last encampment in the prohibited area, enforcement can begin. The HEAL Team should visit each encampment site at least once between the notice is posted and the scheduled removal is completed and should be present on the scheduled start date of the encampment removal, according to the city’s procedure. The team can leave a removal operation if services have been refused by those occupying the encampment.

When an encampment is cleaned up, those remaining will be given a final warning and a reasonable opportunity to leave before enforcement action is taken.

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