BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A sprawling homeless camp at Bellingham's Civic Athletic Complex continued to grow Friday afternoon, as the city's deadline to vacate came and went without incident.
The camp appeared one week earlier when police swept out about 100 people experiencing homelessness who had been occupying the grounds of City Hall for nearly three months.
At the Civic Athletic Complex Friday, a small group of black-clad demonstrators carrying helmets and backpacks circled the grounds as the city's deadline approached.
Campfires burned in barrels, people played basketball, members of the community dropped off food and one man was seen swinging a large sword.
The camp sits directly across the street from a business park where parents drop their kids for preschool and gymnastics every day.
Lester Johnstone runs a handyman company right across the street and sees it all daily.
"It's just mainly safety issues is what I'm concerned with," he said.
Many now worry about the new neighbors across the street.
"I've seen people walking around acting erratic with axes. I've seen people throwing knives at trees," Johnstone said. "Our admin saw a gentleman expose himself. They're urinating and defecating over there, and we have lots of kids in this area."
But many in Bellingham said that "sweeps" to clear the camps are not the answer. Nine community groups called for a ban on homeless camp sweeps, in a letter criticizing the city's response to clearing out City Hall.
"I was shocked," said Liz Darrow of local organization Community to Community. "I've lived here 22 years and I've never seen that level of militarized police presence. It doesn't make sense that you'd need that level of force for our community's most vulnerable people. It does much more harm than good."
Earlier this week Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood issued a new order for the homeless to leave the Civic Athletic Complex, calling it an "immediate risk to public health and safety."
Contacted Friday, Fleetwood's office released a statement saying the city doesn't disclose when it takes "dispersal actions" because of past clashes with demonstrators.
In the meantime, the city appears to be right back where it started — another large encampment on public property and another confrontation likely.
"It seems like we're treading water," Johnstone said. "It doesn't seem like anything is getting resolved. We're just kind of doing the same thing over and over again."