A coordinated effort by private property owners and multiple government agencies is underway to clear and remediate a large unauthorized encampment on private property in north Bellingham. The site, located between East Stuart Road, Kellogg Road, and James Street, has been the subject of legal and enforcement action since 2024 and is now entering its most significant cleanup phase yet, involving timber harvest, road construction, and outreach services for encampment residents.
According to the City of Bellingham, a court declared the encampment a public nuisance on September 25, 2024, ordering the primary property owner to clean up the site and granting the city permission to intervene if necessary. That court order set the legal framework for the phased cleanup that has been unfolding since late 2024.
How the Cleanup Has Progressed
Phase 1 of the cleanup was completed by the city in November 2024 and involved constructing fencing along the northern boundary of the roughly 20-acre property. That fencing was intended to prevent the encampment from expanding further into adjacent areas and to begin defining the perimeter of the site. Phase 2 followed and extended fencing along a portion of the southern boundary, alongside additional cleanup work in those areas.
The summer 2026 phase is the most operationally complex yet. According to project documentation from the City of Bellingham, this phase includes several sequential steps. Notices to vacate were provided to encampment residents in early August 2026, giving them formal notification to leave the property. Following vacation of the property, crews will construct access roads into the site to allow heavy equipment to operate. A timber harvest is then planned for completion before the wet season, likely meaning work needs to be finished by October or November. Waste removal and site cleanup will extend beyond the timber harvest and into a longer-term phase, followed by site monitoring, restoration planning, and long-term property management.
The involvement of timber harvest reflects the scale and character of the site. The area between East Stuart Road, Kellogg Road, and James Street sits in a part of north Bellingham where residential development and forested land intermix. The 20-acre property includes significant tree cover, which both provided shelter for encampment residents and poses fuel load and access challenges for cleanup crews.
Outreach Services for Displaced Residents
Whatcom County is coordinating outreach services alongside service providers, community partners, and city support to connect encampment residents with shelter and treatment services ahead of and during the displacement. This is a standard component of encampment clearances conducted under current legal frameworks in Washington State, which require that agencies make reasonable efforts to connect unhoused individuals with available services before or during a site clearance.
The availability of shelter and services in Whatcom County has been a persistent concern through multiple encampment clearances in recent years. The county's unhoused population was counted at approximately 840 individuals in a point-in-time count, and shelter capacity has not always kept pace with the number of people who need it. Outreach teams working the Stuart Road site will be attempting to connect residents with the available options, which include emergency shelter, transitional housing programs, and substance use treatment services.
The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office and the City of Bellingham's community partnerships division have both been involved in past encampment outreach efforts. Community organizations including Lydia Place, Lighthouse Mission Ministries, and Whatcom County's Human Services division regularly provide shelter referrals and case management services during these transitions.
Forest Practices and State Oversight
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources is handling forest practices permitting for the site, a requirement that kicks in whenever timber harvest occurs on land in Washington State. DNR's forest practices rules govern how logging can be conducted, what protections must be in place for water quality and wildlife, and what reforestation or restoration requirements apply after harvest. Having the Washington DNR involved adds a layer of regulatory oversight to the project that ensures the timber removal component meets state environmental standards.
The multi-agency coordination on this site reflects the complexity of large-scale encampment cleanups on private property when court orders, multiple jurisdictions, and environmental regulations all intersect. The City of Bellingham has been the lead agency for the nuisance enforcement and cleanup process, but the practical execution requires cooperation from Whatcom County, state agencies, and private property owners.
Residents in the surrounding north Bellingham neighborhoods, including areas near Cordata and the Irongate industrial zone, can expect to see increased activity at the site over the coming weeks as access roads are constructed and cleanup operations begin in earnest. The city has not published a public-facing schedule for the individual phases, but the overall trajectory points toward a substantially cleared and fenced site by the time the wet season arrives in late fall. For background on how Bellingham has been addressing homelessness and encampments through a combination of legal action, services, and housing investment, earlier coverage of major county infrastructure decisions provides context on how Whatcom County is approaching long-term capacity challenges.
