City of Olympia plans to purchase property with homeless camp
This article has been updated
The Olympia City Council voted Tuesday evening to purchase a 6.75-acre property on the city’s east side where a large homeless encampment is located.
Informally known as “The Jungle,” outreach workers familiar with the site estimate there are more than 100 people living in the wooded area between Martin Way and Pacific Avenue. The two parcels being acquired by the city constitute roughly half that area. They are currently owned by Bonita J. Bourgault and Cherise E. Tyler, as co-trustees of the Paul A. Bourgault Credit Shelter Trust A.
The city will pay $237,000 for the property, according to the sale agreement. The two properties combined are worth $448,700, according to the county Assessor’s Office.
Assistant City Manager Keith Stahley said the purchase is primarily to facilitate the long-term goal of extending Ensign Road to create a north-south connection between Martin Way and Pacific Avenue.
In the meantime, the city plans to provide services to the camp residents, although Stahley did not specify what kind of services.
“This will give us more flexibility in how we work with them and support them and manage those issues and the impacts on that property,” Stahley said.
Stahley said it’s possible the camp could be included in the joint city-county “scattered-site” support program, which will soon offer trash removal, case management, and other services to three other sites in Olympia, including a nearby RV settlement adjacent to Providence St. Peter Hospital.
Stahley said the property is unlikely to be developed, in part because it is a Class 1 state-designated sensitive wetland. “The price reflects that,” he added.
A lawyer representing the trust did not reply to an email on Monday requesting comment about why the trustees are selling the property.
This story was originally published June 8, 2021 at 12:27 PM.
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