Percival Canyon in west Olympia closed to encampments. Dozens moved in final phase

Thirty-two people have been moved into transitional housing after the city of Olympia completed the final phase of closing Percival Creek Canyon to homeless encampments last week.

The west Olympia canyon runs from U.S. Highway 101 into Capitol Lake and had been home to a number of encampments until the city announced a phased approach to removing them in summer 2024.

“We’ve been working on a plan for Percival Canyon for the better part of the year,” said Olympia City Manager Jay Burney during an August 2024 meeting.

Over the next 16 months, the city closed different sections of the canyon to camping, including the final section on Oct. 7. That area was near the Olympia Auto Mall, between Cooper Point Road and Highway 101, said Assistant City Manager Stacey Ray on Monday.

“A phased approach allowed staff to focus on the unique needs of a smaller number of individuals, locate housing options, and address the least accessible and greatest fire risk areas first,” said Ray by email.

Residents affected by the effort’s final phase of work were notified in May that they would have to move by fall, according to Ray.

“The city’s pre-closure process includes identifying the people living at a site, creating a ‘by name’ list (based on a certain point in time), and then locating and providing an offer of housing for those listed individuals,” she said.

The 32 residents were placed in temporary shelter units at Franz Anderson, Quince Street and Plum Street tiny home villages, Ray said. All are in Olympia.

Not every person on the list and living in Percival Canyon was able to be housed, she said.

Some individuals declined to accept the housing offer, and others were not able to be located during the phased closure and relocation time periods, Ray said.

The city was able to find housing for six additional people not previously identified on the “by name list,” she said. However, those six people are included in the 32-person total, Ray said.

What happens now?

The canyon is now closed to camping. Any remaining material at the site will be removed by Oct. 24, according to the city.

The city’s Homeless Response Team and police department are monitoring the area. Anyone found camping is notified of the site’s closure and given information about local resources, Ray said.

The state Department of Commerce Encampment Resolution Program (previously known as the state’s rights-of-way program) funds helped to make the work possible, she said.

On Oct. 7, Olympia City Council approved the following:

• $1.2 million to operate the Franz Anderson tiny home village.
• $330,000 to operate 30 beds at Quince Street village.
• $246,751 to support the city’s homeless outreach staff.

This story was originally published October 14, 2025 at 12:12 PM.