The encampment is located across public and private property on 42nd Avenue South in the Rainier Beach neighborhood.
A group of property owners say the city of Seattle blocked them from removing a small homeless encampment several years ago, and the problems there have since grown out of control.
The encampment is located across public and private property on 42nd Avenue South in the Rainier Beach neighborhood.
The site has several RV's, cars, and structures that span several acres. Last week, a man was shot multiple times in the encampment.
This is not homelessness; these are vagrants," said Jay Wampold, one of the owners who filed a notice of claim against the city last week. "This is private property that we own, and we’ve asked the city to enforce our rights as private property owners, and the city has said no, they’re not going to do it.
According to the notice of claim, homeless people started camping on the road in late 2023. Within a few months, the owners say the encampment had grown onto their property, and they asked the city to intervene.
The claim alleges the city instructed the property owners to post "no trespass" signs and submit a trespass authorization with Seattle police.
“For more than a year, the City did not enforce the trespass authorization, did not address the encampment on its own right-of-way from which the occupation was fed, and did not respond to claimants' calls and emails for months at a time,” the notice of claim states. “During that period, the encampment grew into one of the largest in the area, with built structures, excavation of the land, burned and stolen vehicles, hazardous waste, a homicide, a stabbing, and threats against claimants' agent.”
In June 2025, a 22-year-old man was killed in a shootout at the encampment. Neighbors spoke with KOMO News at the time and warned that if the city did not step in immediately, the encampment would continue to grow.
That's exactly what happened. Drone video of the encampment shows the explosive growth of the camp between summer 2025 and summer 2026.
According to emails shared with KOMO News, neighbors have alerted the city of near-constant issues at the site, including a recent influx of vehicles. After last week's shooting, neighbor Peter Eastey emailed city officials from multiple city departments with his frustrations about the violence.
"This is on the hands of the City of Seattle officials," Eastey wrote. "Every city department has a spin on why this has not been cleaned up. For those of us who own residences and businesses, we live in fear of the lack of effective response and constant activities occurring all day and night."
The city's Unified Care Team (UCT) has been to the site and met with neighbors. A UCT spokesperson told KOMO News last week that the portion of the camp on private property falls outside their purview.
"UCT is coordinating with both the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI), which is tasked with addressing encampments on private property, and with the Seattle Police Department to address concerns near 42nd Ave S and Beacon Ave S and clear the site. SDCI is currently working with the City Attorney’s Office and the private property owners to determine next steps in requiring the removal of illegal campers and debris from the private properties."
Tuesday afternoon, the city confirmed it has issued an emergency notice of closure at the encampment and will begin to clear the site next week.
"A recent violent incident elevated the situation to an imminent threat to public safety, prompting issuance of Emergency Orders today on September 29," a spokesperson for the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) told KOMO News in an email. "Under these orders, property owners are required to discontinue unauthorized camping and illegal uses and remove all the hazardous debris and violations by October 6th at 5:00 pm, after which the City will take direct action to bring the private properties into compliance with the Land Use Code."
The statement added that SDCI, the Unified Care Team, and Seattle police are engaging in a coordinated response on both public and private property to offer housing options to people living there and clean up the area.
Earlier this year, SDCI sent Wampold, one of the property owners, notice that he needed to clean up the site by June 1 or face fines of up to $500 a day.
“They sent a fine to us as owners, which is frankly insane because we’ve been asking for help,” Wampold said.
In the notice of claim, Wampold and the other property owners say the city's inaction enabled the rapid growth of the camp.
“Claimants first asked for help when the encampment on the property consisted of one vehicle and some trash. Because the City did not act, it grew into an entrenched settlement with excavations, structures, stolen and burned vehicles, hazardous waste and violent crime, and the cost of remediation increased manyfold. Claimants' broker reported in April 2026 that cleanup costs have quadrupled,” the notice states.
Wampold said they were hoping several recent KOMO News stories on the site would have pushed the city into clearing the encampment.
“What are we waiting for? It is already a series of crimes that have happened and no action from the city,” Wampold said. “My message is you need to get control of your city. We need to stop labeling everything homeless and actually deal with the real issue of vagrants draining our resources and causing destruction and crime. That is the level of insanity we are dealing with in this city. We need new leadership; that’s the bottom line.”
