Privately owned vacant lots, in Bellingham and county areas, are vulnerable to becoming homeless encampments. This is due to the high value of property / cost of housing in this area as well as nationwide.
The city will sometimes have to clean up an encampment if it becomes too large and troublesome. The bill can be sent to the landlord in the form of a lean on the property.
Owning vacant lots, for investment purposes, is a bad idea; if just to wait for appreciation. It's better to have plans for building, or using the land soon, rather than letting it sit.
Reducing regulations, such as single family zoning, can help. Some of the vacant lots could be fast tracked into housing and density.
Hopefully, this can address the need for more affordable housing.
Other lands could be used for garden space and parklands for quality of life in the neighborhoods. Sometimes volunteers can turn vacant land into garden space. On the other hand, open space is often owned by the public, as in city parks, but that requires spending tax dollars.
Cared for open space, or even development, is better than just a bunch of vacant lots with absentee private owners.
Where can the homeless go without vacant lots for tent encampments?
If housing was less expensive, less people would be pushed into that downward spiral of homelessness and sometimes angry, destructive behavior.
Even some tent encampments might be okay. Living in RVs, parked along Bellingham streets, can be an innovative solution for affordable housing. Tiny home villages are good.
If there isn't sewer service, composting toilets can work. Providing garbage pickup to RV, tiny home and even tent, low income neighborhoods, could work in my idealistic world. Then again, the people, including residents of these Hooverville type areas, should live responsibly as well.
There is the concept of "intentional communities."
Today's rat race society may be driving many folks mad, however.
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