King County Council member proposes large homeless camp cleanup along Green River

KENT, Wash. — A King County councilman is pushing for a large homeless camp in the woods to get cleaned up after years of complaints.

Council member Reagan Dunn introduced legislation Tuesday to clean up the homeless camp along the Green River in an unincorporated area between Auburn and Kent.

The camp has reportedly had complaints sent to officials from neighbors for years. The legislation would serve as a pilot project for how the county officials can remove encampments in rural areas, according to a release.

“The conditions we are seeing at the Green River encampment are deplorable and inhumane — littered with human feces, infested with pests, and filled with stolen goods,” Dunn said. “This is no way for anyone to live, and certainly not fair to the surrounding community that deserves a neighborhood that is safe and clean.

“To make progress, we must start setting boundaries on what is acceptable, address the root causes of homelessness head-on and get folks into shelters and into treatment. This legislation gives us the opportunity to learn the best way to do that.”

King County does not clear homeless camps on county property or elsewhere now. Dunn’s legislation would create a task force aimed at finding a way to fix the issue.

The council member said he wants the Green River area to be the pilot project because of how large it is and how long has it been there.

A tour of the area found ‘massive’ piles of trash, human waste along a stream pouring into the Green River, dozens of vehicles and an apparent chop shop, plus $130,000 worth of stolen equipment from a local youth soccer team.