‘This is unacceptable.’ Fires keep occurring in a Tacoma gulch frequented by homeless
Neighbors of an undeveloped property in Tacoma are growing concerned as reports of homeless encampments and fires in the wooded area have grown increasingly common.
While the city is aware that some people have been camping on the property, neighbors and the property manager feel the city has done little to mitigate the risk of fires and other nuisances caused by a reportedly small number of unhoused people seeking refuge in the woods there.
Mike Meledandri lives in the neighborhood just north of what is colloquially known as the Gold Creek Gulch. The gulch is a stretch of undeveloped land that slopes westward from North Narrows Drive towards the railroad tracks that follow the shoreline in Tacoma’s West End.
In an interview with The News Tribune, Meledandri said he and his neighbors have noticed a “significant increase” in human activity in the gulch as well as evidence of fires being started there.
During the month of July, at least five different complaints were made through the city’s 311 hot line system regarding activity in the wooded area — including reports of fires, gunshots and a man who appeared to be hunting deer with a compound bow.
How is the city responding?
On July 3, Meledandri emailed Tacoma Deputy Mayor John Hines to notify him of the issue.
“We are experiencing a high volume of homeless encampments within our area. Yesterday, we had a fire that was started by a camp in the forest surrounding ours and many other families homes/condominiums and apartments,” he wrote in his email. “The safety of your constituents is being jeopardized, this is unacceptable.”
In response, Hines told Meledandri that the city’s Homeless Engagement Alternative Liaison (HEAL) Team would make contact with any individuals there, but if the property was privately owned, the city would require authorization from the owner to remove any individuals living there.
“The encampment is on private property, not city property. This requires us to work with the private property owner to remove the encampment, often involving costs to the owner for site reclamation and further securing of the property. If the property owner is absentee or difficult to contact, it further complicates the situation,” Hines wrote to Meledandri on July 13.
City spokesperson Maria Lee told The News Tribune on July 29 the HEAL team had made contact with people living in the gulch but was not able to get any of them to accept services.
“The City did make contact with the management company for the private property last week. They are working on getting a trespass order executed,” Lee told The News Tribune in an email. “With a trespass order, the City would be able to proceed with encampment removal with a continued emphasis on efforts to connect individuals with the services they need.”
Chelsea Shepherd, a public information officer for Tacoma Fire, told The News Tribune the department responded to five reports of fire in the gulch from May 29 to July 23. She said firefighters identified a fire in two of those responses and described the fires as “not large.”
Dana Miller, a resident of the Gold Creek Condominiums just south of the gulch, told The News Tribune he witnessed a response that brought several fire engines. Shepherd confirmed a fire response on July 2 required seven engines working over five hours to address a smoldering stump where a fire had been started.
Meledandri continued to send emails to Hines, describing a worsening situation. He noted an uptick in 311 reports of homelessness not just in the gulch, but in the surrounding neighborhood and as far east as the Westgate shopping center.
He expressed concern that the city’s ordinance preventing camping in certain public areas was forcing people onto private land.
“Who is responsible if these fires end up damaging property or god forbid a loss of life? ” he asked Hines on July 22.
What is the property owner doing?
Derrick Urquhart is an agent for the Neil Walter Co. real estate firm marketing the 46-acre property called Narrows Ridge. The undeveloped property is listed for sale for just under $8 million.
Urquhart told The News Tribune the property is owned by the estate of Paul Miller, a former Tacoma City Council member who died in 2023. Urquhart said the undeveloped property has served as a sort of recreational space for neighbors in the area who use its trails.
Urquhart, who regularly walks his dog through the property, told The News Tribune he noticed evidence of homeless campers in the wooded area about four months ago. He said he would notice fences that had been breached and clothes left behind.
One morning he went for a walk with his dog and saw smoke from a campfire but was unable to find its source.
Recently he said he found what he described as a small group of campers. He said he explained to them the gulch is private property and asked them to leave.
“The folks I encountered were not confrontational — they were nice and cooperative,” he said. “They left but did not pick up their stuff.”
Urquhart said they left tools, propane tanks and other junk where they once had stayed.
In recent months, Urquhart said, he had requested the city repair a fence that was damaged on the North Narrows Drive side of the property. The city owns the stretch of land adjacent to the road where the fence is. Urquhart said the land was deeded to the city to allow for roads and access from Narrows Drive to any future development.
A city spokesperson said the city owns a stretch of land adjacent to Narrows Drive as a public right of way.
“Let’s spend a few thousand dollars, instead of a few hundred thousand when there is a fire,” he said of his proposition to the city.
The fence remains in disrepair as of July 31.
Recently, he filed a no-trespass order with the Tacoma Police Department, which would allow law enforcement to remove anyone who is on the property without permission. While he said it provides an additional tool for law enforcement to keep people off the property, he has doubts that it will be enforced.
“I am doing what I can to protect the owner’s property,” he said. “To be a good neighbor and a good steward.”
Urquhart said the city had not been cooperative to help clear the property of encampments.
“If something happened, we would all point our fingers at the city,” he told The News Tribune.
This story was originally published August 1, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
