Chelan County officials continue to work on a proposed change to land use laws to address unauthorized camping on county property.
The county commissioners hold a workshop on a proposed new ordinance prohibiting homeless encampments on Monday morning at the courthouse.
In compliance with the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of ordinances that prohibit unhoused people from camping on public property, the Unauthorized Use of County Right-of-Way resolution declares unauthorized use of county right-of-way to be a public nuisance.
Once any proposed changes are made, The Chelan County Sheriff's Office plans to work with county Public Works crews to clean properties and to coordinate with Chelan County Coordinated Entry and the Behavioral Health Unit to connect displaced individuals with available resources.
It could become an expensive endeavor cleaning up homeless camps. Chelan County commissioner Tiffany Gering, recently asked the city of Wenatchee what the costs of camp clean up has been in the city.
"From January through September they (city of Wenatchee) have disposed of 500,000 pounds of trash from the encampments," said Gering. "From January through September it's cost them almost $129,000. It's something to be mindful of when we're looking at budget, because we're going have to account for that someway."
Monday's hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Chelan County Courthouse, commissioner's meetings room.
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