'Long time coming': Lakewood homeless encampment cleared ...Middle East

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) — After nearly two weeks of pushing for answers and two years of neighbors dealing with a growing homeless encampment at the 6th Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard interchange in Lakewood, crews cleared the site Wednesday.

Mounting trash, fires being started, needles found in neighbors' backyards, and contamination in a waterway that feeds into the Platte River were all big concerns.

Cleanup started around 9 a.m. on Wednesday and lasted about 8 hours.

Brett Charbonneau, the neighbor who contacted FOX31, was amazed that there was finally some action. Charbonneau and his neighbor Bob Emulengracht were relieved after watching crews clear out the encampment site near their neighborhoods.

"The first thing I want to say is thanks to FOX31 and the problem solvers for helping us," said Charbonneau. "Without you, this problem wouldn’t be getting solved."

It's the second time in recent years that the same area has been cleared. Charbonneau has lived in the area for more than three decades. We first spoke with him two weeks ago.

"Of course, we all feel better. We can sleep at night," he said.

He and his neighbors say they were fed up after years of trying to get someone to help them clean the encampment up. It kept growing and growing, but he says no one would help. So, we started making calls.

Last Wednesday, notices went out to people saying they had until April 16 to clear the area out.

“When you aired the story and got a hold of CDOT, CDOT was telling us it was the city of Lakewood, that it’s been approved and they’re doing this. That's when we found out FOX31 actually got a hold of the people who were responsible for cleaning this up," said Charbonneau.

Crews hauled away all kinds of things. Bags of trash, debris and shopping carts.

“I’m glad it’s going on. I’m glad they’re finally getting it cleaned up, but at the same time, we the neighborhood need to be vigilant and keep an eye on this. Don’t let it get out of hand," said Emulengracht. "As you were talking to Charbonneau, I noticed somebody already walking down there with their bicycle into that area. I don’t know if they will kick them out. I don’t know if they will let them come back, we just need to stay vigilant and make sure this doesn’t happen.

He said it's a danger to the neighborhood to see people camping out in the area.

“We talked about the pollution to the creek. Last week, I saw, I believe a woman bathing in that creek after all the pollution. It's a significant health hazard. We need to make sure these people get the proper help they need," said Emulengracht. "Hopefully, they are not just moving them to another place where they will become a problem for someone else.  If it starts to happen again, here is a message to the city of Lakewood and CDOT. We are not going away. We will keep our eyes open, and if we see another problem start to develop, you will hear from us.”

CDOT provided FOX31 with this statement:

 "A great deal of coordination with other agencies is required for CDOT to remove homeless encampments on CDOT property. On average, CDOT removes about two to three encampments a week, involving several tons of trash and debris. CDOT is not an enforcement agency and we cannot remove trespassers without police support due to safety issues. Law enforcement must evict the encampment occupants before CDOT can remove the trash and debris. This involves CDOT working together with law enforcement to humanely carry out the cleaning of areas within CDOT's property. To address your follow-up question:

It’s important to note that CDOT has agreements with some localities in the Denver region which allows local agencies to clean homeless encampments on CDOT right-of-way within the agencies’ city and county limits.  Local agencies with agreements with CDOT are in a better position than CDOT to remove encampments because they have the resources such as law enforcement to safely evict trespassers and social service agencies to help individuals to find support.  The local agency then bills CDOT for the clean-up costs."

While Lakewood Police released this statement:  

"We are glad to report that the camps have been cleaned up and removed. During the cleaning process, Lakewood Police were on hand to ensure everyone’s safety. We can confirm that all camps on CDOT property have been cleaned, and we will continue to work with CDOT as a partner in these efforts."

Neighbors hope to see fences added to the area to prevent another encampment from starting.

“That's what makes no sense to me. Why would they spend all the money they spent today on private contractors, roll-offs offs and CDOT," said Charbonneau. Why would they want to do that again, again, and again? There should be some type of resolution on how to prevent it in the future.”

A CDOT spokesperson said they are aware that it is possible to see the area populated with homeless encampments again. They said CDOT will go through the process with their local agency partners to schedule a clean-up.

While CDOT could not answer how much it cost to clear the area on Wednesday, they say $2 to $3 million of the maintenance budget is spent annually towards cleaning encampments on their property

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