BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The City of Bellingham is taking the battle to clean up the homeless encampment behind Walmart to court.

The City Council unanimously voted Monday night to approve the filing of a nuisance abatement action against the owner of the property on the corner of E. Stuart and Deemer Road.

Council President Dan Hammill said the action will “place a lien on the subject property for the city’s cost to abate the nuisance and foreclose upon the lien if necessary.”

The Council’s executive session where they discussed the pending litigation was closed to the public.

According to the Whatcom County Assessor’s Office website, the 20-acre property is owned by Li-Ching Fang, whose address is located in Taiwan.

The action is the first major step in the city’s attempt to clean up the property, similar to last year’s removal of the homeless encampment on Deemer Road behind WinCo.

City of Bellingham Communications Director Janice Keller says a city team has taken various steps to compel Fang to clean up and bring the property into compliance. Keller adds that specifics of the action will be detailed in public documents when they are filed with the court in the coming weeks.

In January, MyBellinghamNow.com received an exclusive guided tour of the encampment. To read the full story, click here.