HOUSTON – Residents in west Harris County do not hold back with their assessment of an encampment located on Beechnut Street near Highway 6.
“Disgusting and unfortunate,” is how a viewer named Charlotte explained it to us through the Click2Houston Help Desk.
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The encampment and garbage around it are a scene she is forced to deal with every single day.
“I pass that way when I drive my son to school, on my way to church. To see things that I see is concerning and unfortunate,” said Charlotte, who admits she has been sending emails to Harris County for at least two years.
Some of that communication going straight to the Office of Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones, whose office described the situation as “unacceptable”.
KPRC 2 Investigates did not go into the encampments, which are easily visible and accessible, because they sit on private property.
According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the owner of the property has not filed any trespassing complaints, which has allowed just under 20 people to live at the site, according to a worker at a business across the street. The worker even showed us one of the vehicles on their lot where members of the encampment allegedly sleep from time to time.
KPRC 2 Investigates cameras captured two men examining a charitable donation drop box for several minutes and then walking back to the encampment with donations meant for others.
Harris County Public Health says a clean-up is on the horizon.
According to Scott Jeansonne with the county’s outreach program, officials told the properly owner a few months back that they had 30 to 45 days to clean the area up. Since they did not do so, the county then took action.
“So, we have gone forward and filed criminal charges against them in order to compel them to clean up the property. Those charges were filed roughly three weeks ago,” said Jeansonne.
The county says Class C Misdemeanors with potential fines of $500 per day were filed.
Now, as far as to whether or not a fine will end the problem? The county says they’ve already put the property on its abatement list in anticipation that the owners are negligent. When we asked if this a problem that can be addressed in the short-term or six months down the road, Jensonne did not hesitate.
“If the property owners fail to present themselves in court and responsibly abate the property we will abate it for them, put a lien on the property and it will not be in six months, it will be much sooner than that. I can’t give you an exact date it won’t be six months I can promise you that,” said Jensonne.
UPDATE: On Tuesday morning, sheriff’s deputies and a member of the county’s outreach program were on-site and going through the encampment.
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