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Gainesville resident urges council to remove large encampment near Atlanta Highway
Summary
At the Jan. 21 Gainesville Mayor and Council meeting, resident Scott Wright said a sprawling homeless encampment behind homes off Atlanta Highway is unsafe and unsanitary and asked the council to remove it; council members acknowledged the problem but said an immediate removal was not guaranteed and that staff are working on solutions.
At the Gainesville Mayor and Council meeting Jan. 21, resident Scott Wright told elected officials a large homeless encampment behind homes off Atlanta Highway has become “unsafe and unsanitary” and asked the council to remove it or post police at the site.
Wright, who gave his address as 1086 Glenwood Drive, said he has owned property near Atlanta Highway for 35 years and described the site as an “encampment where there is no order or rule of law.” “Human waste and garbage is everywhere,” he said, and he described recent break-ins and other criminal activity. Wright said he had shown council members photographs he took of the encampment and that “it’s probably a camp of about a 100 people.”
The mayor responded that council members are “familiar with” the problem and acknowledged the difficulty of an immediate solution. The mayor said officials had met recently with multiple stakeholders and that clearing one site had prompted people to move to another location. “If I had the answer, we would not have that,” the mayor said, adding that housing people temporarily can be costly: “It’s close to $90 a night to house them. They stay 3 nights. They’re right back out.”
Wright said he had raised the issue with the city marshal’s office and the police department and that he was told each had limited authority and advised him to bring the matter before the council. He asked the council to remove the encampment or post a police officer at the site. He said renters of properties near the encampment had experienced break-ins and property damage.
Council members did not take immediate formal action during the meeting. The mayor said staff and council are “trying to figure out a solution” and offered to follow up with Wright as the city pursues options.
The council did not specify any timeline or immediate enforcement action during the public-comment exchange. The council did not vote on the issue at the Jan. 21 meeting.
