Residents urge Bloomington to relocate Eastview homeless encampment over safety and code concerns

At the public comment portion of the meeting, residents urged the Bloomington City Council to reconsider the location of a homeless encampment on Eastview property near Home Sweet Home Ministries, citing safety, drug activity and code concerns.

Karen Quintella said two people approached her home asking for money and that she felt "very threatened and intimidated in my own home," adding she believed the individuals came from the nearby camp. She also told the council she had emailed photos of garbage and argued the site lacked a permanent water source, which she said violated camping code. "I felt very threatened and intimidated in my own home on Saturday morning," Quintella said.

Serena Fish described what she called expanding tent encampment activity near the library and a Mission Mart convenience store, and alleged drug sales and aggressive behavior outside the store and near a playground two blocks from a school. "It's now expanding to property ownership around the area," Fish said, and stated the situation was affecting local business operations and neighborhood safety.

Council members did not record a formal response in the provided transcript segments; the mayor briefly interrupted Quintella while enforcing the public comment time limit. The comments requested relocation of the encampment to a site away from residential properties and children, not a cessation of services.

The transcript did not record any motion, ordinance or staff directive in response; the concerns were raised during public comment and remain items for council or staff follow‑up if pursued.