Passersby may have noticed a difference in scenery on the corner of Central Avenue and Eighth Street in Columbus.
About an acre of trees, owned by Office Committee Union, were removed earlier this month after city officials discovered evidence of homeless people camping in woods on the property.
Office Committee Union owns the 2.48 acres of land just between 10th and Eighth streets in Columbus. The union is housed in a building on the northwest quarter acre of the property.
Union trustee John Newby said the goal of removing the trees was to clean up the area and curtail any unwanted activity. He said there was also still trash from the 2008 flood in the area of where the trees were located that had never been cleaned up.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
The union approached Columbus code enforcement officer Fred Barnett and District 1 Councilman Dascal Bunch earlier this year about activity on the property. Barnett said he and local law enforcement officers explored the site and found evidence of where people had set up a makeshift campsite.
“It was a combination of trash, old tents, different things like that,” Barnett said.
Over the last year, Barnett has discovered and dismantled 45 homeless camps throughout the city of Columbus. The encampments are often cluttered with scrap metal, garbage, wood, propane tanks, bicycles and other items.
As city officials clean up one camp location, individuals tend to migrate to another location that must also be cleaned up. The camp sites are set up all over Columbus in places not meant for human habitation — under bridges, in the woods, along the riverbanks and in fields.
When a camp site is discovered, Barnett must contact the police and the Columbus Department of Public Works for assistance in notifying the “resident” of the zoning laws and cleaning up the area.
Depending on the circumstances, Barnett typically gives the individual 72 hours to gather belongings and leave the site. If criminal activity is involved, however, immediate action is taken, including calling law enforcement.
No persons, however, were discovered by Barnett or law enforcement at the Central Avenue and 10th Street site during the investigation.
The Office Committee Union has since removed most of the trees that previously stood on the property to prevent people from camping there in the future.
Newby said many of the trees were Chinese elm trees and were not in good shape. The union plans to plant grass seed and new trees as a replacement for the former wooded area.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”How to report a camp” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
To report a camp site within the city limits, call code enforcement officer Fred Barnett at 812-376-2593.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
