Cleanup of Kingston's Belle Park encampment begins Wednesday

Signs at a temporary campsite at Belle Park in Kingston, calling on the City to find proper housing solutions for the campers. (Kimberley Johnson / CTV News Ottawa)

The City of Kingston will begin cleanup work on Wednesday in Belle Park, where a homeless encampment had been setup for more than four years.

The city says residents in the area will notice an increase in work crews and equipment activity. The 1.25-hectare area was closed by the city on Sept. 27 due to health risks presented by garbage and a rodent infestation.

"Site cleanup activities starting on Nov. 6 include removing garbage and debris, adding clean topsoil and hydroseeding (grass seeding). Fencing will remain in place to allow crews to undertake this work and ensure the newly planted grass seed can get established and begin growing in the spring," the city said.

Residents are being asked to respect the perimeter fencing and stay away from work crews and equipment during the cleanup activities.

A group of homeless individuals had been living at the site since 2020.

In September, an individual attacked and killed two people in the area of the encampment and injured another, prompting aggressive calls for the encampment to be dismantled.

There are no longer individuals living at the encampment, the city said, after fences were erected around the site during the September closure. The city says people sheltering at the encampment retrieved their belongings with support from mental health services, the Kingston Community Health Centre, the city and police.

Safe and secure off-site storage for other belongings identified by individuals was offered.

The city says it continues to work with community services to assist vulnerable people to shelters and to facilitate the retrieval of their belongings.

"The City also recognizes that vulnerable people may choose to shelter in other areas of Belle Park, or any municipal park overnight, and the emergency shelter system continues to have capacity," the city said.

The city did not say how long the cleanup would take or when the area might reopen to the public.