In the part of the April Newcastle City Council meeting where council members can bring up topics, Council member Marci White shared her concerns with a homeless camp. The property in question is located on the north side of State Highway 37, in a tree-filled area just north of Tri City Mart and west of True Sky Federal Credit Union.
The Newcastle Pacer originally reported on the site in January 2024, but the inhabitants at the time reportedly left. Now, apparently, there is a different person or persons living at the site.
White said this is not only an issue with a homeless person living there, but also the issue of fair treatment coming from the City’s Code Enforcement efforts.
“I don’t want to sound callous toward homeless people, but we need to hold everyone to the same standards,” she said.
“I don’t care if the property owner is okay with them being there,” White said. This property owner needs to be held to the same standard as other commercial property owners.”
HOMELESS on page 3 She indicated the area is not zoned for residential, and there’s neither plumbing nor electricity at the site.
HOMELESS: ‘Everyone else should be held to that same standard’
White said the encampment is a stone’s throw away from the drive thru where she does her banking business. She said she didn’t feel safe the last time she was at the facility at 7 in the morning.
“If my husband wasn’t there with me, I would have been very scared,” White said. “It’s not safe to have that there, at all.”
White said she knows of two times that the Newcastle Fire Department had responded to the site because of complaints of fire.
City Manager Kevin Self said the only way the City can address the issue is because of trash on the property, and other code violations.
Self said the camp has been there for about 18 months to two years.
City Attorney Jeff Bryant said it was a tough issue, and if the property owner was working with the City it would be much easier to deal with.
City staff said they have talked to the person on the property citing trespassing and unauthorized habitant, as well as health issues that are governed by code. They said they will write another letter to the property owner and review the potential code violations.
White said the City of Newcastle is growing and changing, and can’t continue doing things the same as they were done in the past. She said the City needs to start at the top and work through the most egregious code violations until they get to the lower ones.
“We can’t afford to let a homeless problem get out of hand,” she said. “There’s an expectation for those who live in the City and follow ordinances, that the City is holding everyone else to the same standard. I think it is reasonable that they believe everyone else should be held to that same standard.
“Other code enforcement issues have been cited throughout the community, but this problem has been allowed to go on. We have to consider those who are law abiding citizens, who pay their taxes, and are held to those same standards.”
In regular business of the April meeting, Councilman Karl Nail was reelected to serve as Mayor, and Mike Fullerton was elected to serve as Vice Mayor.
The Council appointed Nick Witte to the Newcastle Planning Commission for a term which expires in March 2027.
