WBT
People living in “Tent City” encampment outside uptown Charlotte were forced to vacate as of 5 p.m. Friday.
Mecklenburg County officials issued an abatement of imminent hazard order Tuesday, citing a serious rat infestation and inhumane conditions as the main reasons for moving the hundreds of people off the streets. About 180 people have accepted the county’s offer for a 90-day hotel stay. The stay will also be furnished with three meals a day and counseling.
“City leaders aren’t doing the homeless people any favors,” Pat McCrory said on his radio show Friday.
Other than the waste left behind by people who occupied the grounds, the concern of humans carrying on diseases from the rats has people in Charlotte concerned that state and local officials didn’t do enough to address the problem from the beginning.
Those same officials are now pointing fingers at each other and placing blame for who they believe is responsible for allowing the Tent City to get out of control. McCrory blames a lack of communication with the leaders of Mecklenburg County over “something that has been there for months with hundreds of people on public property owned by the City of Charlotte.”
The former North Carolina Governor says all of the people in the encampment were trespassing, along with endangering the health and safety of others. Some believe those homeless who’re currently fostered temporarily by the city should help restore the areas destroyed outside of I-277 and I-77.
As for the rats, Health Director Gibbie Harris issued a warning that pest control companies will be using poison to kill the rats and people should avoid the areas for the foreseeable future.
After the rats are removed, property owners will determine whether they allow encampments back on their properties. Harris said some of the property owners are planning to put fences up to prevent encampments from forming.
Listen to Pat McCrory’s thoughts about the failure of Charlotte’s city Leaders below.
