BELLINGHAM — Thirty people were in jail here Sunday, arrested in the first day of a weekend protest that seeks conversion of a blighted city lot — now earmarked for sale and development — into a community plaza and garden.
About 10 activists remained at the site Sunday, tied to walls and each other in "the pit," as the lot — site of a burned-out building with a basement — is called. They’re vowing to stay until the city accedes to their demands.
Two suspended themselves from an adjacent wall with ropes and harnesses, while another used a basket. Another was seated on a steel tripod 35 feet up, while a half-dozen supporters — arms linked inside 6-inch plastic pipe — gathered below.
The pipe makes it difficult for police to break up the circle, conceded Police Department spokesman Tom Corzine.
The 30 people arrested and booked for trespassing "were singular independent individuals," he said. "The ones who are hanging from ropes — that presents more of a challenge for us."
During the arrests Saturday, some refused to cooperate with officers, Corzine said. "It was one of those passive-aggressive type of affairs," and officers paired up to carry them from the scene.
He expressed hope the activists were not planning "any radical things" that might spark a confrontation.
The activists’ plan, apparently, was simply to stand their ground.
"They’re in for the long haul," said spokesman Eric Vermeers, who was outside the fence Sunday carrying the cell phone whose number had been faxed to media organizations. About four officers were standing by, he said.
City planning director Patricia Decker told The Bellingham Herald the city is negotiating for sale of the lot to a local group that wants to construct a building with residential and commercial space. She said the site isn’t well-suited for a public plaza.
"It’s on the north side of a very tall wall. … If I were to choose a space in downtown for open space or a plaza, I wouldn’t choose that space," Decker said Saturday. ‘
"We have so much empty office space," activist spokesman Jeremy Louzao, 20, told the newspaper Saturday. "What we need is to come together around a public space. What we need is not more places to shop."
People need places where they can gather and talk without having to buy something, he said.
"There’s a difference between being a citizen and being a consumer," Louzao said.
The occupation began Saturday, when activists broke through the chain-link fence surrounding the lot, armed with gardening equipment and camping gear. They cleared away dirt, weeds, broken glass and syringes that had collected on the cracked concrete. They planted beds of petunias, geraniums, sage and lavender.
"Wherever they could find dirt, they planted some shrubs," Corzine said.
Murals, doodles, graffiti and political statements were spray-painted in vivid colors on surrounding walls.
Vermeers described colorful drawings of butterflies, the garden that could be there, "a goddess figure, a smiling sun face, a mural of a woman with stars and mountains."
Written messages ranged from political rhetoric — "Corporate domination kills democracy" and "Community grows, Capitalism kills." — to more light-hearted messages: "Fun," "Welcome," "Imagine" and "Make this pit a park."
Vermeers said many of those participating are involved with the Colmena Collective, a local resource center offering Internet access and "free school" classes in subjects ranging from Spanish language and salsa to anarchy.
"It’s been a really great community event," he said.
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