photo by: Douglas County GIS

The blue stars show property owned by the Kaw Drainage District near the city of Lawrence's sanctioned homeless camp in North Lawrence.

A local drainage district is accusing the City of Lawrence of locating its sanctioned homeless camp on drainage district property without receiving permission from the district.

The accusations have created questions about whether the city will have to alter operations at the camp, which is located by the Kansas River levee in North Lawrence, near Johnny’s Tavern.

The Kaw Drainage District notified the city in writing on Thursday that a portion of the homeless camp was on property owned by the drainage district, Steve Evans, a board member for the district, said.

It is unclear whether the district has demanded that the city remove the camp from its property, but Evans said the district does have liability concerns about the camp.

However, Evans also said the district wants to work with the city.

“We want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem,” Evans said of the board.

Evans declined to comment further, saying the district remained in discussions with the city about the matter.

City Manager Craig Owens said in an email that city officials are now aware of the issue and are working on the matter. He did not provide information on whether changes to the camp would be required.

“We received information about this yesterday from the Kaw Drainage District. We have met with representatives of the district and are working to resolve the issue. We appreciate them taking the time to reach out to us.

“There were several people involved in each of the progressions of the site development and the parcel ownership. This whole area is very fragmented and the City has maintained all of these properties for years. Some of the people involved in the set up of the New Beginnings site are not at work this week. As more information emerges, we’ll continue to work with district to resolve their concerns.”

It was unclear how much of the camp was on drainage district property, but Evans said it was not an insignificant amount. He estimated that 30% to 40% of the drainage district’s property is occupied by the camp.