PORTLAND, Ore. — A Southeast Portland couple says they've been terrorized for years by campers living in and around a massive treehouse built on city property. We talked with Kerry Stickler as he gave us a tour of his expansive property, just off Southeast Foster Road. He beamed with pride as he showed us the grove of trees where he and his wife got married a few years ago. The setting, right near Johnson Creek, seems serene. But Stickler's stories paint a much different picture.

"We actually had to put up a fence from Johnson Creek all the way back to the Springwater Trail, just to keep them out of our backyard," said Stickler.

He's talking about people who live in the treehouse, about 100 yards from his home on city property. Stickler shared a video with KATU News, showing us the elaborate structure built in the trees, including a window and a staircase surrounded by fencing. He and his wife, Marysue, say a few dozen people have been living in the treehouse, and they're not good neighbors.

"They're right outside our bedroom window at night. We can hear them," said Marysue Stickler. "They're fighting. There's [sic] guys punching women, women screaming up and down the street. It's horrible."

Kerry Stickler says the situation escalated recently when his dog responded to the noise.

"They threatened to shoot our dog. They've actually shot at us from up there when my dog was barking," said Stickler.

Stickler told us he called the police. Portland Police couldn't find the incident for us but said they have a record of Stickler reporting gunshots in the past. Stickler also showed us his barn, where he says someone spray-painted racist graffiti.

"It's pretty much a hate crime. My roommate is black, and they put an upside-down cross and used the N-word, painted it on my barn," said Stickler.

He believes it was someone from the nearby camp. In Stickler's video, you can see chopped-down trees and piles of trash stretching all the way to Johnson Creek. When we checked it out ourselves, we discovered a dam built in the creek where Stickler told us people had been pumping water and dumping trash. The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services owns the property. We reached out for an on-camera interview, but they declined. They did send us this statement:

"Garbage on Environmental Services' property is always of great concern, particularly along our waterways. Garbage can pollute the environment, impact water quality, and endanger plants and animals. This is why Environmental Services reported the site to the Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Team. The Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Team is receiving around 1,700 complaints about encampments weekly. Environmental Services is aware that the team is stretched for resources and is grateful garbage is being removed from this site as resources allow. More resources may be dedicated to this site after the height of wildfire season and school begins, but right now, the team is doing all it can with the available resources. The unfortunate reality is that the need for garbage removal in Portland exceeds the City's available resources, so the team has to prioritize to the best of their ability."

It's not what the Sticklers want to hear as they struggle to find some peace in what used to be their slice of paradise.

"We can't even let our dog in our backyard by herself. We go out there every time with her," said Stickler. "It's just crazy."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5175013&forum_id=2#45027497)