Spokane council approves shelter lease; two members want urban camping ended | Washington

(The Center Square) – After long weeks of often contentious debate, Spokane City Council has approved a lease agreement for a new homeless shelter at 4320 East Trent Avenue.

At the same time, Councilors Michael Cathcart and Jonathan Bingle introduced legislation to stop people from camping in several business districts and other public places.

The lease sought by Mayor Nadine Woodward allows the city to convert a 33,000-square-foot vacant warehouse owned by developer Lawrence Stone into a shelter. The facility will house 150-250 individuals and is expected to open in August.

As part of the lease agreement, the city will pay a $26,100 base monthly rent plus a 2.5% lease management fee. The total cost over the five-year term of the lease is expected to be at least $1.6 million.

The lease was approved Monday by a 6-1 vote. Councilor Karen Stratton was the lone dissenter. She said there were too many unanswered questions about how the facility would be run and what services it would provide for her to support the lease.

Woodward’s administration is currently negotiating contracts with the Guardians Foundation and Salvation Army for operating the shelter and providing wraparound services.

Johnnie Perkins, city administrator, will present the next steps involving the shelter at the July 11 meeting of the Public Safety and Community Health Committee.

After weeks of pushing for action on the shelter lease, Cathcart and Bingle have announced a proposal that regulates where and when people can sit/lie, store belongings, camp or sleep.

“The community has been demanding this for years,” Bingle stated in a June 27 press release. “It’s time we pass an ordinance that allows for strong and reasonable action that addresses the challenges presented in Martin v Boise.”

He was referencing a ruling four years ago by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. That panel of judges found that enforcement of ordinances that prohibit sleeping or camping on public property is unconstitutional when individuals do not have a meaningful alternative, such as shelter space or a legal place to camp.

Cathcart and Bingle said that ruling has been clarified to allow cities to set time and place restrictions on these activities if there is not a ban on all public locations when shelter is unavailable.

The proposed ordinance allows enforcement of a camping ban within clearly identified business districts between the hours of 8 am and midnight, or when life, health, and safety are at risk.

“We know that for many, full enforcement across the city is what is desired, however, this represents a reasonable way forward,” Cathcart stated in the joint statement. “This is a solid mechanism for assisting unhoused and unsheltered persons with access to services that will help them exit homelessness.”

He chairs the Public Safety Committee and is the lead sponsor of the proposed code. He said the concept was developed during his committee meeting in April and the Community Assembly in June. The proposal has also received a letter of support from the Chief Garry Neighborhood Council and the East Sprague Business Association.

“This proposal has been modified, edited, and collaborated on with city legal for the past several months,” said Cathcart. “These measures will enact much safeguard needed in the face of a converging public health and public safety crisis in our community while increasing the quality of life for all.”

Under the proposal, camping would be prohibited at all times in the downtown business district, in city parks, trails and park facilities, property where city buildings are sited, public parking facilities, alleyways, along roadways and right-of-ways, around the Convention center, on railroad land or around the airport.

The proposal outlines the success of the Spokane Community Court in helping hundreds of people experiencing homelessness access the resources they need to stabilize their lives and find permanent housing.

With those services available, Cathcart and Bingle point out that Spokane provides unsheltered people with many opportunities to change their circumstances.