1/13/2023
####################################################
The Spokesman- Review
KREM
KXLY
####################################################
The Spokesman- Review
More information to come in February, including discussion of ordinances, identifying board to oversee crisis, leadership roles
The long-discussed idea of creating an independent regional agency to coordinate and depoliticize homeless services is taking some large strides toward reality.
Starting next month, a 90-day period of community-wide “due diligence” will begin to study how such an agency might be organized and how it could operate. To succeed, a regional authority would need buy-in from local governments and nonprofits involved in homeless services now – a daunting challenge, but one that so far seems to be finding widespread support.
“I think there’s really broad, almost universal interest in exploring it, and that’s the stage we’re at,” said Gavin Cooley, a former longtime chief financial officer at Spokane City Hall.
Cooley and two other former City Hall officials, Rick Romero and Theresa Sanders, are volunteering to lead the effort, and have been organizing meetings and conversations among government officials, service providers, the business community and others. They are volunteering their time, and raising private funds to cover other costs – including bringing an official from Houston, which has had great success with a similar model.
The trio, who helped devise and coordinate some of the most creative, largescale projects during the administration of Mayor David Condon, are widely seen as pragmatic problem-solvers with little political baggage. On an issue as fractious as homelessness, that will be crucial.
“They have a history of doing things in the community and are trusted by just about everybody,” said Breean Beggs, president of the Spokane City Council.
“A lot of people think if anybody can do it, it’s them.” Brian Coddington, the spokesman for Mayor Nadine Woodward, echoed that sentiment.
“The three of them have collective credibility in many, if not most, rooms in the county,” Coddington said.
Woodward has been calling for a more regionalized approach to homelessness since her election campaign, though the largest financial and on-the-streets burden of the problem has continued to rest chiefly with the city.
More recently, she has been talking specifically about the formation of a regional authority, including in a comment in a video news release noting her goals for the new year.
“Right at the top of my list is establishing a regional homeless authority to address the needs of the unhoused in our region as a true collaborative,” she said. “Much of the groundwork has already been done and there is great interest as we embark on what will be a generational change.”
Coddington said that it is still early in the planning stages, and that officials are trying to capitalize on the experiences of other cities in terms of what’s worked and what has not. “There are still many, many details to be worked out,” he said.
According to a one-page description of the plan, which is being circulated among public officials and which The Spokesman-Review obtained, there will be a public announcement in early February kicking off the process in greater detail.
Starting Feb. 11, the 90- day due diligence period will commence, with the goal of producing recommendations for creating ordinances and enabling actions for a regional entity; identifying what kind of board would oversee it and what the membership would be; initial funding and staffing questions; the roles of elected leaders; and protocols for community participation.
If all goes as hoped, a regional authority of some form – perhaps a special-purpose district, such as those governing the library and parks systems – would be formed to develop a plan to integrate homelessness services and create timelines, goals and benchmarks; manage current funding from different sources and identify new sources of funding; create analytics, data and information systems; and develop a plan to centralize and coordinate communications, the document says.
In short, the idea is to combine the money and resources that now go to different governments and nonprofits, each doing their own thing, into a coordinated, unified system.
It’s an idea that almost everybody seems to like; it’s also one that will require a lot of very detailed work to satisfy the different parties’ interests and objectives.
Among the key challenges would be the deep philosophical differences among different parties, and the possibility of turf battles and questions of control.
County commissioners have also been involved in the discussion, as have representatives of Spokane Valley and other regional cities. County Commission Chairwoman Mary Kuney traveled to Houston with Woodward last fall to look at their system, and has been involved in ongoing discussions. She was out of town Thursday and unavailable for comment.
Commissioner Amber Waldref said the idea is broadly appealing, and that the process of involving as many people as possible will be important. All the interested parties have to be included and their interests considered to develop something that will work.
But she said that in her efforts as project director of the Zone Project, the northeast Spokane initiative that has built a collaboration among 50 community partners to help children and families thrive, she worked with a similar framework of unifying many disparate players.
“I really believe that the only way you’re going to make long-term, measurable impact is to get everybody rowing in the same direction,” she said.
That includes the business community, which has been very active on the issue in recent years. Chris Patterson, who is coordinating efforts for Hello for Good, a nonprofit coalition of Spokane business leaders, said Thursday that he’s optimistic about the progress toward a regional plan. “I’m 100% behind it,” he said.
It’s important that the city of Spokane not continue to bear almost the entire brunt of the problem, when it also affects the entire wider region, he said.
“Why not collaborate and why not work with each other?” he asked.
He emphasized that it would be vital to stand up a regional authority before the political season reaches full heat – taking the politics out of it would be key to making it work.
Rob McCann, the CEO of Catholic Charities Eastern Washington, said he’s been hoping for a regionalized approach for a long time.
“The idea of a regional authority structure of some kind to try and bring the community together to solve homelessness is something I’ve been wanting for 23 years,” he said, referring to the time that he’s been working with homelessness in Spokane.
“I think it’s not just the best solution, I think it’s the only solution,” he said.
Shawn Vestal can be reached at (509) 459-5431 or at shawnv@spokesman. com.
Several cities have created regional authorities to take on homelessness.
Generally, these organizations pool funding and oversee a wide range of services including outreach, diversion and prevention, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing, and services such as mental health and addiction treatment. Some are organized as nonprofits and some as special-purpose government districts.
The two with the clearest records of success are Houston and Atlanta, said Gavin Cooley, the former City Hall administrator who is helping to lead the conversation in Spokane. Here are examples.
The Coalition for the Homeless in Houston and Harris County: This organization has coordinated the system for Texas’ Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties since 2011.
It is a nonprofit overseen by a board of directors.
Its budget is built on the pooled resources of the region’s nonprofits and governments, and it has capitalized on attracting further funding based on its record of success.
The coalition says it attracts $37 in public funding for every dollar of private funding; since 2012, more than 25,000 formerly homeless people have been permanently housed and the region has decreased homelessness by 63%.
The Regional Commission on Homelessness in Atlanta: This agency combines the resources and efforts of regional government and social service entities, as a part of the United Way of Greater Atlanta.
It works to reunite people with families, offers stabilization services to prevent people from falling into homelessness and provides emergency and permanent shelter.
Last year, it moved 2,750 people from emergency shelter into permanent housing, according to its website.
King County Regional Homelessness Authority: This is among the more recent efforts at establishing a regional approach, and it has suffered delays and missteps after its formation in 2019. Some of the county’s cities have balked at turning over their funding and releasing control of services. In December, though, four other cities voted to join the authority along with Seattle, which officials called an important step.
Leaders in Spokane have cited the King County experience as important in terms of identifying potential pitfalls.
The Regional Task Force on Homelessness in San Diego: This organization is operated by the Continuum of Care board for the city and county of San Diego.
It provides data and communications, coordinates services among several partners, and also funds programs and brings together regional partners.
Shawn Vestal can be reached at (509) 459- 5431 or at shawnv@ spokesman.com.
Attempt to find common ground on package considered by City Council
Spokane landlords, tenants and other stakeholders all gathered into the same room Tuesday night in a last attempt to forge a compromise on a controversial rental reform package being considered by the City Council.
Opponents said the reforms are ill-formed and counterproductive.
Advocates called the regulations needed, if insufficient, to help the city’s rent-burdened tenants.
The conversation was mostly civil. On several occasions, after a tenant described untenable housing conditions and a system they felt was broken, they were approached by landlords and their supporters, who offered them advice.
But as the scheduled two-hour meeting stretched into its third and fourth hours, the conversation grew heated with speakers increasingly turning away from Council members and Mayor Nadine Woodward and toward each other. Voices raised, speakers interrupted and accusations were levied.
The City Council had originally planned to vote on the reform package during its Dec. 5 meeting but voted 6-1 to defer until Jan. 23 to allow for additional stakeholder meetings like the one held Tuesday.
The rental reforms originally proposed were expansive and had been met with opposition by landlords. Changes to the ordinance, including any that arose due to the additional stakeholder meetings, will be considered by the City Council during the Jan. 23 meeting prior to a final vote.
In large part, the reforms were intended to make it easier to seek a new rental, ensure rentals are habitable and meet various requirements, and support tenants if a landlord violates their rights.
The proposal
If passed as originally drafted, renters would no longer have to pay for a new background and credit check for every rental for which they apply. Universal background and credit checks, which would be usable for 60 days after a tenant pays once, would have to be accepted by all landlords.
The universal background check would not disclose arrest or conviction data older than a year, except for violent or sex crimes.
Landlords could still seek additional information from prospective tenants but would be required to pay for other checks themselves.
In addition, landlords would need to register rentals and annually certify that the units are fit for human habitation and meet state requirements. That certification would require an inspection of the property.
Landlords who own four or more rental properties would also need to pay the city of Spokane $10 per unit per year. Revenue from these fees would largely bolster city code enforcement.
The first time a property owner obtains a business license for a rental in Spokane, they would be required to complete an online training.
The reforms would implement a residential rental property mitigation fund, which would help pay for repair for damage caused by a tenant if the tenant is low income and receiving support from either a government or nonprofit program.
Spokane would also invest in attorney services in certain situations for tenants, focused on supporting those embroiled in legal fights over habitability or Residential Landlord Tenant Act violations.
Landlords would also have to provide tenants with information about their rights and responsibilities.
Additional anti-retaliation protections would be implemented, specifically protecting those who educate others about their fair housing rights or encourage them to exercise those rights.
Finally, landlords would be required to provide each tenant with either a digital or physical voter registration form and a change of address form.
The debate
Council President Breean Beggs, who had taken a lead role in putting together the reform package, was the sole vote against deferring a final vote until January.
“I am skeptical that we will make much progress on bringing people together, but I am totally willing to let other council members work on that and live my pain for the last few years,” Beggs said, shortly before voting against the delay.
Councilwoman Karen Stratton, who proposed the deferral, worked with Councilman Michael Cathcart in recent weeks to lead additional conversations with stakeholders.
This week’s meeting was the first in which all parties were brought to the same table to discuss their concerns.
More than 100 people gathered in the Northeast Community Center at 5 p.m. on a Tuesday evening, with dozens more attending via Zoom, in a last effort to affect the trajectory of the reforms.
Supporters of the proposed reforms, largely renters and tenant advocates, said accountability is needed to fix an unfair system.
Spokane renter Michelle Pappas told the crowd that she and her son had fled domestic violence and had struggled to find a rental, even though she was working two jobs. When she finally located a new home, she said it was infested with mold, causing her, her son and her partner serious health problems for two years.
“There were multiple landlords on this unit, and all of them chose to ignore what was happening to me,” Pappas said.
Multiple renters said they had faced threats of eviction despite paying their rent.
One woman, who did not say her name, said that she had been kicked out of her apartment while pregnant due to a house fire. When she finally found a new home for her and her child, she said that there was no carbon monoxide detector and that sparks shot out of the outlets whenever something was plugged in.
“Who do we as tenants go to and ask for help, to actually get our voices heard?” she said.
She also claimed a property manager had attempted to evict her for nonpayment despite there being proof that rent had been paid.
“When is enough, where we hold property managers or landlords accountable for doing this?” she said.
Terri Anderson, Spokane office and statewide policy director for the Tenants Union of Washington State, argued the proposed reforms were just scratching the surface of the protections needed by tenants. She noted that nearly half of all renters are rent-burdened, meaning they pay more than 30% of their take-home income in rent, and that nearly 25% pay more than 50%.
“I see cities all across Washington passing laws way more restrictive, way more protective to tenants,” Anderson said. “There’s nothing in these regulations that are outrageous. I would describe them as very timid.”
Anderson argued additional reforms, such as longer notices prior to rent increases and giving tenants priority to purchase their rental if it was being sold, are needed.
Landlords, realtors and other opponents of the proposal, who made up the bulk of attendees, argued the additional regulations would be onerous, open to legal challenges and hurt tenants more than they would help.
Several who spoke said that universal background checks that limited the disclosure of criminal history would place their properties and neighbors at risk.
Some questioned whether a $10 per door fee would be enough to cover the rental mitigation fund or argued that mandatory yearly inspections would violate privacy rights.
Multiple landlords said they would consider selling their rental properties if the reforms were passed, saying that regulations were becoming too burdensome to invest in Spokane.
Darin Watkins, director of government affairs for the Spokane Association of Realtors, said as many as 9,000 rental units in Spokane could be lost, pointing to a 2020 study that group funded.
In that study, authored by Whitworth University associate professor Vange Hochheimer, a survey of more than 700 members of the Landlord Association of the Inland Northwest indicated that 85% of landlords would consider selling their property if the reforms were passed.
Rather than additional regulations, the development of new housing and incentives for landlords are needed, Watkins argued.
“Just three days ago, we found that new housing in the county of Spokane is down 29% from last year,” Watkins told The Spokesman-Review.
“We’re going the wrong way.” Daniel Klemme, president of the Landlord Association of the Inland Northwest, said the rising cost of rent could be blamed on rising interest rates and housing costs, as well as burdensome regulations.
“We’re not ever willing to blame regulation?” he said. “You wonder, why did the landlord raise the rent? Why did the governor make everything worse?”
Several opponents to the reforms argued tenants and landlords would both be better served by the creation of an ombudsman position within the city. As a neutral party, an ombudsman could help tenants seek protections and resources that already exist but might be difficult to access, Watkins said.
Emry Dinman can be reached at (509) 459-5472 or by email at emryd@ spokesman.com.
####################################################
KREM
Attorneys for Spokane County and WSDOT are scheduled to meet today over a lawsuit aimed at clearing a Spokane homeless camp.
How Luka Doncic & Dallas Mavericks Pulled Out a 2OT Win vs Los Angeles Lakers & Lebron James
SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — A status conference is scheduled today in a case filed by Spokane County against the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) over a homeless camp off I-90 and Freya.
Spokane County filed the lawsuit in October in hopes of clearing the camp. The lawsuit claims the area, referred to as Camp Hope, is a public nuisance and asks the court to allow county law enforcement to clear the property, which belongs to WSDOT.
"Folks at the state have tried to say that local government is more concerned about optics and action," county commissioner Josh Kerns said in October when the board approved a resolution in support of the lawsuit. "This is action. This is leadership that we're taking. There are a number of folks, not only at the camp, but the surrounding areas that have essentially been abandoned by the leadership of the state. We're coming in, we're gonna fix a problem that quite frankly, the state has let get completely out of hand."
However, in December, a federal judge granted a temporary emergency restraining order, which has put any plans of clearing the homeless camp on hold.
U.S. District Court Judge Stanley Bastian granted the restraining order requested by Jewels Helping Hands, residents of the camp and Disability Rights Washington.
"In this case, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have a likelihood of success on one, several, or all their claims," Bastian wrote. "The loss of Plaintiffs’ temporary shelter and the services provided at Camp Hope presents an immediate risk of irreparable injury. It also demonstrates a balance of hardship tipping sharply for Plaintiffs. The public interest lies with keeping people in temporary shelter with services until the legal action is concluded."
The next court hearing for the case involving the restraining order is scheduled for Jan. 27.
####################################################
KXLY
January 12, 2023 10:19 PM
Updated: January 13, 2023 12:13 AM
SPOKANE, Wash. — With people leaving Camp Hope, changes are underway to make sure the it doesn’t grow again.
Julie Garcia with Jewels Helping Hands estimates the camp has about 200 people living there. Over 600 people were living there just six months ago.
“One of the things we have to do is once we’ve moved you into a housing situation, even if that housing situation does not work, you cannot come back to the camp,” Garcia said.
The camp, once packed with tents, now has empty stretches where people once lived.
Robert Moody works at Camp Hope, and has lived there since March 2022.
“It’s heartbreaking, but at the same time it’s a good thing because they’re all moving on to better things,” he said about the new space.
On Friday, an excavator is planned to collect piles of trash. With even more room, Garcia explains the plan is to move tents closer together.
“It cuts down on our amount of staffing, to have things more effective all together,” she said. “We can go through the perimeter, we can go in between tents, but right now we have to employ a lot of people because it’s such a big lot.”
Once tents are moved closer together, the Washington Department of Transportation will also be moving the fencing outside the new perimeter. Garcia hopes it’ll happen by next week.
“Our goal is to close it as soon as everybody here has a housing solution,” Garcia said.