7/7/2022
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The Spokesman-Review
MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL WORK ON APPROACH TO PUBLIC CAMPING
KREM
KXLY
The Center Square
invisiblePEOPLE
HUD Releases First-of-Its-Kind Funding Program to Address Unsheltered and Rural Homelessness
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The Spokesman-Review
MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL WORK ON APPROACH TO PUBLIC CAMPING
By Greg Mason
THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward and the City Council are working to update the city’s laws against public camping on city-owned land, with a particular focus on parks, railroad viaducts and public waterways.
Their efforts have spawned two bills aimed at changing the city’s camping law. And while both would criminalize public camping as a misdemeanor, they differ in scope.
The landmark federal ruling in Martin v. the City of Boise has kept Spokane officials from enforcing current public camping prohibitions as well as the city’s sit-and-lie law, which prohibits people from sitting or lying on public sidewalks during the daytime.
Martin v. Boise effectively prohibits cities from enforcing camping and sit-lie laws if they don’t offer adequate shelter to the homeless. The unavailability of shelter space is why the Camp Hope homeless encampment, home to hundreds on state land along East Second Avenue, continues to exist.
In an effort to bar public camping while complying with Martin v. Boise, two City Council bills propose bans on camping at all times in specific areas regardless of available shelter space. The effort hedges on a footnote in the Martin v. Boise ruling that some state laws might be constitutionally permissible in certain cases even when shelter space is unavailable.
‘There’s no guarantees’
One bill, sponsored by Council President Breean Beggs and Councilmember Lori Kinnear, would ban camping at all times within 100 feet of any downtown railroad viaduct, within any city-owned park or park facility and on any portion of land within 35 feet of the Spokane River or Latah Creek.
To justify this total ban, the bill’s language says those are “camping areas that create an unreasonable risk of harm or pose a substantial danger to the community.”
With all other city-owned property, a camping ban would be enforced only if there is available shelter space, as required by the Martin v. Boise precedent.
“There’s no guarantees on complying (with Martin v. Boise), but our version, we think, comes pretty close,” Beggs said.
Another version, sponsored by councilmembers Michael Cathcart and Jonathan Bingle with Woodward’s input, extends the at-all-times camping ban beyond those areas to anywhere within the downtown Spokane police precinct and business improvement district boundaries, as well as areas within a half mile of a “city-supported congregate shelter.”
A city-supported congregate shelter is defined by the ordinance as any private or public facility that provides shortterm or contingency communal living. This includes homeless shelters, but does not include places with individual room occupancy, such as Airbnbs, college dorms or hotels, city spokesman Brian Coddington said.
The downtown police precinct boundary, according to the legislation, extends from Spokane Falls Boulevard/Riverside Avenue and I-90 between North Division Street to Maple Street. The downtown business improvement district encompasses much of that area as well as north of Spokane Falls Boulevard, between Division and North Monroe streets.
As with the Beggs-Kinnear version, a camping ban on all other city-owned property would be enforced only if there is enough available shelter space.
“You will never have enough beds for every single person who is homeless. You just won’t,” Woodward said. “So we have to do a better job of utilizing the system that we have right now, and that’s getting to functional zero, where you have as many people exiting the system as are now entering so you don’t have to continue to build more shelters and provide more beds.”
The Cathcart-Bingle version also updates the city’s sit-andlie law.
The legislation would continue to prohibit sitting and laying on sidewalks from 6 a.m. to midnight while doing away with some exemptions, including homelessness when shelter space is unavailable. The proposal also strikes out exemptions for people “engaging in constitutionally protected expressive activities,” an apparently unconstitutional omission, said Beggs, whose version of the bill does not address the sit-and-lie law.
“This has been a long ongoing conversation that has really centered on how do we comply with the ruling in the Martin v. Boise decision,” Cathcart said.
Beggs said he and Kinnear deliberately limited the scope of their proposed at-all-times ban to parks, viaducts and the waterways, arguing the Cathcart- Bingle version covers too broad of an area to be legal under Martin v. Boise.
On the other hand, Woodward said of the Beggs-Kinnear bill, “That ordinance proposal does not go far enough.”
“I think the mayor would be happy if she could remove anybody camping anywhere, but that’s not what the law is right now,” Beggs said. “So the question is how far can we go under the law and how much risk do you take on having all our laws struck down and being sued for money?”
‘We make it easy to be homeless’
Both the Beggs-Kinnear and Cathcart-Bingle versions criminalize illegal camping violations as misdemeanors for referral to Spokane Community Court.
“Getting into community court, you have to be charged with a misdemeanor,” Beggs said. “I don’t love it, but I’m currently in the camp that a misdemeanor charge with jurisdiction by community court is slightly better than a citation.”
The Beggs-Kinnear version was discussed last week during the council’s Public Infrastructure, Environment and Sustainability Committee meeting. The latest Cathcart-Bingle version is scheduled for discussion Monday during the council’s Public Safety and Community Health Committee meeting, Woodward said.
Initial drafts of the two were released within an hour of each other last week, as councilmembers sought community feedback on the proposed measures. Based on that feedback, the Cathcart-Bingle version was reworked with the mayor’s input. The latest version received a ringing endorsement Wednesday from Woodward, who was joined for a news conference by Cathcart, Bingle and dozens of community members.
“This is a way to help people in need find the things that they need,” Bingle said. “I was excited to be a part of this because I knew that this was going to be a very holistic approach that wasn’t going to benefit one group of people over another.”
Woodward said the city’s camping ordinance has not been updated since 2018, while the sit-and-lie laws have remained the same since 2014.
Wednesday’s news conference took place just down the street from the Sprague Avenue- Division Street viaduct, where Woodward ordered a fence built beneath the viaduct in an effort to keep the street clean and safe.
If the Cathcart-Bingle ordinance were to pass, the fences at the Sprague-Division viaduct as well as the Browne Street viaduct, installed in February, would no longer be needed, Coddington said.
“We make it easy to be homeless, and I know that’s not a popular thing for some people to hear,” Woodward said. “These ordinances and their updates are not to push people around, but it is to push them into assistance and to the services that they need to get them off the street, out of viaducts and off of fields.” Greg Mason can be reached at (509) 459-5047 or gregm@spokesman.com.
Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward takes a question on Wednesday during a news conference on homelessness and updates to Spokane’s sit-lie ordinance.
TYLER TJOMSLAND/ THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
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KREM
The city's camping ordinance has not been updated since 2018 and the sit and lie ordinance has not been updated since 2014.
South Hill Spokane house fire | Raw Video
SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward announced proposed changes to the city's camping and sit and lie ordinances that will limit when and where people are allowed to camp on city property.
The city's camping ordinance has not been updated since 2018 and the sit and lie ordinance has not been updated since 2014.
The current ordinance prohibits camping on city-owned public property when there is not enough shelter space. Spokane City Council recently announced an updated ordinance, but the mayor said she wants to take it a step further.
"We make it easy to be homeless," Woodward said. "I know that's not a popular thing for some people to hear, but these ordinances and their updates are not to push people around. It is to push them into assistance."
Under Spokane's current illegal camping ordinance, camping is not allowed on public property and a person cannot sit or lie on the sidewalk between 6 a.m. and midnight. However, the ordinance is also not enforced if there is no shelter space.
Both the city council and the mayor's proposals call for removing the blanket exemption "when shelter space is unavailable." Both also allow for enforcement at all times in some specified locations.
Both proposals would also enforce the camping ordinance in the following areas:
Within 100 feet of railroad viaducts
Within 35 feet of the Spokane River
All city parks and city-owned property
Both proposals also have no effect on people camping on private or state-owned land, meaning the people camping in the lot near I-90 would be exempt from both ordinances.
Woodward's proposal, however, takes the ordinance a step further.
The mayor's proposes changes would expand enforcement to within a half-mile of city-supported congregate shelters, as well as within the boundaries of the Business Improvement District and the downtown police precinct.
This is the Business Improvement District boundary map:
Under Woodward's proposal, camping would be illegal in all colored zones on the map. That zone stretches from Cataldo Avenue to the railroad tracks near First Avenue and from Walnut to North Division. The downtown police precinct has a wider footprint.
Camping would be illegal in the orange-colored area, which stretches from the north bank of Riverfront Park to I-90, then from Sherman out to near Inland Empire Highway.
The mayor said her recommendations are a compromise with the council. However, City Council President Breean Beggs said Wednesday was the first time he heard of Woodward's recommendations. He added this is not the best way to get city council votes.
Beggs and councilmember Lori Kinnear's ordinance only limits where people can set up a tent on city-owned property. Restrictions include around railroad viaducts, in city parks and near the Spokane River.
"The mayor and the other council members care a little bit less about what the law is and they just really want to make a statement," Beggs said. "They want people to feel like something is going to be done."
Woodward told the community on Wednesday that Beggs and Kinnear's ordinance is not enough and more places downtown need to be restricted.
"That proposal does not go far enough," she said. "It doesn't include the downtown district and that's where we want to be able to see enforcement and improvement."
Beggs said those additions will make the ordinance unconstitutional, putting serious limits on where people can go. He added the mayor's recommended ordinance could push tents further into residential neighborhoods.
According to Beggs, he was not invited to the mayor's press conference, and if the mayor wants enough votes to get her ordinance passed, she needs to have a discussion with all other council members involved.
Beggs said she has not done that yet.
Both proposals will be discussed on Monday, July 11 in the Public Safety committee meeting.
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KXLY
Posted: July 6, 2022 10:03 PM Updated: July 7, 2022 5:48 AM by Rania Kaur
SPOKANE, Wash. — The clock is ticking for Spokane to potentially receive millions in funding to help clear out Camp Hope.
Almost 25 million dollars have been earmarked for Spokane County by the Washington Department of Commerce to clear people from Camp Hope.
Spokane County, however, will only receive that funding if they submit a proposal to the Department of Commerce by July 21st.
“This isn’t a safe place, it’s not a humane place, certainly not a healthy place, and the individuals who are suffering there really need help, and that’s what these dollars specifically address to do,” said Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward.
READ: Mayor proposes camping compromise, local businesses expect little change
If Spokane does receive the funding, the mayor says people could be moving out of the camp as soon as August.
“One of the parts of this plan is identifying properties that can be quickly purchased, and converted into housing for those that are camping in the encampments,” Woodward said.
Wicked Glass is just a few blocks from Camp Hope. Owner, Hunter Kates is anxiously waiting for Camp Hope to be cleared.
“They mess with our garbage, and they come in. We’ve had four broken windows so far, cars being broken into, they leave trash all over the place,” he said. “Yeah, it’s been wreaking havoc around here.”
READ: Mayor proposes camping compromise, local businesses expect little change
The mayor says they’re working with Spokane County, Spokane Valley, and City Council to get those funds.
“We get one application, so the application is going to be stronger if we can show collaboration regionally on how we’re going to address this encampment,” she said.
Spokane could receive even more money from the Department of Commerce if needed.
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The Center Square
A person walks away after being given bottles of water, Monday, June 28, 2021, at a hydration station in front of the Union Gospel Mission in Seattle.
Ted S. Warren / AP Photos
(The Center Square) – The King County Council has begun discussing a plan to provide cooling shelters for the homeless and senior citizens when the next heatwave hits.
The King County Office of Emergency Management currently lacks an operational plan for sheltering during extreme weather situations for those in need. This comes after the notable three-day heatwave that hit Western Washington last year resulted in the deaths of 38 people within King County.
Jennifer Giambattista, a principal legislative analyst for the King County Council, spoke to the King County Committee of the Whole on July 6 about why an operational plan is needed.
“Based on data from Public Health, 91% of the fatalities occurred in the person’s residence ... the Seattle region has the lowest rates of any metropolitan region for air conditioning,” Giambattista said in the council meeting. “In the heat dome event, the temperatures peaked late at night, which meant indoor temperatures stayed high. The National Weather Service noted that these indoor evening air temperatures need to be taken into consideration when planning for the operating hours of cooling shelters.”
The council is now looking into facilities that can be used for shelter when necessary during an extreme weather situation. Hotel vouchers may also be handed out to residents from unincorporated parts of King County.
Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, who sponsored this motion, noted that parts of unincorporated King County experienced the worst heat waves that hit the region.
Giambattista said the motion to request King County Executive Dow Constantine to look into an operational plan would need to be set by February 2023. The shelters would then be operational by June.
Some questioned possible issues with the motion. Mainly, the challenges that come with extreme weather shelters, including staffing for overnight shifts. Community partners shared concerns over the operating costs for security and staffing.
There were no cost estimates for an extreme weather operation plan.
This extreme weather operation plan is not to be confused with Executive Constantine’s heat mitigation strategy he introduced last month. While both efforts aim to establish a response system for these incidents, Zahilay said he proposed his motion because some aspects of the heat mitigation were missing.
“The thing that I haven’t seen is ... a regional network of indoor facilities and the plan to staff up and upgrade buildings that either we don’t own or we don’t currently use as an extreme weather shelter,” Zahilay said when asked what his motion differed from the extreme heat mitigation.
The council will review the operation plans on July 20 for a possible vote.
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invisiblePEOPLE
HUD Releases First-of-Its-Kind Funding Program to Address Unsheltered and Rural Homelessness
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a new funding program on June 22 that addresses unsheltered and rural homelessness.
The program, known as the Initiative for Unsheltered and Rural Homelessness, includes $365 million in funding. More than $322 million will go toward Continuum of Care grant programs. Another $54.5 million is reserved for rural communities, specifically. It also includes $43 million to fund another 4,000 housing vouchers through local public housing agencies.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that people sleeping in their vehicles, in tents, or on the streets, including in rural areas, have access to decent, stable housing and services, like health care and treatment, to live with dignity and safety,” said HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge.
40 Percent of Homeless Population Is Unsheltered
The new funding program comes as unsheltered homelessness continues to increase across the country. According to HUD’s 2020 Homeless Assessment Report, nearly 40 percent of people experiencing homelessness across the country are unsheltered.
The 2021 report showed the unsheltered population remained largely unchanged, even though HUD did not require communities to conduct an unsheltered count.
“Solving unsheltered homelessness means delivering help to the people who need it the most but who have the hardest time reaching it,” Fudge said. “It means putting Housing First, and health care and other supportive services right after. With this funding, communities will have the resources to scale up coordinated efforts to humanely and effectively move people from encampments into homes by linking homeless outreach with health care, treatment, and housing.”
The new funding program also comes as several cities across the country revamp how they count their homeless populations.
For instance, Seattle recently began using an app called “Show the Way” to help conduct its yearly counts. The new method has also produced some startling results.
According to a report from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, the new method counted more than 40,800 people experiencing homelessness in the Seattle metro area. In comparison, the federal Point In Time (PIT) count method counted more than 11,000 people.
The Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, a continuum of care in Denver, Colorado, also devised a new method of counting the region’s homeless. The organization compared data from the Homeless Management Information System, Medicaid, and other databases to conduct their count. It found that more than 12,000 people are homeless in the Denver metro area compared to the more than 6,000 identified using the PIT method.
“Access to a safe place to call home is essential to health and well-being,” said Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to working across the federal government to end homelessness by ensuring access to health care, support services, and permanent housing for all Americans.”
New Program Will Help Homeless Veterans
One group that stands to benefit from the new funding program is homeless veterans. According to HUD’s 2021 Homeless Assessment Report, the number of unsheltered homeless veterans increased by 10 percent year over year.
“Getting unsheltered Veterans and homeless rural Vets into houses is a top priority in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ strategy to end veteran homelessness,” said Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough. “These new resources from HUD add timely new capacity to this fight. No Veteran should ever be homeless in this country, which they swore an oath to defend.”
The decrease in sheltered homelessness for military veterans comes as several communities work to reduce their veteran homeless population.
For example, St. Louis County, Minnesota, effectively ended veteran homelessness by adopting the Functional Zero model from the nonprofit Community Solutions. This model requires cities to have processes to make homelessness brief and one-time for specific groups.
“Aspirational goals without a plan don’t get us to where we need to go,” said Governor Tim Walz. “We said we’re going to become the fourth state because it is a reflection of Minnesota values, and we’ve got a plan on how to do this.”
Other places, such as Nevada County, California, and Fremont County, Colorado, have also adopted the same model and have effectively ended homelessness for their veterans.
How You Can Help
The pandemic proved that we need to rethink housing in the U.S. It also showed that programs designed to improve homeless counts could help local authorities budget sufficient funds for homeless resolution programs and clear guidance on spending aid dollars.
Contact your officials and representatives. Tell them you support keeping many of the pandemic-related aid programs in place for future use. They have proven effective at keeping people housed, which is the first step to ending homelessness.