Last week, Seattle City Council approved a set of standards for encampments hosted by religious entities including faith-based community shelter support in church buildings, parking lots, or land leased to churches. Council Bill 117288 spells out the following safety standards:
- 100 person limit for each encampment
- Compliance with fire safety and health standards
- Provision of toilets, running water and garbage collection
- Allowing impromptu inspections by the Public Health Department, the Fire Department, and the Department of Planning and Development
According to the language on the Bill, “This ordinance does not change the current code provision that allows other entities, including secular entities, to host transitional encampments after obtaining a temporary use permit according to existing procedures in the Seattle Land Use Code.”
You may remember the kerfuffle last year between the Gift of Grace/SHARE shelter and its neighboring residents, as well as the Keystone/Nickelsville encampment the year prior. Currently there are no provisions on the Bill requiring religious organizations to notify residents in its neighborhood before moving ahead with a shelter. In fact, the Bill includes language from State law (RCW 35.21.915) which “Requires that cities not impose conditions other than those necessary to protect public health and safety and that do not burden the decisions or actions of a religious organization regarding the location or shelter for homeless people on property owned by the religious organization.” That law also states that religious organizations aren’t required to obtain insurance “pertaining to the liability of a municipality with respect to homeless persons housed on properties owned by a religious organization” nor are they required to “indemnify the municipality against such liability.”
The City Council also states that “The other items on in the Resolution 31292 work program are still under review, with progress expected in the 2012 budget deliberations.”
I applaud the general idea, but why only churches? The city seems to be setting themselves up for a lawsuit on religious-preference grounds. Maybe that’s all part of their cunning plan.
so Gift of Grace can expand to have a 100 tent facility without informing the neighbors? Nice.
I sound concerned because the follow up meetings promised were never held.
@cata, I just read on My Green Lake that SHARE was closing several of its neighborhood shelters: http://www.mygreenlake.com/2011/10/share-shelters-closing/
I’ve sent an email to Gift of Grace to inquire the status of the shelter there. I’ll provide an update when I hear back.
I just now read that also.
Both are completely independent facts.
GOG did not have the promised follow up community discussions. That is a fact.
That fact stands independent of the closing of SHARE shelters.
In fact, how these may intersect .. is scary. One may surmise that GOG will without informing community or neighbors decide to independently open a tent city of homeless folks.