At a public hearing tonight, the Tumwater City Council will consider an ordinance allowing tent cities 180 days, where current regulations allow a 90-day permit.
The longer timetable follows the same rationale Olympia used when it approved the longer limits this year, senior planner David Ginther said.
“It appears that the council wants to be prepared for a situation … such as a temporary homeless encampment in Tumwater,” he said. Tumwater has not had a tent city and there are no immediate known plans for one, he added.
During the discussion in Olympia, the board that supports Camp Quixote spoke in favor of the increased time limit, noting uprooting every 90 days is traumatic for camp residents. Thurston County also allows 180-day permits.
Tumwater has had an ordinance regulating tent cities since 2008. Regulations remain unchanged for issues associated with tent cities including health, safety, sanitation, notification and security.
Ginther said the six-month period provides enough time for camps to set up secure, covered locations, especially during winter. The consistency with Olympia and Thurston County is good because of the jurisdictions’ proximity to one another, Ginther said.
“We really are one community,” he said.
If the ordinance passes tonight, Lacey will be the only city in the area with a 90-day ordinance.
Lacey Manager Scott Spence said the city hasn’t discussed homeless encampments since adopting its ordinance in 2008, but that he will provide a status report to the city’s land-use committee regarding recent developments.
The Tumwater proposal went through the city general government committee and then was forwarded to the planning commission for public hearing and recommendation.
Councilman Ed Stanley, who chairs the general government committee, said the extra time is the “only right and decent thing to do” but noted more needs to be done to help people find decent, affordable housing.
“It’s unfortunate that we have so much in this county and people are forced to live in substandard conditions,” he said.
“It’s appalling.”
The Tumwater Council meets at 6:30 p.m. today at City Hall, 555 Israel Road S.W.
Nate Hulings: 360-754-5476
nhulings@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/outsideoly
