Lacey tent city faces hearing

Law challengers postpone suit, await outcome of petition

By Christian Hill | The Olympian • Published July 01, 2008

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LACEY – The battle over the city's controversial law regarding tent cities for the homeless has shifted from the courtroom to the hearing room.

The city of Lacey and plaintiffs have agreed to stay a lawsuit filed in Thurston County Superior Court challenging the law pending the outcome of a petition the plaintiffs filed with the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board.

Panza, a nonprofit group that supports Camp Quixote; the group's secretary; and three residents who attend churches in Lacey challenged the law on the grounds that the City Council didn't follow proper procedure in adopting it. The city has denied that claim. Camp Quixote is the county's existing tent city for homeless people.

The law bans a tent city within Lacey city limits and instead requires churches to shelter the homeless indoors. The council adopted the law April 24.

Critics of the law say it's unworkable because churches don't have adequate room to minister to their congregations and operate a homeless shelter in the same building.

Supporters on the council say nothing in the law stops faith-based groups from helping homeless people, and the regulations provide them a place to stay that is safer and more dignified compared to being left outdoors in tents.

Specifically, the lawsuit and petition contend that although the city posted meeting notices and had public hearings and other meetings before the Lacey Planning Commission and City Council, no such steps were taken for a later draft that required the homeless be sheltered inside churches.

The lawsuit and petition were filed May 22. Both say the city's process violated procedural requirements of the state's Growth Management Act, the city's municipal code and the city's development regulations. The plaintiffs are the same in both challenges.

Lee Johnson, a Panza volunteer and retired lawyer, said if the hearings board rejected the plaintiffs' challenge, they could merge an appeal with the lawsuit and continue the case in Thurston County Superior Court.

Johnson acknowledged there's the potential that the city could move to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that the plaintiffs didn't exhaust other available avenues, including challenging the law before the hearing board.