Lacey joins partnership to move homeless living in camps near I-5 into housing
Lacey is joining a regional effort to address the homeless camps along the I-5 corridor in Thurston County.
Lacey City Council approved a memorandum of understanding with the state on Thursday. The effort, officially known as the “rights of way initiative,” is the result of a Governor’s Office directive to the state departments of Commerce and Transportation and the State Patrol to contact those living in camps along the I-5 rights of way and to provide housing solutions to them, said Rick Walk, Lacey’s community and economic development director.
Several counties have been identified for the program. In addition to Thurston, there’s also Pierce, King, Snohomish and Spokane counties, Walk said.
The local partners are Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater and Thurston County, which has already taken some steps with regard to the initiative.
By signing the MOU, the jurisdictions agree to work with the state to identify potential projects that could help meet the goal of the initiative.
Walk said the actions that could be taken include creating a tiny home village of up to 50 units, expanding a hotel vouchers program to help those fleeing domestic violence who also are living in the camps near I-5, and acquiring a hotel to be used as transitional or supportive housing.
Commerce will handle funding, while DOT and the State Patrol are responsible for cleanup and enforcement, he said.
Up next for Lacey and the other local partners is to submit a proposal to the state that outlines cost estimates for the housing strategies, Walk said. The Department of Commerce will then identify the funding and the total award to be used by the partners, he said.
Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder asked whether the initiative will apply to all of I-5 in the county. “What we don’t want is just to move people around in the right of ways,” he said.
The state has identified priority areas and those locations are in Olympia, Walk said. But he said conversations are taking place with the three state agencies about concerns that campers will be pushed from one location into another.
City Manager Scott Spence pointed out that the State Patrol is now part of the solution. Before, Lacey had struck its own agreement with the state for Lacey police to access and enforce areas of state property near I-5 in the city.
“It’s important they are at the table actually trying to address this issue,” he said. “So, it’s going to take a while, but hopefully we have the right players and are working toward a long-term solution.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
