Councilors vote no on homeless shelter site

Jun. 15—Concerns a 35-bed homeless shelter would bring more troubles to a neighborhood already riddled with vagrancy and vandalism prompted the Lewiston City Council to vote against the proposed facility.

The council overturned the Lewiston Planning and Zoning Commission's April approval of a conditional use permit late Monday night after an appeal by the owner of the building near the shelter proposed for 1332 G St. in a 4-1 vote.

Council President Hannah Liedkie was joined by councilors Jim Kleeburg, Kassee Forsmann and Rick Tousley in opposing the shelter. Councilor Kathy Schroeder was in the minority and councilor Luke Blount wasn't at the meeting because he was sick.

The city council will consider a written reasoned statement outlining its decision at a regular meeting at 6 p.m. June 27. A petition for a judicial review could be filed with the District Court of the 2nd Judicial District of Idaho.

The homeless shelter can't be put before all registered voters in Lewiston, as suggested by one person who testified Monday, because it's outside the process specified in state code for considering a land use application, said Assistant City Attorney Kayla Hermann.

The right solution is one that considers what happens in the long term and that considers the entire community, including established businesses and residents, Liedkie said.

"We have a housing crisis," she said. "We have a workforce crisis. This world is in crisis and we need to figure out a way to come together."

In the absence of an overnight shelter that generally accepts all people, as long as they don't pose a threat to themselves or others and are not wanted by the police, homeless individuals will be allowed a lot of latitude on public properties, said Michelle King, president of the board of the proposed homeless shelter, called the LC Valley Adult Resource Center.

King is also a founder of the LC Valley Youth Resource Center, which serves homeless children ages 12-17.

The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution bans cities from citing people for sitting, standing, sleeping or lying on any public property if it lacks a low-barrier shelter like the one her group backs, she said.

Right now, homeless individuals frequent the community's public libraries, where they have access to water, bathrooms and internet service that allows them to use their cell phones, King said.

The council sided with the dozens of homeowners and business owners who live near the proposed homeless shelter. They opposed the site of the homeless shelter in a vacant two-story building that once housed Inland Cellular offices during almost 4 1/2 hours of testimony and council deliberation Monday night.

Supporters included social workers and people who faced and overcame homelessness.

One homeowner said she has lived in the neighborhood 12 years and supports a homeless shelter, but believes the location is flawed.

She and her husband have had to ask people to get out of their yard on a weekly basis, keep their doors locked all the time, have faced someone attempting to break into their home and had needles thrown in their yard.

"I think that it is going to impact us tremendously and not in a positive way," she said.

Jay Plechner, owner of Weaponsmart, a firearms store across the street from the proposed shelter, said his insurance provider would not cover him or his premiums would triple at a minimum if the shelter were to be created at the G Street location. King offered to help him solve that challenge.

"I have video footage of people urinating on the back door, rummaging in the garbage," he said

One person who testified that police had responded more than 50 times to a temporary shelter open from mid-December through the end of May at the Salvation Army on Lewiston's 21st Street operated by the LC Valley Adult Resource Center.

The calls involved a variety of circumstances, King said. Some were people law enforcement brought to the shelter instead of taking them to jail or the hospital.

Sometimes individuals were experiencing mental health issues beyond the staff's expertise, such as one person who didn't want to wear clothing.

In another case, a man quarreling with his girlfriend threw his cellphone at a staff member then called the police to tattle about being kicked out of the shelter.

Those law enforcement responses would likely decrease in a permanent location because it would have more capacity to link its users with resources, she said. The temporary shelter was open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

A permanent facility would remain open longer, until 11 a.m., 365 days a year, creating a window to reach offices of agencies that offer help when they are open, King said.

In spite of the limitations of the temporary shelter, it made a difference for the 165 people who stayed there, 151 of whom were from Nez Perce or Asotin counties. Almost half, or 72, secured housing. A total of 37 found jobs and 31 chose sobriety, she said.

Council members stated they want efforts to help homeless individuals rebuild their lives to continue.

But the majority voted against the shelter after weighing relevant criteria and standards such as if the shelter would create nuisances or would be in harmony with the area.

As someone who operates a business, Liedkie said she deals with problems such break-ins.

"I do believe that there is the possibility that this will, especially in the beginning, create a nuisance for the neighborhood," Liedkie said.

When the right location surfaces, Liedkie and Forsmann said it is their belief it will not face the type of strong opposition that the present proposal does.

"While I am on the frontlines as well with homelessness, with finding people jobs, I have to say that we have to protect the businesses that are in place and the residents of that area," Liedkie said. "But I do so with the hope that we will move forward and we will find the right location."

Forsmann agreed.

The council could dig into city code with an eye toward making more options available for shelters, she said.

"I don't want to stop the discussion," she said. "I want to work as a community to find the best solution that works for everyone."

Tousley had a similar view. He said he recognizes the need for a homeless shelter in Lewiston, would like citizens to join the effort to identify a place for it and backs expanding city code as part of the effort.

"It's in a zone that could be approved, but it has no buffer and I'm not comfortable with that," Tousley said.

What happens next is still developing. The city requires a conditional use permit for homeless shelters in the general commercial, regional commercial, light industrial and heavy industrial zones where shelters are permitted.

The former Inland Cellular Building was the only structure that met the city's criteria the homeless shelter's organizers found in a two-year search, King said.

"We look forward to the City Council's plan to provide solutions for our local displaced population," King said in a text on Tuesday. "In the interim, we expect displaced community (members') 8th amendment rights will be respected."

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (209) 848-2261.