Foes of Interfaith Sanctuary’s new Boise homeless shelter just took fight to a new venue
A Boise neighborhood association that objects to a new homeless shelter has appealed its case to the Idaho Supreme Court after losing in 4th District Court.
The Veterans Park Neighborhood Association sued Boise last year, after city leaders voted to allow Interfaith Sanctuary, a low-barrier shelter, to relocate to the former Salvation Army building at 4308 W. State St.
Ada County District Judge Cynthia Yee-Wallace denied the neighborhood association’s request to intervene in June, ruling that it had not sufficiently shown harm to its residents.
In its lawsuit, the neighborhood association argued that the Boise City Council’s approval of the shelter violated the law and its due process rights, and that a plan for how the shelter would operate did not mitigate the harm some neighbors claimed it would cause.
Yee-Wallace said the association’s argument, if taken to be true, would mean “you could never operate a homeless shelter in the city.”
In the appeal, the neighborhood association’s attorney, Brian Ertz, said he wants the high court to decide whether the district judge’s decision was in error.
The neighborhood association filed its appeal in late July. In the coming months, the court will set deadlines to submit argument briefs, after which the case will be scheduled for an oral argument before the Supreme Court, spokesperson Nate Poppino told the Idaho Statesman.
”It certainly doesn’t change the story for us,” Interfaith Executive Director Jodi Peterson-Stigers told the Idaho Statesman by phone Friday. “We’re continuing to move forward on building this shelter that is essential for our community and making sure that we continue to take care of our guests.”
Peterson-Stigers said she hopes to begin construction at the new State Street location in the coming months. Interfaith aims to raise $15 million to remodel the Salvation Army building, and Peterson-Stigers said she has so far raised $8 million, plus another $4 million in funds from grants or foundations that are still pending approval.
Once construction begins, the project is expected to take 15-18 months to finish.
The Supreme Court appeal was first reported by BoiseDev. The neighborhood association’s president, Katy Decker, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Statesman. Boise Mayor Lauren McLean’s spokesperson, Maria Weeg, declined to comment.
