Homeless shelter gets boot from city council
Jul. 26—Lewiston's city council affirmed its opposition Monday to a 35-bed, low-barrier homeless shelter proposed by the LC Valley Adult Resource Center.
Councilors approved a reasoned statement of relevant criteria and standards, a written document that outlined their thinking behind reversing a Planning and Zoning Commission approval of a conditional-use permit that would have allowed the shelter to move forward.
The vote happened with no discussion. Council President Hannah Liedkie and councilors Kassee Forsmann and Rick Tousley were in the majority. Councilor Kathy Schroeder was in the minority. Councilor Jim Kleeburg was absent.
What happens next is not clear. The LC Valley Adult Resource Center could appeal the council's action through filing a petition for judicial review with the District Court of the 2nd Judicial District of Idaho.
Late in June, the center's board announced it had lost the opportunity to acquire the proposed site for the facility. The group had hoped to purchase a two-story building at 1332 G St. in Lewiston that formerly housed Inland Cellular offices.
The site, according to the group, was the only one that surfaced in a two-year search that met all of the city's criteria and was close to services that would help its users find work and obtain medical care.
The shelter would have given homeless people a place to sleep as long as they met minimal requirements such as not posing a threat to themselves or others.
Representatives of the LC Valley Adult Resource Center have suggested the city's community center as a possible setting for the low-barrier homeless shelter until a permanent solution can be identified.
The reasoned statement of relevant criteria and standards reiterated many of the issues community members raised in testimony before the city council about the conditional use permit.
The shelter would be open from 7 p.m. to 11 a.m. and "staff members would have no control over guests once they leave the subject property during the day, which is a concern," according to the document.
"Concerns were expressed about these individuals defecating out in the open and leaving drug paraphernalia, including needles, on the ground," according to the document.
The potential escalation of crime already occurring in the neighborhood near the shelter was another worry that surfaced during testimony, according to the document.
"Many neighbors testified about existing issues and nuisances present in the area where the subject property is located, such as litter, loitering, drug use, vandalism and theft," according to the document.
So far, no compromise has emerged, but at least some discussions about the low-barrier shelter are happening behind closed doors.
City staff met July 12 with representatives of Intermountain Fair Housing and the LC Valley Adult Resource Center.
In other business, the council rejected spending $158,063 on outdoor fitness equipment and shade structures at Community Park near the Lewiston High School, even though it was already in the 2022 fiscal year budget.
The upgrade was proposed to be near a new parking lot close to the corner of Community Drive and Warner Avenue in Lewiston.
The equipment would have been an updated version of what's along the levee by the Clearwater River in Lewiston, where metal structures provide places for people to do exercises such as sit ups, pull ups and rowing.
Liedkie, who was among those voting against the request, asked Parks and Recreation Director Tim Barker about roof repairs needed at Fenton Gym, a city facility at 1203 Eighth Ave. near Vollmer Park on Normal Hill. The estimated cost of that project is $175,000 and isn't in this fiscal year's budget, Barker said outside the meeting.
The most frequent use of the gym is as a private rental for volleyball and basketball tournaments, he said.
Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.
