Puyallup won’t host a tent city for homeless individuals in the immediate future, city officials have decided.

After a lengthy public hearing on the proposal Tuesday night, the City Council held off on approving an ordinance that would have allowed a 40-person encampment somewhere in the city.

Homelessness prevention advocates, church representatives and some members of Puyallup’s homeless community spoke overwhelmingly in favor of an encampment in the city.

They said a camp would help families who have ended up on the street as a result of the economic recession and need a place to stay during the coming winter.

But all seven council members agreed to develop a long-term plan for dealing with homelessness – including emergency housing options – before deciding that a tent city should be part of the solution.

“We need to get people in transitional housing, in permanent housing, in shelters,” said Councilwoman Kathy Turner. “I don’t think we necessarily need them in tents.”

Council members took no action on the tent city proposal, effectively killing it for the time being. They said they’d like to do more research on homeless camps, including a visit to Camp Quixote in Olympia, before deciding to allow one in Puyallup.

Several council members indicated a desire to revisit the proposal at a later date. City Manager Gary McLean said the council could bring back the ordinance or a similar version at any time.

The Puyallup ordinance didn’t specify where a camp would be established in the city, but said that a religious organization could host one on private property for up to 90 days. The ordinance would have allowed only one temporary encampment in the city at any time.

Councilman John Knutsen expressed concern that a 40-person homeless camp could cause nearby residents to worry about their safety.

“I think you have to look at the people across the street from these encampments and ask, ‘What does it do to their life?’” Knutsen said.

Council members asked groups supporting the tent city ordinance, including churches and the Puyallup Homeless Coalition, to help develop a long-term plan for combating homelessness in the city. Turner suggested that other jurisdictions, such as Edgewood, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Tacoma and Pierce County, should be involved.

The council’s decision was a disappointment to some encampment supporters, who said that there are many newly homeless people in Puyallup who require immediate relief.

“I don’t know where we’re left after this,” said Ted Brackman, co-founder of the Puyallup Homeless Coalition. “We have a crying need – hundreds of homeless people in Puyallup – and apparently they have to go back to the woods and to the Wal-Mart parking lot while we figure out what direction to take.”

One homeless man, Mike Smith, told a reporter before Tuesday’s council meeting that he and his family have been unable to park their aging RV in Puyallup as they struggle to get back on their feet. The family lost their home in Redmond, Ore., last December shortly after Smith was laid off from his job building fences, he said.

Smith said an encampment could allow the family to stay in Puyallup, where Smith’s children go to school, instead of driving back and forth each day from where they now park in Tacoma.

“It’s constant moving,” Smith said. “There’s no one place where you can just be.”

Melissa Santos: 253-552-7058

melissa.santos@thenewstribune.com

learn about the homeless

Organizers hope to educate the public about local homelessness. There will be entertainment, food and an overnight tent exhibit representing churches and civic groups.

When: 2 p.m. Saturday

Where: Grayland Park, 601 N. Meridian in Puyallup