Puyallup opens more land to homeless centers to satisfy state hearing’s board
A state hearings board has approved Puyallup’s revisions to a law regulating where homeless centers can locate in the city.
The Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board ruled Dec. 20 that Puyallup’s updated zoning for homeless drop-in centers or overnight shelters was not too restrictive.
Mayor John Palmer said he is glad the battle is over.
“This has gone on for quite a while, and I’m glad that it provides protection for the community and a process for citing these facilities,” Palmer told The Herald.
Homeless centers will be allowed in designated zones with “buffers”of 500 feet from hospitals and businesses and 1,000 feet from day care centers and schools.
14-month legal battle
The original law passed in September 2018 restricted homeless centers to 41 parcels in the northwest, industrial-zoned section of the city. Homeward Bound, the parent nonprofit of Puyallup’s sole daytime center for the homeless New Hope Resource Center, brought the measure before the board this summer.
The board members agreed with Homeward Bound that the law broke city policy to “promote a variety of housing for people with special needs, such as the elderly, disabled, homeless and single householders.” They also ruled that the law pushed homeless centers to areas not easily accessible by pedestrians or public transit.
The board directed Puyallup to revise in June.
The city then mapped out additional areas homeless centers would be allowed. The council voted in September 2019 to create the homeless center buffers. The amendments added 219 acres, or 150 parcels, to the initial 198 acres allowed for homeless centers upon permitting.
“The ordinance strikes an appropriate balance between the needs of homeless facilities and the right of the community to ensure public health, safety and civility in such facilities’ siting and operation,” the city said in a statement.
Palmer and City Council members Julie Door and Robin Farris voted against the revisions because he said they wanted more available acres for homeless centers. Council members Dean Johnson, Jim Kastama, Cyndy Jacobsen and Tom Swanson voted for the added buffers.
The hearings board also validated Puyallup’s development agreements, which allows the Puyallup City Council to overrule the approved zoning for homeless centers and grant them property rights anywhere in the city.
Homeward Bound’s attorney, Ric Rose, said the organization has not decided whether to appeal the decision. Homeward Bound has 30 days to file an appeal to the Pierce County Superior Court.
This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 5:25 AM.
