Pierce County’s ambitious homeless village plan is a good start. But questions remain

There’s a lot to like about the plan. There’s reason for optimism and excitement. There are many things we should all agree on, and more than enough opportunities for bipartisan compromise to make it work.

Last month, Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier and his team officially unveiled a long-awaited proposal to construct roughly 250 units of permanent, supportive micro-housing for the chronically homeless. In broad strokes, the plan calls for the County Council to officially release $22 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds it conditionally set aside for the project last year, so the county can move forward with the purchase of 27 acres of land near Spanaway, where the community would be constructed. Once built, the micro-home community — which is modeled after a similar development in Austin, Texas — would be operated by Tacoma Rescue Mission, one of the most well-respected homeless shelter providers in the area.

Nearly everyone — Democrats and Republicans — seems to support the idea, and as an editorial board, so do we. There are roughly 1,600 individuals experiencing chronic homelessness in Pierce County, according to counts that are probably low, and there’s no doubt that the kind of long-term housing and support services the project would provide to one of the most difficult populations to reach are desperately needed. So is the fresh approach to addressing chronic homelessness, designed thoughtfully and intentionally to create a genuine sense of community to help residents be successful.

But as is so often the case, significant hurdles remain. Nothing is easy. As The News Tribune has reported, an unexpected zoning challenge was discovered at the last minute, and — to be generous — the long-term funding for the project, as it’s currently proposed, is fuzzy at best.

The good news? There’s still ample time and opportunities to get it right and make the Pierce County micro-home village a reality. While the zoning snafu has delayed the originally envisioned timeline for council consideration, the appetite and willingness are there.

Success now hinges on only one unknown: the ability of the executive’s office and the council to work together.

Of the challenges ahead, hopefully zoning and location will be the easiest to navigate. While the site’s original review led county officials to believe only a conditional-use permit would be required, it’s now clear that a code change will be necessary. It’s a last-minute realization that’s frustrating and hard to fathom, considering how much time and effort has already been spent fleshing out the proposal. It’s also troubling that the sizable hiccup wasn’t mentioned when county officials met with The News Tribune Editorial Board, even though the issue was discovered days prior, according to county emails provided to the paper.

Still, it’s far from a deal-breaker. Through diligence and genuine cooperation, there’s still a path forward — which is what’s important.

Funding — and making sure the county’s significant investment of one-time ARPA dollars isn’t wasted — will likely prove to be a far more formidable obstacle. In addition to spending the $22 million Pierce County has available from the feds, the micro-home village proposal from the executive’s team relies on securing nearly $20 million in grants and private investments to make the project pencil out, before the potential cost of providing ongoing services outside the scope of Tacoma Rescue Mission is factored in. Even if there’s legitimate reason to believe all of that is possible — as Dammeier and his team assured The News Tribune Editorial Board — it’s also an unknown. Particularly in the current economic climate, banking on philanthropy money and the eagerness of local providers to pitch in and help is risky. Ultimately, it’s also unnecessary.

In our view, that’s why Pierce County needs to put more skin in the game, identifying a county source of long-term, sustainable funding to help ensure the project’s completion and success. Ongoing funding from the county would help make sure our investment isn’t squandered, while also providing the public with meaningful oversight and accountability for years to come.

“This is a well-developed concept. This is not fully ready to go today,” Dammeier told The News Tribune’s Shea Johnson last week. “There’s a lot of issues and a lot of process that we have to work through.”

The executive is exactly right.

Now it’s up to him and elected leaders on the council to come together and make it happen.