[Posted on The Olympian's Web site]

Published June 02, 2008
Lawsuit challenges Lacey's new law on homeless tent city
THE OLYMPIAN

LACEY -- Advocates for the homeless have sued Lacey to overturn a law that bans a tent city and instead requires churches to shelter the homeless indoors.

The lawsuit claims the City Council did not follow a proper procedure before it approved the law April 24 with a 4-3 vote.

Panza, a nonprofit group that supports Camp Quixote, Olympia’s tent city; Selena Kilmoyer, Panza’s secretary; and three residents who attend churches in Lacey -- Elizabeth Penney, Ronna Smith and Donald Stern -- filed the lawsuit in Thurston County Superior Court.

The lawsuit contends that while the city posted meeting notices and held public hearings and other meetings both before the Lacey Planning Commission and City Council on a draft law regulating temporary homeless encampments, no such steps were taken for a later draft that required faith-based groups to shelter the homeless inside their churches.

As a result, supporters of the law were uninformed that Lacey churches don’t have adequate room to both shelter the homeless and minister to their congregations, Kilmoyer said.

For more on the story, see The Olympian Tuesday.

A little while back I referred to a lawsuit that is making its way through the state court system that might impact Lacey's new homeless ordinance.

Tomorrow (sometime after 9a) the state Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case between Woodinville and Northshore United Church of Christ. A few years ago, Woodinville passed an ordinance restricting how churches can host homeless camps. Basically, the church is arguing that the city doesn't have any business telling them how they can practice religion as it relates to their helping the homeless.

How the Supreme Court decides (at least I think this) will have a lot to do with whether Lacey is sued over their ordinance.

The arguments will be live on TVW and I'll post them here after they're on the internet.

Anyone know the typical turn-around on a state Supreme Court case?

Lacey's recent decision to put into place a restrictive homeless encampment rule will likely land the city in court. Tent city ordinances in Western Washington are popular fodder for the federal and state court system, usually pitting local governments against churches on the grounds of the free expression of religion.

"The whole idea of reaching out to the poor and needy is part of our Jewish tradition," said James Mirel, senior rabbi at the Temple B'nai Torah to the Seattle Times in 2005.

One of the most interesting details in the run up to the city council's vote on the ordinance was the closed door session a few months back between the city attorney and the council. What advice did Ken Ahlf give his clients? Probably, be careful guys, you might get sued.

Ahlf had similar advice in the public back last August when a council subcommittee first took up the topic: