On Tuesday, July 16, the Pierce County Council approved its consent agenda containing Proposal O2024-540, an ordinance adopting interim amendments to three chapters in the Pierce County Code (PCC) to eliminate regulatory barriers for Temporary Housing Communities, or THCs, in unincorporated Pierce County.
A similar proposal came before Council as Proposal O2024-538 on Tuesday, July 9, which was an emergency ordinance adopting similar amendments proposed in ordinance 2024-540. Emergency ordinances require a two-thirds majority to move forward to the County Executive for signature, but the legislation failed to get a fifth vote on the seven-member body. The emergency ordinance cited the 2024 Point-in-Time Count, which showed a 23% year-over-year increase in homelessness, with 30% living unsheltered, as evidence of an emergency.
Councilmember Dave Morell (District 1), who voted no for O2024-538, says the ordinance was circumventing processes that are intended to protect the community.
“I don’t see the emergency. Rushing to change regulations to allow temporary homeless housing villages like tents or pallet shelters is short-sighted,” said Morell. “Probably the most concerning is that it limits the community’s ability to influence what happens when one of these villages is planned in their neighborhood. I will be bringing forward a resolution to expand the use of successful safe parking sites with religious organizations.”
Council Chair Ryan Mello is the sponsor of Proposal O2024-540, and he was also the sponsor of the emergency ordinance. He argued that the County had already awarded funding for a Temporary Housing Community in the form of a tiny home village to the Low-Income Housing Institute, or LIHI, and though the organization has purchased land, they can’t move forward with siting because of existing County regulatory barriers.
“We have the Low-Income Housing Institute which already used County American Rescue Plan Act dollars to do the very thing we’re talking about allowing to happen,” said Mello. “They went through a competitive process; they were ranked and scored by our own Human Services Department. Now they can’t come to the County and get permits to site the facility because we don’t have a regulation like this to allow them to do so. That’s just silly. It’s ironic and it’s silly.”
If approved, O2024-540 would authorize religious, non-profit, and governmental organizations to provide Temporary Housing Communities for up to 60 individuals experiencing homelessness. Any temporary housing community would have requirements to be professionally managed, with 24/7 staff and public health and safety standards maintained.
Mello indicated that “these temporary facilities are intended to provide homeless veterans, families, and individuals with a cost-effective, safe place to stay during inclement weather, and they will introduce residents to various services, including opportunities for locating permanent housing.”
The Council provided $2.5 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for a Temporary Housing Community – referred to as a stability site in the 2024-2025 Biennial Budget – outside the city of Tacoma to provide a safe, sanitary location for shelter for the unhoused. However, the Director of Human Services told the Council’s Select Committee on Homelessness last month that the County’s zoning and permitting codes were an impediment to finding a viable location for the stability site.
“The Council wants to use the ARPA funds by Dec. 31, 2024, to avoid forfeiture,” said Bryan Dominique, spokesperson for the Pierce County Council.
The ordinance will be forwarded to the Council’s Community Development and Environment Committee for a public hearing and committee recommendation. The Council is scheduled to take final action on the ordinance at its Tuesday, Aug. 20, Council meeting.
