Conditions being urged on permit for tent city

By Young Chang
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

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At a public hearing tonight concerning St. Brendan Catholic Church's request for a special permit to host the tent city, the city staff is expected to recommend the permit include conditions that were denied earlier this month by King County Superior Court.

These include having tent-city residents provide identification for warrant and sex-offender checks and for the church to provide private security around the site. "Our goal, as with any conditional-use permit, is to protect the public health, safety and welfare," said Bill Wiselogle, community-development director for the city.

The special conditional-use permit is similar to a permit for campgrounds. Bothell officials will not approve the permit until July 6 or later because St. Brendan has requested the hearing be continued to that date.

At a King County Superior Court hearing earlier this month, a judge denied Bothell's request for a cease-and-desist order on the encampment but ruled that the city can require the church to obtain a permit to host the tent city.

Tonight's hearing will be a chance for St. Brendan and Bothell to try to settle on the terms under which the tent city can stay at the church.

If St. Brendan does not agree to the recommended conditions, the parties will return to court, Wiselogle said.

The city staff is recommending that the permit include conditions agreed to by the parties in court. These include rules that the number of residents at Tent City 4 not exceed 100 people, that tent-city organizers not have more than one encampment at a time within the city, that health and safety officials be allowed to inspect the campgrounds without prior notice and that the tent city's organizers must notify police if anyone is rejected or ejected from the camp.

The permit, however, is also expected to include conditions that were denied in court. They include:

• That St. Brendan and tent-city organizers require the encampment's residents provide identification for warrant and sex-offender checks.

• That the church provide paid, professional security at Tent City 4 and in the neighborhood. The alternative to this condition is that the church reimburse the Police Department for overtime spent patrolling the tent city.
 
• That the church provide liability insurance for at least $1 million.

A judge denied these terms on grounds that requiring identification would intrude on privacy rights and that the church should decide how it would provide security.

Additional conditions seek a time limit on the tent city's stay (May 17 to Aug. 14), that the water connection to the tent city have a back-flow prevention device, that the city's solid-waste disposal regulations be met and that additional conditions be imposed should St. Brendan host another tent city.

These recommendations can be revised before a permit is issued.

While a conditional-use permit usually takes five to six months to process, the city is speeding up the procedure for this permit. The tent city moved onto two acres of St. Brendan land May 17 and is scheduled to remain about seven more weeks.

City officials expect a packed house at the hearing, to be held at the Northshore Senior Center. Mayor Patrick Ewing, a member of St. Brendan, has recused himself from the meeting. He has said that although he feels he has been impartial so far, there is an "appearance of fairness issue."

The hearing will include a time for public testimony.

Young Chang: 206-748-5815 or ychang@seattletimes.com