Tent City 4 organizers say they are cautiously optimistic that they have found a new site to move to in late February.

Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Bellevue is considering hosting the tent city, said members of a church task force set up to explore bringing the encampment to church grounds. The homeless encampment is currently housed at St. John Mary Vianney Catholic Church, and its permit for that site expires on Feb. 20.

Don Goodwin, a resident of tent city and community liaison for the encampment, said he attended midmorning services at Aldersgate on Sunday and met with parishioners afterward.

"I'm guardedly optimistic about our chances there," Goodwin said. "I struck up a number of conversations with people there. They were curious but not hostile."

The church will hold a membership vote next Sunday, and at least 75 percent must be in favor of hosting the tent city for 90 days before the church will allow the encampment to move in, said Randy Brown, a church member serving on the church's tent-city task force.

"If we profess to be Christians, we open our arms to help people in need when asked," Brown said. "The pastor wants to put this in the hands of the congregation to decide."

The church's pastor, the Rev. David Tinney, announced to the congregation on Sunday that the church was considering hosting tent city. Tinney made headlines in 2002 when joy-riding teenagers pushed him off his bicycle as he rode along Newport Way. The fall shattered Tinney's elbow, broke several ribs and his clavicle, and punctured a lung, requiring extensive surgeries and physical rehabilitation.

Tinney told the congregation that hosting tent city was something the church would decide as a whole, Brown said.

Steve Pyeatt, co-founder of King County Communities for Fair Process, said his group has already received several e-mails from people living near the church who are concerned about tent city's proposed move. The group, which is also known as tentcitysolutions.com, opposes the concept of tent cities.

"Some people are pretty upset, and like other communities on the Eastside, their biggest issue is the process," Pyeatt said. "They don't like things going on in their area that they don't know about."

Yesterday, the Metropolitan King County Council discussed setting policy and code provisions for homeless encampments in areas it has jurisdiction over. The council may vote on the provisions as early as next week, said Rick Bautista, policy analyst for King County.

The provision would include siting the encampments near bus routes, and issuing general policies for the camps such as banning alcohol and limiting the age of residents to 18 years or older. The council is also considering changing the encampment's temporary-use permit to allow it to stay at each site for up to 90 days. Tent city's current permit is for 60 days, with the option of applying for a 30-day extension.

Aldersgate would offer a compatible site for tent city, Goodwin said.

"It's got the space, it has good transportation and access to bus routes, and there are extremely nice people at the church," he said. "We're pulling really strongly for it."

Another Bellevue church, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, is also considering hosting tent city. The church hopes to make a decision sometime in the next few months, said Kimberly Kibby, president of the church congregational council.

"We are still discerning if this is right for us," Kibby said. "We're hoping to tell which way the congregation wants to go without voting. We're looking to take as much time as we need."

Rachel Tuinstra: 206-515-5637 or rtuinstra@seattletimes.com