Tent city arrives in Bellevue

As Tent City 4 residents moved into Bellevue for the first time Wednesday morning, carrying in hundreds of wood pallets and a collection of tents and sleeping bags, three fire engines came zooming into the parking lot next door.

The engines' emergency lights were on, and at least one neighbor thought this was the beginning of an uptick in crime that the homeless camp would cause. With Bellevue issuing some of the strictest requirements in the region for homeless camps, the camp's residents might have thought the city was sending in the cavalry to keep the peace.

But in fact, there was nothing to worry about. The firefighters were responding to a false fire alarm at the Jewish Day School next door and left a few minutes later. The camp residents barely batted an eye, and the city's only presence in the morning was two code-enforcement officers who did their job quietly.

After months of squabbling among neighbors, city officials, homeless advocates and members of Temple B'nai Torah, the camp's new host, Tent City 4 moved in without fanfare.

Protesters were nowhere to be found, unlike the camp's stays in some other cities. While the camp residents laid out the pallets on the grass next to the temple, to act as a floor for the tents, they said they were hoping to change perceptions.

"A lot of people around here will never know we're here," said Steve Arnold, 26, who has lived at the camp on and off for about five months.

And more people support them than many people realize, he said. "It's not right to think the whole city of Bellevue is against us."

The Bellevue City Council last summer approved homeless-camp regulations that outline everything from identification checks to the number of toilets. The city issued a permit earlier this month for Tent City 4's stay at the temple but did not grant several exemptions requested by the temple.

On Monday, the temple and Seattle Housing and Resource Effort (SHARE), which runs Tent City 4, sued the city in King County Superior Court, claiming the regulations violate the temple's religious freedoms.

The city says the camp can stay for only 60 days and, because the temple is not providing the required number of toilets and showers, host just 40 people. The temple wants to host the camp for 90 days with as many as 100 people, as occurred in the camp's stays in other Eastside cities.

The appeal is not scheduled to be heard until April and may not be resolved before the camp moves elsewhere, but the temple still wants to work out the legal issues for future tent-city hosts.

The camp had about 45 people at its previous location east of Woodinville and expects 70 or 80 during the winter.

It was unclear Wednesday how many people the camp would have in its first few days in Bellevue, but the temple does not plan to follow the 40-person limit and will likely be fined and cited by the city at some point. The citation could then be appealed to a hearing examiner and, if necessary, to Superior Court.

"We're not limiting anything," said James Mirel, the temple's senior rabbi. "We'll make sure everybody is safe and sound."

The temple's location at 15727 N.E. Fourth St., a few blocks from Crossroads Bellevue and near several bus routes, is a welcome change from the camp's perch at Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church, residents said. The residents were grateful to have a place to stay — and King County officials said they had no problems with the camp near Woodinville — but the church was more remotely located.

Carol Burnett, who lives west of the temple, said she worries that camp residents will drink alcohol, use drugs and possibly endanger kids in the neighborhood. Homeless advocates and police say that crime rarely goes up near the camps, but "there are real concerns when you have strangers moving into your neighborhood," Burnett said. "You don't know what you're going to get."

James McMillan's backyard abuts the camp, but it's "no big deal," he said. "They're just Americans without money."

Ashley Bach: 206-464-2567 or abach@seattletimes.com