Bothell tent city pulls up stakes for Woodinville

By Nick Perry
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES Susan Rodriguez is shown in May at Tent City 4 on the property of St. Brendan Catholic Church in Bothell. The homeless encampment has had a mixed reception during its three-month stay in the city.

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"I can't stop smiling, and I can't stay away from the mirror," said Bailes, who is homeless and credits the new look for instilling her with renewed self-confidence and hope. "All these miracles are happening for me."

Bailes, a resident of Tent City 4 in Bothell, received the free makeover from two Bothell dentists. The gift of a new smile remains part of the conflicted reception the tent city has gotten during a tumultuous three-month stay in Bothell.

After lawsuits and weddings, arrests and tenderness, the homeless encampment is preparing to move on to Woodinville this weekend.

The lines between opponents and supporters of the Eastside's first tent city have been blurred from the beginning. Take for instance the Kelly family, with two children at the Heritage Christian School adjacent to the encampment. Kevin Kelly has been an outspoken opponent of the tent-city location, while wife Debbie Kelly has helped organize gift drives for campers.

"Actual homeless people are not the issue," Kevin Kelly said. "I'm opposed to the way it's been done, but not opposed to the homeless."

The issue of fair process has been central from the outset. Opponents say the public wasn't sufficiently involved in the decision to bring the tent city to Bothell. Some supporters say people fearful of the homeless are hiding behind process arguments.

City spokeswoman Joyce Goedeke said that reaction from residents on the camp has been split about 50-50. Despite an ongoing legal battle with the camp's host, St. Brendan Catholic Church, the city has simply followed due process and has never taken a position for or against the camp, she said.

But St. Brendan's pastor, the Rev. Lawrence Minder, has a different view. "I think that they could have worked on a less adversarial stance," he said.

Minder said he has received negative comments from some of the 1,350 parishioner families, but that none has left the church as a result of its hosting the tent city.

The issue first erupted at a May 3 community meeting in a church gymnasium near Bothell, when hundreds of homeowners — many upset because they had received little notice — reacted angrily to King County's plans to host up to 100 homeless people at a park-and-ride site.
 
A showdown on that site was averted when St. Brendan stepped in and offered to host the tent city, which camp organizers SHARE/WHEEL eventually agreed to. Minder even moved into the camp to show his support.

But Bothell city officials felt they had been left out of the decision-making.

Even before tents were pitched May 17, the city filed a lawsuit arguing the church had violated city zoning regulations. The lawsuit and acrimonious relations between the church and the city have continued. The latest twist is expected today, when church lawyers plan to file an appeal to one of the conditions imposed by the city — although the issue will likely become moot once the camp moves.

The city is considering drafting a code amendment to deal with homeless camps in the future should the situation arise.

Several families have pulled their children from the neighboring Heritage school. Some worried about their children's safety; others were concerned over the way the school reacted.

Jennifer Albrecht, a mother, said she did not like an initial "lock-down" the school imposed nor the way it introduced hall monitors and other security measures. That reaction was a catalyst for her removing her two children, ages 8 and 5, from the school, she said.

"I myself was not frightened or scared or upset. I thought it was something to keep an eye on," she said. She even took her children to tent city to meet some residents, she added.

The Bothell police also have been keeping an eye on tent city with 24-hour monitoring.

There have been several arrests of tent-city residents, including one incident of alleged domestic violence and one for alleged possession of a drug pipe. A registered sex offender stayed at the camp several days before his history was discovered by camp organizers and he was asked to leave. About 50 people were banned from the tent city by other residents for not completing required duties or breaking the code of conduct, which bans drinking and drugs.

Opponents say such incidents show the encampment can be a refuge for criminals, while organizers say it shows their internal checks and disciplinary procedures work. SHARE/WHEEL organizers say no outside Bothell residents were involved in any incidents. But such incidents have prompted more stringent screening of homeless residents by SHARE/WHEEL.

Organizers say residents stay an average of six weeks at the tent city. There are about 70 residents now, about eight or nine of whom have been there from day one.

Sue Bailes, who has been there almost from the beginning, said she has so many new friends and has formed such a connection with Bothell that she will not be moving to Woodinville. She once lived in the back of a car at a friend's place in Bothell and will now do the same again.

"I'm a legal resident of Bothell, and I want to stay," she said. "I like Bothell."

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com