Judge denies bid to bar Mercer Island tent city

A King County Superior Court judge on Monday denied a request from a group of Mercer Island residents seeking an injunction to prevent a homeless encampment moving to the Mercer Island United Methodist Church next Tuesday.

The decision almost certainly means those opposed to the move cannot legally stop Tent City 4 from opening at the site.

The motion to stop the encampment was part of a lawsuit filed July 10 on behalf of a group calling itself Mercer Island Citizens for Fair Process, whose members include several neighbors near the site of the proposed encampment.

On Monday morning Judge Michael Fox heard arguments from that group as well as from attorneys representing the city and the church before deciding the plaintiffs did not establish the facts necessary to win an injunction — essentially a temporary stop-order.

"This would be a bother, an unsightly structure. They have a fear of things that may happen," Fox said of the group's concerns. "[But] there doesn't seem to be any evidence on which those fears are based."

The plaintiff's lawsuit is set for trial in 2009. Defendants are named as Tent City 4; SHARE/WHEEL, a group sponsoring Tent City 4; the church and the city of Mercer Island.

Plaintiffs' attorney Jane Koler alleged Monday that the city acted illegally in granting a temporary land-use agreement to allow the encampment, that the camp would be a nuisance and a danger, and that the agreement — which opponents referred to as an "illegal contract" — violates due-process provisions of the Constitution.

The city, however, argued that the City Council followed proper procedure over two years of planning and adequately notified citizens before enacting the agreement, which it says provides stricter protections for residents than a regular permit would.

Those protections include automatic warrant and sex-offender checks for prospective camp residents and an agreement that the church and homeless group will accept certain liability if some things were to go wrong.

The encampment has been in several Eastside cities over the past five years and commonly stays in one location for three months. It is now in Bellevue and previously was in Kirkland.

It has stirred emotions and spurred legal battles at several of its stopping points. Karen Morris, a Bellevue resident, said she is opposed to the plan but rejects being painted as a NIMBY — or "not in my backyard" — opponent. Prior encampments have led to threatening and criminal acts in host neighborhoods, she said.

"We just want procedures and past violations to be examined," she said.

Island resident Melissa Finch came to the hearing to support the plan. "It's a good service," she said. "The majority of residents support it."

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com