The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About10-20-2021 Agenda PacketArlene Alene – District 1 LD Richert – District 2 Kevin Coker – District 1 Richard Hull, Chair – District 3 Cynthia Koan – District 1 Chris Llewellyn – District 3 Matt Sircely, Vice Chair -District 2 Michael Nilssen – District 3 Lorna Smith – District 2 Public Comment Conduct: When the Chair recognizes you to speak, please begin by stating your name and address. Please be aware that the public comment period is three minutes. 1 AGENDA JEFFERSON COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Regular Meeting – October 20, 2021 Tri Area Community Center, 10 West Valley Road, Chimacum, Washington 98325 COVID-19 NOTICE NO IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE ALLOWED (Per Jefferson County RESOLUTION No. 45-21) You can join this meeting by using the following methods: Zoom Meeting: Meeting ID: 886 7104 7253 Passcode: 894561 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88671047253?pwd=OU8vTWZGWTVRRGNRVEQ1c2k0WDVadz09 This option will allow you to join the meeting live. You will need to enter an email address. If you wish to provide public comment, click on the hand icon at the bottom of the screen to “raise your hand.”. Participation will be up to the Chair of the meeting Audio-only: For one tap mobile copy and paste: +12532158782,,88671047253#,,,,*894561# Please sign on 5 to 10 minutes before the official start of the meeting to check sound and video quality This video will be closed-captioned enabled for persons with disabilities 5:30PM Welcome Chair and Overview Presentation 1. Call to Order/Roll Call 2. Approval of Agenda 3. Approval of Minutes a. May 19th, 2021 minutes b. June 2nd, 2021 minutes c. September 1st, 2021 minutes d. October 6th, 2021 minutes 4. Planning Commission Updates 5. DCD Staff Updates (5 minutes) PUBLIC COMMENT See Public Comment Conduct, below CONSENT AGENDA 6. Consent Agenda a. Acknowledgement of Agenda Arlene Alene – District 1 LD Richert – District 2 Kevin Coker – District 1 Richard Hull, Chair – District 3 Cynthia Koan – District 1 Chris Llewellyn – District 3 Matt Sircely, Vice Chair -District 2 Michael Nilssen – District 3 Lorna Smith – District 2 Public Comment Conduct: When the Chair recognizes you to speak, please begin by stating your name and address. Please be aware that the public comment period is three minutes. 2 b. Request for Public Hearing on November 3, 2021 c. Annual Elections of Chair and Vice Chair i. Jefferson County Planning Commission By-Laws REGULAR MEETING BUSINESS 7. Temporary Homeless Housing Facilities Ordinance -- Bryan Benjamin and Joel Peterson a. Current Ordinance b. Received Comments on Current Ordinance i. HSN Comments ii. DCD Analysis of HSN Comments c. Draft Proposed UDC Text Amendments for Temporary Housing Facilities i. Timeline for Amendment Process d. Research i. Whatcom County Temporary Homeless Facilities SEPA Review ii. Kitsap County Transient Accommodations FAQ iii. Kitsap County Transient Accommodations SEPA Checklist iv. Kitsap County Transient Accommodations SEPA Nonsignificance v. Point in Time Results vi. Resolution 63-19 Five-Year Homeless Housing Plan for Jefferson County vii. Making Homelessness a Singular Occurrence: Homeless Crisis Response and Housing 5 Year Plan for Jefferson County, WA viii. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1754 State Law on Religious Organizations Hosting the Homeless ix. Martin v. City of Boise 8. Transient Rentals – Short Term Rental Permit Update – Bryan Benjamin a. Report on Findings from Initial Review b. Transient Rental Cases per Year 9. CPA Update—David Wayne Johnson Jefferson County Planning Commission MEETING MINUTES Virtual Meeting (no in-person attendance allowed per Gov. Inslee’s Proclamation 20-28) May 19, 2021 P: 360-379-4450 621 Sheridan St. F: 360-379-4451 Port Townsend WA 98368 plancomm@co.jefferson.wa.us Regular Business 5:30 pm Welcome (chair) and Overview Presentation •Call to Order/Roll Call District 1 District 2 District 3 Alen: Present Coker: Unexcused Koan: Present Sircely: Present Smith: Unexcused Richert: Present Hull: Present Nilssen: Present Llewelyn: Present •Approval of previous Meeting Minutes ▪No minutes were presented Observer Comment The Chair opened the floor to public comment and no one spoke. Regular Business •Shoreline Master Program Final Draft Release/Review Presentation……………………………David Wayne Johnson, DCD; Lisa Grueter, BERK 6:26 pm Adjournment •The next Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for 06/02/2021 at 5:30 pm virtually You can dial in using your phone by calling: +1 (646) 749-3122; Access Code: 883-126-605. These meeting minutes were approved this ____________ day of ___________________________, 2021. Richard Hull, Chair Nicole Allen, PC Secretary/DCD Office Coordinator Nicole Allen Item 3a Jefferson County Planning Commission MEETING MINUTES Virtual Meeting (no in-person attendance allowed per Gov. Inslee’s Proclamation 20-28) June 02, 2021 P: 360-379-4450 621 Sheridan St. F: 360-379-4451 Port Townsend WA 98368 plancomm@co.jefferson.wa.us Regular Business 5:30 pm Welcome (chair) and Overview Presentation •Call to Order/Roll Call District 1 District 2 District 3 Alen: Present Coker: Koan: Present Sircely: Present Smith: Present Richert: Present Hull: Present Nilssen: Present Llewelyn: Present •Approval of Agenda -Approved by Chair •Approval of previous Meeting Minutes ▪Minutes for 5/19/2021 were approved. 7 yays; 0 nays; 0 abstentions. •Planning Commissioner Updates -Cynthia Koan—First report from Housing Commission. Plan for next nine months to prepare for amending Comprehensive Plan. •Director’s Updates—David Wayne Johnson speaking for Jodi Adams. Discussion of DCD staff changes. Motions Motion # Motion 1st 2nd Yay Nay Abstain 1 I move to approve the May 19th meeting minutes Sircely Llewelyn 8 0 0 5:38 pm Observer Comment The Chair opened the floor to public comment and no one spoke. Regular Business •Discussion of Community Development’s FY2021-2022 Long-Range Work Program and Potential Action Directing Community Development to Initiate Unified Development Code Updates………………………………………………..David Wayne Johnson 6:16 pm Adjournment •The next Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for 6/16/2021 at 5:30 pm virtually You can dial in using your phone by calling: +1 (646) 749-3122; Access Code: 883-126-605. Item 3b Jefferson County Planning Commission MEETING MINUTES Virtual Meeting (no in-person attendance allowed per Gov. Inslee’s Proclamation 20-28) June 02, 2021 P: 360-379-4450 621 Sheridan St. F: 360-379-4451 Port Townsend WA 98368 plancomm@co.jefferson.wa.us These meeting minutes were approved this ____________ day of_____, 2021. ____________________________ Richard Hull, Chair Helena Smith DCD Land Use Technician Item 3b Jefferson County Planning Commission MEETING MINUTES Virtual Meeting (no in-person attendance allowed per Gov. Inslee’s Proclamation 20-28) September 1, 2021 P: 360-379-4450 621 Sheridan St. F: 360-379-4451 Port Townsend WA 98368 plancomm@co.jefferson.wa.us Regular Business 5:30 pm Welcome (chair) and Overview Presentation •Call to Order/Roll Call District 1 District 2 District 3 Alen: Present Coker: Excused Koan: Present Sircely: Present Smith: Present Richert: Present Hull: Present Nilssen: Present Llewelyn: Present •Approval of Agenda ▪Agenda for 9/01/2021 approved. 8 yays; 0 nays; 0 abstentions. Motions •No motions were filed. Observer Comment The Chair opened the floor to public comment. •Marilyn Showalter suggests geoduck aquaculture permits should go before a hearing examiner. Renewed call for Commission to meet on Zoom to improve public access. Regular Business •Planning Commissioner Updates........................................................................ Cynthia Koan •DCD Director’s Introduction and Updates ..................................................... Brent Butler •Draft SMP Kitsap Code Discussion ...................................................... ..David Wayne Johnson •Temporary Homeless Facilities Ordinance.……….Brent Butler, David Wayne Johnson 7:00 pm Adjournment •The next Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for DATE at 5:30 pm virtually You can dial in using your phone by calling: +1 (646) 749-3122; Access Code: 883- 126-605. Item 3c Jefferson County Planning Commission MEETING MINUTES Virtual Meeting (no in-person attendance allowed per Gov. Inslee’s Proclamation 20-28) September 1, 2021 P: 360-379-4450 621 Sheridan St. F: 360-379-4451 Port Townsend WA 98368 plancomm@co.jefferson.wa.us These meeting minutes were approved this ____________ day of_____, 2021. ____________________________ Richard Hull, Chair Helena Smith DCD Land Use Technician Item 3c Jefferson County Planning Commission MINUTES Virtual Meeting (no in-person attendance allowed per Gov. Inslee’s Proclamation 20-28) Phone-in information located at the bottom of this agenda October 6, 2021 P: 360-379-4450 621 Sheridan St. F: 360-379-4451 Port Townsend WA 98368 plancomm@co.jefferson.wa.us Regular Meeting 5:30pm Welcome (chair) and Overview Presentation 1.Call to Order/Roll Call District 1 District 2 District 3 Alen: Present Coker: Present Koan: Present Sircely: Present Smith: Richert: Present Hull: Present Nilssen: Present Llewelyn: 2.Approval of Agenda -Agenda approved 3.Approval of Minutes -Minutes for 09-01-2021 were approved. 7 yays; 0 nays; 0 abstentions 4.Planning Commissioner Updates – Matt Vice Chair Report on Director’s Conference 5.DCD Director/Staff Update Motions Motion # Motion 1st 2nd Yay Nay Abstain 1 I move to approve the 06-16-2021 minutes Koan Alen 5 0 2 2 I move to approve the consent agenda for 10-20-21 Sircely Alen 7 0 0 Public Comment The Chair opened the floor to public comment. Marilyn Showalter spoke. Gordon King spoke. Regular Meeting Business 6.Consent Agenda 6a. Department Grants 6b. Tiny Home Recommendation 6c. Transient Rentals – Short Term Rentals permit update 7.Discussion on Emergency Moratorium Ordinance No. 05-1004-21 8.Update on Draft SMP……………………………………………………………....David Wayne Johnson, Lisa Greuter - BERK Consulting, & Amy Summe - Shannon & Wilson Item 3d Jefferson County Planning Commission MINUTES Virtual Meeting (no in-person attendance allowed per Gov. Inslee’s Proclamation 20-28) Phone-in information located at the bottom of this agenda October 6, 2021 P: 360-379-4450 621 Sheridan St. F: 360-379-4451 Port Townsend WA 98368 plancomm@co.jefferson.wa.us 9.Planning Commission Work Plan & Retreat………….…………………………..…Joel Peterson 10.Discussion on updating and uploading meeting minutes 7:06 Adjournment Thank you for coming and participating in your government at work! Observer Comment Conduct: When the Chair recognizes you to speak, please begin by stating your name and address. Please be aware that the observer comment period is … 1)An optional time period dedicated to listening to the public, not a question and answer session. The Planning Commission is not required to provide response; 2)Offered at the Chair’s discretion when there is time; 3)Not a public hearing – comments made during this time will not be part of any hearing record; 4)May be structured with a three-minute per person time limit. Virtual Meeting Phone-in Information: You can dial in using your phone by calling: +1 (646) 749-3335; Access Code: 994-199-469 Item 3d Consent Agenda 1 of 2 JEFFERSON COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION CONSENT AGENDA REQUEST TO: Planning Commission FROM: Helena Smith, Land Use Technician Community Development DATE: October 20, 2021 RE: HEARING DATE of November 3, 2021 at 5:30PM for Public Hearing on Proposed Draft Final Ordinance Adopting Development Regulations for the Siting, Establishment, and Operations of Temporary Homeless Facilities in Unincorporated Areas of Jefferson County; STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The Planning Commission is requested to hold a hearing on the proposed final draft ordinance for temporary homeless facilities to receive public testimony on the proposal and to provide recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners. A proposed Draft Final Ordinance and a project schedule showing the primary tasks for ordinance adoption is provided. Note that because of the Leader newspaper’s legal notice scheduling requirements and the 10- day noticing requirements for a hearing, the hearing publication will appear in the Wednesday, October 20th edition of the Leader. ANALYSIS: On Monday, December 21, 2020, the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners Board adopted Ordinance 10-1221-20, accepting staff findings and recommendations on proposed amendments to the Jefferson County Code to add regulations relating to site development and operational oversight requirements for Temporary Homeless Facilities. As part of the Work Plan approved in Ordinance 10-1221-20, and pursuant to JCC 18.45.090 Amendments to GMA development regulations, a public hearing at the Planning Commission is required for adoption of the final ordinance. Currently, the Interim County regulations under Ordinance No. 10-1221-20 allow the building and operation of temporary housing facilities, including the construction of temporary “wooden tents”, only until December 21, 2021. The need for temporary housing facilities will persist long after this deadline and permanent code changes are needed. State Law RCW 36.01.290 authorizes religious organizations and/or registered 501c3 entities to host temporary homeless facilities to provide shelter for homeless individuals on properties these religious organizations own. Other jurisdictions have expanded upon this state law to allow other types of temporary homeless facilities to be developed, including on private land by private individuals who meet certain criteria. Questions for consideration by the Planning Commission when providing recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners may include: Item 6b Consent Agenda 1 of 2 1.What provisions should be included in the Ordinance to meet the identified needs of Jefferson County citizens—housed and unhoused? 2.What is the appropriate balance to be sought between a broader allowance of situations and locations for temporary homeless facilities, and protection from nuisances that may be experience by neighboring properties? 3.What should be accomplished now with this ordinance, and what issues need further research and analysis for a possible subsequent amendment to the regulations at issue? FISCAL IMPACT: Planning Commission and DCD Staff time and resources are funded by the general fund. Any subsequent permitting activity carried out under the Ordinance would be funded by the requisite permit fees. RECOMMENDATION: Hold a Public Hearing on November 3, 2021, regarding the proposed draft Final Ordinance Adopting Development Regulations for the Siting, Establishment, and Operations of Temporary Homeless Facilities in Unincorporated Areas of Jefferson County. Item 6b Consent Agenda 1 of 2 Please publish: October 27, 2021 Bill: Jefferson County Department of Community Development 621 Sheridan St. Port Townsend WA 98368 NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD ON AN ORDINANCE OF THE JEFFERSON COUNTY CODE, KNOWN AS THE UPDATED ORDINANCE – WOODEN TENT ENCAMPMENT Notice is hereby given that pursuant to RCW 36.01.290, a public hearing will be held on Wednesday, November 3, 2021 at 5:30PM, via Zoom, for the purpose of taking written/oral testimony regarding an Ordinance adding language to allow the siting, establishment and operations for homeless facilities in the Jefferson County Code, known as the Updated Wooden Tent Encampment Ordinance. NOTE: No In-Person Attendance Allowed (Per May 29, 2020 Jefferson County Public Health Officer Order). To view this meeting live go to www.co.jefferson.wa.us Follow the links under "Quick Links: Videos of Meetings-Streaming Live." In addition, written testimony is also invited beginning on October 20, 2021 and ending at the end of the Public Hearing, unless extended by the Planning Commission. Written public testimony may be submitted by Email to: PCommission Desk@co.jefferson.wa.us; or by Mail to: Jefferson County DCD; 621 Sheridan St., Port Townsend, WA 98368. The public can view the complete text of the proposed ordinances on-line at TBD Signed this XX day of October OR November, 2021 Commented [HS1]: Will add website link when text is finalized and published Item 6b JEFFERSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 621 Sheridan Street | Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-379-4450 | email: dcd@co.jefferson.wa.us http://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/260/CommunityDevelopment October 13, 2021 TO: Jefferson County Planning Commission FROM: Joel Peterson, Associate Planner RE: Annual Elections of Chair and Vice Chair SUBJECT In the October 6 Planning Commission meeting, it was observed that the annual election of chair and vice chair that would normally have been held the first week of September did not occur. The election process may be initiated in the October 20, 2021 Planning Commission meeting. PROCESS Planning Commission Bylaws as Amended August 5, 2020: Officers of the Planning Commission shall be chair and vice chair. Candidates for chair and vice chair shall be nominated from the floor annually at the first regular meeting in September from among its members. The election shall take place at the next scheduled meeting unless 2/3 of active members of the Planning Commission vote at the nominating meeting to hold the election at the same meeting. Nominations from the floor can also take place at the second/election meeting (if held). (Bylaws Section 4—Officers). The annual election of officers is an administrative matter and is decided by a majority vote of the active members present. (Bylaws Section 12—Voting). Under the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 42.30 RCW the Planning Commission can take no action by secret ballot. RCW 41.30.060. (Bylaws Section 11—Quorum). RECOMMENDATION Community Development recommends that the Planning Commission initiate the annual election of officers in the October 20, 2021 meeting at the beginning of Regular Business. Item 6c Page 1 Amended August 5, 2020 BY-LAWS Of the Jefferson County Planning Commission SECTION 1 - AUTHORITY: These by-laws are promulgated in compliance with the Washington Planning Enabling Act, Chapter 36.70 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), 18.05.050 of the Jefferson County Code (JCC) and Jefferson County Resolution No. 54-97, which resolution recognized the Jefferson County Planning Department and reconstituted a new Planning Commission. SECTION 2 - MEMBERSHIP: The Planning Commission shall be comprised of nine members from Jefferson County. Members of the Planning Commission shall be appointed by the Board of County Commissioners (Board) for a term of four years, which shall commence on March 18th. Each commissioner district shall be equally represented on the Planning Commission. The chair of the Board shall appoint members to the Planning Commission with approval of a majority of the Board’s members. An appointment of a member to the Planning Commission shall be made from a list of applicants who shall submit a “Letter of Intent” to the Board stating their qualifications for serving on the Planning Commission. Vacancy(ies) on the Planning Commission shall be advertised at least twice in a legal newspaper of record having county-wide circulation. The advertisement shall encourage individuals residing in the specific commissioner district in which the vacancy occurs to apply. Vacancies resulting from the expiration of terms of office shall be filled by appointments for a term of four (4) years. Vacancies occurring for any reason other than the expiration of a term of office shall be by appointment for the unexpired term of the office being filled. If a Planning Commission member changes residence during a term that results in the member moving them into a different commissioner district, that member shall serve the remainder of their term. If through redistricting, a member is moved into a different commissioner district, they shall remain in office until their term expires. The vacant position in the appropriate district shall then be filled after the term expires. The chair of the Board may remove a member of the Planning Commission after a public hearing by the Board. All Board members must approve the removal. A member Item 6c i Page 2 Amended August 5, 2020 of the Planning Commission may be removed for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance. The chair of the Planning Commission may grant an excused absence or a leave of absence. “Excused absence” is defined as an absence from one regular meeting. “Leave of absence” is defined as an absence from two or more regular meetings. Two unexcused absences in a row from regularly scheduled meetings shall be grounds for the Planning Commission to recommend to the Board that the individual member be removed from the Planning Commission. A member granted a leave of absence by the chair of the Planning Commission is not an active member. Only active members shall constitute the current membership of the Planning Commission. SECTION 3 - MEMBER’S RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES: The duties and responsibilities of the Planning Commission shall be as follows: 1.The Planning Commission shall not make recommendations to the Board that are inconsistent with state or local law as reflected in the Washington Constitution, the RCWs, the Washington Administrative Code (WAC), the JCC or any other Jefferson County ordinances or resolutions. 2.The Planning Commission shall not make recommendations that are inconsistent with WAC 365-196-725, which states that comprehensive plans and development regulations adopted under the Growth Management Act (Chapter 36.70A RCW) are subject to the supremacy principle of Article VI, United States Constitution and of Article XI, Section 11, Washington state Constitution. 3.Because Jefferson County has created both a planning commission and planning department (Department of Community Development – “DCD”), the Planning Commission will, in accordance with RCW 36.70.040, assist the DCD in carrying out its duties, as outlined below. 4.The Planning Commission shall review the Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan and other planning documents to determine if the county’s plans, goals, policies, land use ordinances and regulations are promoting orderly and coordinated development within Jefferson County. The Planning Commission Item 6c i Page 3 Amended August 5, 2020 shall make recommendations in cooperation with DCD concerning this to the Board. 5.The Planning Commission shall review development regulations of Jefferson County and make recommendations in cooperation with DCD regarding them to the Board. 6.The Planning Commission shall recommend priorities for and review studies of geographic subareas in Jefferson County in cooperation with DCD. 7.All other county boards, committees, and commissions shall coordinate with the Planning Commission their planning activities, as they relate to land use or the Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan. 8.The Planning Commission may hold public hearings in the exercise of its duties and responsibilities as it deems necessary. 9.The Planning Commission shall have such other duties and powers as heretofore have been or hereafter may be conferred upon the commission by Jefferson County ordinances or as directed by resolution of the Board, the performance of such duties and exercise of such authority to be subject to the limitations expressed in such enactments. 10. The Planning Commission shall report in all findings referred to it within the time line given in County Resolution #54-97, which is forty (40) days, or within such additional time as may be specified by the Board. The report of the Planning Commission shall be advisory only. SECTION 4 - OFFICERS: Officers of the Planning Commission shall be chair and vice chair. Candidates for chair and vice chair shall be nominated from the floor annually at the first regular meeting in September from among its members. The election shall take place at the next scheduled meeting unless 2/3 of active members of the Planning Commission vote at the nominating meeting to hold the election at the same meeting. Nominations from the floor can also take place at the second/election meeting (if held). In the absence of both the chair and vice chair at a meeting or workshop, members present shall elect a temporary chair to perform those duties described by Section 5 of these by‐laws. Item 6c i Page 4 Amended August 5, 2020 The member elected temporary chair shall only serve as temporary chair for that meeting or workshop. SECTION 5 - OFFICERS’ RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES: The chair of the Planning Commission shall: (1) preside at all meetings and execute the agenda of such meetings in an orderly manner; and, (2) officially represent the Planning Commission before organizations or groups. The vice chair shall officiate as chair in the chair’s absence. SECTION 6 – COMMITTEES OF LESS THAN A QUORUM OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION When appropriate and necessary, the chair shall establish committees and appoint members to them. If made up of less than a quorum of the Planning Commission, Committees are not governed by the Open Public Meetings Act (Chapter 42.30 RCW) and therefore do not require public notice of committee meetings or an audio record of such Committee meeting. SECTION 7 - SECRETARY: The secretary shall be provided by the Planning Department. The secretary’s duties shall be to record and document the proceedings of all Planning Commission meetings. No member of the Planning Commission shall be appointed secretary. SECTION 8 – STAFF AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The Jefferson County Planning Department shall provide staff to the Planning Commission. The designated county planning staff shall: (1) prepare for future meetings with the chair of the Planning Commission, (2) distribute agendas for meetings and workshops, (3) prepare the Planning Commission budget, (4) account for and process expenditures, (5) notify members by e-mail of workshops, and, (6) where sufficient staff resources exist, act in any other manner deemed necessary by the Planning Commission, such as providing technical advice or developing plans, studies, or reports. SECTION 9 - MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS: Since the Board is required to consider its recommendations, the Open Public Meetings Act (Chapter 42.30 RCW) applies to any scheduled Planning Commission meeting. The Planning Commission shall follow the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act. Any action taken in violation of the Open Public Meetings Act subjects all persons who participate in the meeting to liability under the Open Public Meetings Act. Under the Open Public Meetings Act, “action” is defined broadly to include “the transaction of Item 6c i Page 5 Amended August 5, 2020 the official business … including but not limited to receipt of public testimony, deliberations, discussions, considerations, reviews, evaluations, and final actions.” RCW 42.30.020(3). Notification to the public of all Planning Commission meetings shall be made through advertising in a legal newspaper of record with county-wide circulation. Planning Commission meetings requiring public notification include but are not limited to: (1) regular meetings, (2) special meetings, (3) public hearings, (4) workshops, and (5) committee meetings. Notification will appear at least ten (10) days prior to a public hearing. Workshops can be held on matters of discussion by approval of the Planning Commission with notice to the public. No official action shall be taken at any meetings or workshops that involve a quorum of the Planning Commission. If a meeting needs to be canceled due to a lack of a quorum, a notice shall be posted on the door of the meeting place. The Open Public Meetings Act requires that meetings of an agency be open to the public and that no conditions precedent to attendance by the public, except for orderly conduct, may be imposed. Therefore, the Planning Commission shall not ban the use of recording devices or video cameras from the open portion of a meeting held pursuant to the Open Public Meetings Act. The Planning Commission may impose restrictions on the use of recording devices, but only to the extent necessary to preserve the orderly conduct of the meeting. E-mails between the members addressing matters before the Planning Commission could be construed to be a virtual public meeting, particularly if there was any response to such communication. Therefore, all e-mails related to matters before the Planning Commission must be forwarded to the planning desk at pcommissiondesk@co.jefferson.wa.us for appropriate distribution. SECTION 10 - CONDUCT: Except where in conflict with these By-laws, Robert’s Rules for Small Boards, Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, 11th edition, pp. 487-488 (Robert’s Rules for Small Boards) s shall guide the conduct of all public meetings and hearings of the Planning Commission. SECTION 11 – QUORUM: Under the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 42.30 RCW the Planning Commission can take no action by secret ballot. RCW 41.30.060. A majority of the Planning Commission membership, being not fewer than (5) five, shall constitute a quorum for the consideration of action, with a majority vote of those present being sufficient to take action. Item 6c i Page 6 Amended August 5, 2020 Comprehensive Plan Changes, Zoning Changes, By-Law Changes, Unified Development Code (UDC) changes and other site-specific approvals shall be by the affirmative vote of no fewer than (5) five members - a majority of the total membership. SECTION 12 - VOTING: All members are entitled to one vote. A vote shall be either (1) yeah, (2) nay, or (3) abstain. An abstention per Robert’s Rules for Small Boards is not counted as a nay vote. If a member recuses themselves, they shall leave the room and not take part in any of the discussion pertaining to the matter before the Planning Commission. All matters acted on shall be recorded as written motions. The chair is a Planning Commission member and is therefore allowed one vote on all issues. Some matters before the Planning Commission (e.g., election of officers, approval of the Planning Commission’s minutes, setting dates and times for special meetings, etc.) are administrative and not quasi-judicial in nature. Such administrative matters shall be decided by a majority vote of the active members present. SECTION 13 - BUDGET: A preliminary budget for the Planning Commission shall be prepared by the DCD. An itemized estimate of expenditures for the ensuing calendar year shall be included in the preliminary budget. The preliminary budget shall be reviewed by members of the Planning Commission at the earliest possible time so the members may express any shortcomings in the budget and make a recommendation direct to the Board to address the Planning Commission’s needs. The budget shall become final in December without further review by the Planning Commission, unless there is a substantial change. The budget and any amendments thereof shall be prepared in accordance with requirements established by the Jefferson County Auditor. SECTION 14 - CLAIMS FOR EXPENDITURES: All claims for expenditures for operating the Planning Commission shall be made by DCD in accordance with requirements established by the Jefferson County Auditor. All claims shall be reviewed by the Director of the DCD and approved by the Board. Any requests to claim mileage, expenses for attending a conference, seminar, or similar session shall be approved by the Board. Item 6c i Page 7 Amended August 5, 2020 SECTION 15 - REPORTS: Reports of official Planning Commission reviews or official recommendations shall include only that which has been approved by a majority vote of the members present as expressed in Section 11. Drafts of reports of official Planning Commission reviews or official recommendations shall be reviewed, corrected as necessary, and adopted by a majority vote of the Planning Commission active members present. Under exceptional circumstances, where time is of the essence, this rule may be suspended by a two-thirds majority of the Planning Commissioner members in attendance. Should this rule be suspended, the drafters of the subject report shall make a good faith effort to have the subject draft report reviewed by as many Planning Commissioner Members as feasible. Under such circumstances, such reports will be sent to the Planning Commissioner members immediately upon completion. Further, this means of adoption shall be noted on the facing page of such document. A Planning Commission minority report may be submitted with a majority report. A minority report shall: (1) contain the concurrent opinion of two or more Planning Commission members who participated in the discussion and voted in the negative; (2) be signed by such members; (3) not contain diverging opinions; and, (4) contain an issue relating directly to the majority report with which it is submitted. One or more business days before any minority report is submitted to the Board, a copy of such minority report shall be: (1) submitted to the Planning Commission secretary, and, (2) made reasonably available to all Planning Commission members. The timing of minority reports shall follow the same timeline as the Planning Commission majority report and be submitted in the same Board packet. Such minority report shall be disseminated to the entire Planning Commission on the day the minority and majority reports are submitted to the Board packets. SECTION 16 - AMENDMENTS: Amendment to these By-Laws may be made at any regular meeting of the Planning Commission, provided the following conditions have been met: a.The proposed change has been an item of business at the previous meeting; b.The proposed change has been e-mailed to the membership ten (10) days prior to the meeting considering the proposed change; c.The proposed change is not in conflict with the statutes which authorize the Planning Commission; and, Item 6c i Page 8 Amended August 5, 2020 d.The proposed change receives an affirmative vote of no fewer than (5) five members - a majority of the total membership. SECTION 17 - REPEALER: All previous by-laws of the Jefferson County Planning Commission are hereby repealed and replaced. SECTION 18 - ADOPTION: These by-laws, as amended, are hereby adopted this 5th day of August, 2020. Jefferson County Planning Commission ________________________________ Michael Nilssen, Chair ________________________________ Nichole Allen, Secretary Original adoption date 7/23/97; Amended Section 17 on 11/17/99 and 12/1/99; Amended Section 4 on 6/21/00; Amended Section 13 on 7/19/00; Amended Sections 12 & 13 on 5/16/01; Entire revision on 8/6/03; Amended Section 4 on 4/18/07; Amended Section 14 on 1/16/08; Amended Sections 3, 9, 10, 11, 14 & 16 on 9/3/08; Amended Sections 4 and 8 on 6/1/11; Amended Section 8 on 2/6/13. Amended Section 4 on August 5, 2020, with edits throughout by Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office September 1, 2020 (line-in/line-out preserved). Item 6c i l)C1) rt ,�1,X)/;)oPl-\ COUNTY OF JEFFERSON STATE OF WASHINGTON An Ordinance Adopting Interim Zoning Regulations for the Siting, Establishment, and Operation of Temporary Homeless Facilities in Unincorporated Areas of Jefferson County } } } ORDINANCE NO.10-1221-20 } } WHEREAS, homelessness continues to be a local, regional and national challenge due to many social and economic factors; and WHEREAS, tent and tiny house encampments have become a temporary mechanism for providing shelter for homeless individuals and families; and WHEREAS, under RCW 36.01.290 the Washington State Legislature has authorized religious organizations to host temporary encampments to provide shelter for homeless individuals on property that these religious organizations own or control; and WHEREAS, the Jefferson County Code does not currently have permanent provisions addressing the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities; and WHEREAS, the Washington State Department of Health has confirmed localized personto-person spread of COVID-19 in Washington State, significantly increasing the risk of exposure and infection to the general public, and creating an extreme public health risk that may spread quickly; and WHEREAS, the Jefferson County Public Health Department has confirmed localized person-to-person spread of COVID-19 in Jefferson County-and this localized person-to-person spread of COVID-19 in Jefferson County is increasing; and WHEREAS, based on the COVID-19 threat profile, providing shelter to the homeless population would help to prevent the spread of COVID-19; and WHEREAS, because of the COVID-19 emergency adoption of interim temporary homeless facilities regulations and processing requirements to preserve and protect public health and safety and prevent danger to public or private property would help to prevent the spread of COVID-19; and WHEREAS, interim zoning controls enacted under RCW 36.70A.390 or RCW 36.70.790 are methods by which the County may preserve the status quo so that new plans and regulations will not be rendered moot by intervening development; and WHEREAS, RCW 36.70A.390 or RCW 36.70.790 both authorize the enactment of an interim zoning map, interim zoning ordinance, or interim official control without holding a public hearing as long as a public hearing is held within at least sixty days of enactment; and Page l of 11 Item 7a WHEREAS, RCW 36.70A.390 provides that, "A county or city governing body that adopts a moratorium, interim zoning map, interim zoning ordinance, or interim official control without holding a public hearing on the proposed moratorium, interim zoning map, interim zoning ordinance, or interim official control, shall hold a public hearing on the adopted moratorium, interim zoning map, interim zoning ordinance, or interim official control within at least sixty days of its adoption, whether or not the governing body received a recommendation on the matter from the planning commission or department If the governing body does not adopt findings offact justifying its action before this hearing, then the governing body shall do so immediately after this public hearing. A moratorium, interim zoning map, interim zoning ordinance, or interim official control adopted under this section may be effective for not longer than six months, but may be effective for up to one year if a work plan is developed for related studies providing for such a longer period. A moratorium, interim zoning map, interim zoning ordinance, or interim official control may be renewed for one or more six-month periods ifa subsequent public hearing is held andfindings offact are made prior to each renewal," and WHEREAS, in conformity with the responsibilities of Jefferson County to meet public health, safety and welfare requirements and provide zoning and land use regulations pursuant to state law, and the County's authority to regulate land use activity within its corporate limits, the County intends to develop appropriate public health, safety and welfare requirements and zoning and land use regulations for the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities; and WHEREAS, the County Board ofCommissioners has determined it needs additional time to conduct appropriate research to analyze the effects of the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities; and WHEREAS, interim zoning will provide the County with additional time to review and amend its public health, safety and welfare requirements and zoning and land use regulations related to the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities; and WHEREAS, interim zoning will also allow qualifying religious organizations and registered not -for -profit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) organizations the opportunity to establish and operate temporary homeless facilities; and WHEREAS, the County Board of Commissioners concludes that the County does have the authority to establish an interim zoning ordinance and that the County must adopt interim zoning concerning the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities to act as a stop- gap measure: (1) to provide the County with an opportunity to study the issues concerning the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities and prepare appropriate revisions to the County's codes and regulations; (2) to protect the health, safety, and welfare ofthe citizens of Jefferson County by avoiding and ameliorating negative impacts and unintended consequences of establishing and operating temporary homeless facilities and, (3) to avoid applicants possibly establishing vested rights contrary to and inconsistent with any revisions the County may make to its rules and regulations as a result ofthe County's study of this matter; and WHEREAS, the County Board of Commissioners adopts the foregoing as its findings of facts justifying the adoption of this Ordinance; and Page 2 of 1 I Item 7a NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners that: Section 1. Findings of Fact. The County Board of Commissioners adopts the above "WHEREAS" recitals as findings of fact in support of its action as required by RCW 36.70A.390 or RCW 36.70.790. Section 2. Regulations established. Regulations concerning the establishment and processing of applications for temporary homeless facilities in unincorporated Jefferson County are hereby established pursuant to RCW 36.70A.390, RCW 36.70.790, and RCW 38.52.070(2). Establishing such facilities contrary to the provisions of this ordinance is prohibited. Type II Administrative Use approvals shall be required in accordance with Jefferson County Code (JCC) 18.40.270 for temporary homeless facilities in the County. Applications for administrative use approvals, land use approvals, or any other permit or approval, in any way associated with temporary homeless facilities, shall not be processed, issued, granted, or approved unless in compliance with this ordinance. If a temporary homeless facility is established in violation of this ordinance or if, after an administrative use permit is issued for the same, the director of the planning and development services department determines that the permit holder has violated this ordinance or any condition of the permit, the temporary homeless facility, its sponsor and managing agency shall be subject to code enforcement and all activities associated with the temporary homeless facility shall cease, and the site shall be vacated and restored to its pre -encampment conditions. Section 3. Definitions. The following definitions apply to temporary homeless facilities: a) "Temporary homeless facility" means a facility providing temporary housing accommodations that includes a sponsor and managing agency, the primary purpose of which is to provide temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness in general or for specific populations of the homeless. Temporary homeless facilities include temporary tent encampments and temporary tiny house encampments. b) "Temporary tent encampment" means a short-term living facility for a group of homeless people that is composed of tents or other temporary structures, as approved by the director, on a site provided or arranged for by a sponsor with services provided by a sponsor and supervised by a managing agency. c) "Temporary tiny house encampment" means a temporary homeless facility for a group of people living in purpose-built tiny houses for people experiencing homelessness, as approved by the director, on a site provided or arranged for by a sponsor with services provided by a sponsor and supervised by a managing agency. Temporary tiny houses for the homeless are typically less than 200 square feet and easily constructed and moved to various locations. For the purposes of this ordinance, temporary tiny homes are not dwelling units and, as such, are not required to meet building codes. d) "Managing agency" means an organization identified as the manager of a temporary homeless facility that has the capacity to organize and manage a temporary homeless facility. Managing Page 3 of 1 1 Item 7a agencies are limited to religious organizations and non-profit agencies. A "managing agency" may be the same entity as the sponsor. e) "Sponsor" means an organization that: i) invites a temporary homeless facility to reside on land they own or lease; and ii) is a State of Washington registered not -for -profit corporation and federally recognized tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization; or 3. is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as exempt from federal income taxes as a religious organization, which expresses its religious mission, in part, by organizing living accommodations for the homeless. f) "Director" means the Community Development Department Director. Section 4. Requirements. The following requirements shall apply to all temporary homeless facilities approved under this ordinance, unless modified by the director through approval of a Type II administrative use permit. a) The encampment shall be located a minimum of 20 feet from the property line of abutting properties containing commercial, industrial, and multifamily residential uses. The encampment shall be located a minimum of 40 feet from the property line of abutting properties containing single-family residential or public recreational uses, unless the director finds that a reduced buffer width will provide adequate separation between the encampment and adjoining uses, due to changes in elevation, intervening buildings or other physical characteristics of the site of the encampment. b) No temporary homeless facility shall be located within a critical area or its buffer as defined by Chapter 18.22 JCC. c) A temporary homeless facility shall comply with the applicable development standards of Title 18 JCC, except that temporary homeless facilities shall not be considered structures for the purposes of calculating parcel's total lot coverage. d) A six -foot -tall fence is required around the perimeter of the encampment to -limit access -to the site for safety and security reasons; provided, that the fencing does not create a sight obstruction at the street or street intersections or curbs as determined by the county engineer, unless the director determines that there is sufficient vegetation, topographic variation, or other site conditions such that fencing would not be needed. e) Exterior lighting must be directed downward and glare contained within the temporary encampment. f) The maximum number of residents at a temporary encampment site shall be determined by the director taking into consideration site conditions, but in no case shall the number be greater than fifty (50) people. g) On -site parking of the sponsor shall not be displaced unless sufficient required off- street parking Page 4 of 1 l Item 7a remains available for the host's use to compensate for the loss ofon- site parking or unless a shared parking agreement is executed with adjacent properties. h) A transportation plan, including provisions for transit, and pedestrian and bicycle ingress and egress to the encampment, shall be submitted for review and approval. i) No children under the age of 18 are allowed to stay overnight in the temporary encampment, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. If a child under the age of 18 without a parent or guardian present attempts to stay at the encampment, the sponsor and the managing agency shall immediately contact Child Protective Services and shall actively endeavor to find alternative shelter for the child. j) The sponsor or managing agency shall provide and enforce a written code of conduct, which not only provides for the health, safety and welfare of the temporary encampment residents, but also mitigates impacts to neighbors and the community. A copy of the code of conduct shall be submitted to the County at the time of application for the administrative use permit. Said code shall be incorporated into the conditions of approval. The managing agency shall post the County approved written code of conduct on site. k) An operations plan must be provided that addresses site management, site maintenance, and provision of human and social services. Individuals or organizations shall have either a demonstrated experience providing similar services to homeless residents; and/or certification or academic credentials in an applicable human service field; and/or applicable experience in a related program with a homeless population. Should an individual or organization not have any of the preceding qualifications, additional prescriptive measures may be required to minimize risk to both residents of the temporary homeless facility and the community in general. 1) The sponsor and the managing agency shall ensure compliance with Washington State laws and regulations and the Jefferson County Health Department's regulations concerning, but not limited to, drinking water connections, solid waste disposal, and human waste. The sponsor and the managing agency shall permit inspections by local agencies and/or departments to ensure such compliance and shall implement all directives resulting therefrom within the specified time period. m)The sponsor and managing agency shall assure all applicable public health regulations, including but not limited to the following, will be met for: i) Potable water, which shall be available at all times at the site; ii) Sanitary portable toilets, which shall be set back from all property lines as determined by the director; iii) Hand -washing stations by the toilets and food preparation areas; iv) Food preparation or service tents; and v) Refuse receptacles. Page 5 of 11 Item 7a n) Public health regulations (including those in Chapter 246-215 WAC and Title 8 JCC) shall be followed to specifically include food handling and storage( including proper temperature control), and homeless encampment residents involved in food donations and storages shall be made aware of these Jefferson County Health Department requirements. o) The sponsor and the managing agency shall designate points of contact and provide contact information (24-hour accessible phone contact) to the chief criminal deputy of the Jefferson County Sheriff or his/her designee. At least one designated point of contact shall be on duty at all times. The names of the on duty points of contact shall be posted on -site daily and their contact information shall be provided to the Jefferson County Sheriff s Office as described above. p) Facilities for dealing with trash shall be provided on -site throughout the encampment. A regular trash patrol in the immediate vicinity of the temporary encampment site shall be provided. q) The sponsor and the managing agency shall take all reasonable and legal steps to obtain verifiable identification information, to include full name and date of birth, from current and prospective encampment residents and use the identification to obtain sex offender and warrant checks from appropriate agencies. The sponsor and the managing agency shall keep a current log ofnames and dates of all people who stay overnight in the encampment. This log shall be available upon request to law enforcement agencies and prospective encampment residents shall be so advised by the sponsor and managing agency. r) Persons who have active warrants, or who are required to register as sex offenders, are prohibited from the encampment's location. s) The sponsor and the managing agency shall immediately contact the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office if someone is rejected or ejected from the encampment when the reason for rejection or ejection is an active warrant or a match on a sex offender check, or if, in the opinion of the on - duty point of contact or on -duty security staff, the rejected/ejected person is a potential threat to the community. t) Tents over 300 square feet in size and canopies in excess of 400 square feet shall utilize flame retardant materials. u) The sponsor, the managing agency and temporary encampment residents shall cooperate with other providers of shelters and services for homeless persons within the County and shall make inquiry with these providers regarding the availability of existing resources. v) The sponsor and/or managing agency shall provide before -encampment photos of the host site with the application. Upon vacation of the temporary encampment, all temporary structures and debris shall be removed from the host site within one calendar week. w) Upon cessation of the temporary encampment, the site shall be restored, as near as possible, to its original condition. Where deemed necessary by the director, the sponsor and/or managing agency shall re -plant areas in which vegetation had been removed or destroyed. Page 6 of 11 Item 7a Section 5. Frequency and duration -of temporary homeless facilities. a) No more than a maximum of 50 people may be housed in temporary homeless facilities encampments) located in the unincorporated County at any time. Multiple encampment locations may be permitted provided that the aggregate total ofpeople in all temporary tent and/or tiny house encampments shall not exceed 50. b) The director shall not grant a permit for the same site more than once in any calendar year; provided that director is not authorized to issue a permit for the same site sooner than 180 days from the date the site is vacated as provided for in Section 4 of this ordinance. c) Temporary tent encampments may be approved for a period not to exceed 180 days. The director may grant one 180-day extension, provided all conditions have been complied with and circumstances associated with the use have not changed. This extension shall be subject to a Type II review process and may be appealed to the hearing examiner as provided in JCC 18.40.270. The permit shall specify a date by which the use shall be terminated and the site vacated and restored to its pre -encampment condition. d) Temporary tiny house encampments may be approved for a period of between six months and up to one year, provided the sponsor and managing agency comply with all permit conditions. The director may grant one or more extension(s) not to exceed one additional year, provided enabling legislation allows so. Extensions are subject to a Type II review process in accordance with JCC 18.40.270 and may be appealed to the hearing examiner as provided in JCC 18.40.270. The permit shall specify a date by which the use shall be terminated and the site vacated and restored to its pre -encampment condition. Section 6. Permit required. Establishment of a temporary homeless facility shall require approval of an administrative use permit, as described in this ordinance, and compliance with all other applicable County regulations. The director shall have authority to grant, grant with conditions or deny an application for an administrative use permit under this ordinance. Section 7. Application. Application for a Type II administrative use permit shall be made on forms provided by the County, and shall be accompanied by the following information; provided, that the director may waive any of these items, upon request by the applicant and finding that the item is not necessary to analyze the application. An application to establish a temporary homeless facility shall be signed by both the sponsor and the managing agency ("applicant") and contain the following: a) A site plan of the property, drawn to scale, showing existing natural features, existing and proposed grades, existing and proposed utility improvements, existing rights -of -way and improvements, and existing and proposed structures, tents and other improvements (including stormwater and erosion control, landscaping and fencing at the perimeter of the proposed encampment and the property and off-street parking); b) A vicinity map, showing the location of the site in relation to nearby streets and properties; Page 7 of 1 1 Item 7a c) A written summary of the proposal, responding to the standards and requirements of this ordinance; d) The written code of conduct, operations plan and a transportation plan as required by this ordinance; e) Statement of actions that the applicant will take to obtain verifiable identification from all encampment residents and to use the identification to obtain sex offender and warrant checks from appropriate agencies; f) Project statistics, including site area, building coverage, number and location of tents and temporary structures, expected and maximum number of residents, and duration of the encampment; g) Address and parcel number of the subject property; h) Photographs of the site; i) A list of other permits that are or may be required for development of the property (issued by the County or by other government agencies), insofar as they are known to the applicant; 0) Permit fees for temporary homeless facilities shall be in accordance with Title 118 JCC; and, k) A list of any requirement under this ordinance for which the applicant is asking to modify. Section 8. Permit Procedures. a) Notice. All temporary homeless facility applications shall be reviewed under a Type II process under JCC 18.40.270, except that the final decision must be rendered within 60 days of a determination of completeness. Additionally, the notice of application shall contain proposed duration and operation of the temporary homeless facility, number of residents for the encampment, and contain a County website link to the proposed written code of conduct, operations plan and transportation plan for the facility. b) Decision and Notice of Decision. Final action on permit applications made under this section shall be in accordance with Title 18 JCC. Before any such permit may be granted, the applicant shall demonstrate and the director shall find consistency with Jefferson County Code and the following: i) The proposed use meets the requirements of this ordinance; and, ii) Measures, including the requirements herein and as identified by the director, have been taken to minimize the possible adverse impacts which the proposed encampment may have on the area in which it is located. It is acknowledged that not all impacts can be eliminated, however the risk of significant impacts can be reduced to a temporary and acceptable level as the duration of the encampment will be limited. A notice of the decision shall be provided in accordance with Title 18 JCC. Page 8 of 1 1 Item 7a c) Conditions. Because each temporary encampment has unique characteristics, including, but not limited to, size, duration, uses, number of occupants and composition, the director shall have the authority to impose conditions on the approval of an administrative use permit to ensure that the proposal meets the criteria for approval listed above. Conditions, if imposed, must be intended to protect public health, life and safety and minimize nuisance -generating features such as noise, waste, air quality, unsightliness, traffic, physical hazards and other similar impacts that the temporary encampment may have on the area in which it is located. In cases where the application for an administrative use permit does not meet the provisions of this ordinance (except when allowed under subsection (d) ofthis section) or adequate mitigation may not be feasible or possible, the director shall deny the application. d) Modification of Requirements. The director may approve an administrative use permit for a temporary encampment that relaxes one or more of the standards in this ordinance only when, in addition to satisfying the decision criteria stated above, the applicant submits a description of the standard to be modified and demonstrates how the modification would result in a safe encampment with minimal negative impacts to the host community under the specific circumstances of the application. In considering whether the modification should be granted, the director shall first consider the effects on the health and safety of encampment residents and the neighboring communities. Modifications shall not be granted if their adverse impacts on encampment residents and/or neighboring communities will be greater than those without modification. The burden of proof shall be on the applicant. Section 9. Appeal. The director's decision may be appealed to the hearing examiner as provided in Title 18 JCC. Section 10. Revocation. The director shall also have the authority to revoke an approved administrative use permit, pursuant to Title 18 JCC at any time a sponsor or managing agency has failed to comply with the applicable provisions of this ordinance or permit. Section 11. Purpose. The purpose of this interim ordinance is to allow and establish a review process for the location, siting, and operation of temporary homeless facilities within the unincorporated County. While the interim ordinance is in effect, the County will study the land use and other impacts associated_ with temporary homeless_ facilities, draft final zoning and _ regulations to address such uses, hold public hearings on such draft regulations, and adopt such regulations. Section 12. Duration of Interim Ordinance. Unless subsequently extended by the County Board of Commissioners pursuant to state law, this interim Ordinance shall remain for up to one year since a work plan is adopted in Section 13 for related studies providing for a longer period. Section 13. Work Plan. During the interim ordinance period, County staff will study the issues concerning the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities. Staff will prepare a draft ordinance with appropriate revisions to the County's land use regulations on or before 180 days from the date of adoption; perform SEPA review of the draft ordinance on or before 240 days from the date of adoption, and conduct the public review process, including a public hearing before the County's Planning Commission on or before 270 days from the date of adoption and a public Page 9 of 1 1 Item 7a hearing before County Board of Commissioners on or before 300 days from the date of adoption, in accordance with the public participation process required for amendments to the County's development regulations. Section 14. Conflict with other Jefferson County Code Provisions. If the provisions of this Ordinance are found to be inconsistent with other provisions of the Jefferson County Code, this Ordinance shall control. Section 15. Severability. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance should be held to be unconstitutional or unlawful by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of any other sentence, clause or phrase in this Ordinance. Section 16. Effective Date. This ordinance is effective immediately upon adoption. Section 17. Public Hearing. Pursuant to state law, a public hearing regarding this must be held within at least sixty days of its adoption, namely on or before February _, 2021. SIGNATURES FOLLOW ON NEXT PAGE) Page 10 of 1 1 Item 7a ADOPTED this '%-' day of ? r 2020, at : 0 (P_.m. 61te t 1< !('_y4t,K5r- t z/ 7/1c 2C3 Carolyn erallaway, Date Deputy Clerk of the Board ON COUNTY ISSIONERS David 9uTlivan, Member r/ Kate Dean, Member APPROVED AS TO FORM: 12/22/2020 Philip C. Hunsucker, Date Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Page 1 1 of 1 1 Item 7a Regular Agenda JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST TO: Board of County Commissioners Philip Morley, County Administrator FROM: Linda Paralez,Acting Director, Dept. Community Development DATE:December 21,2020 SUBJECT: Emergency Ordinance Setting Forth Regulations concerning the establishment and processing of applications for temporary homeless facilities in unincorporated Jefferson County. STATEMENT OF ISSUE: There is a recognized need to adopt regulations concerning the establishment and processing of applications for temporary homeless facilities in unincorporated Jefferson County. This need is immediate, especially considering the onset of winter in the time of COVID-19. Accordingly, the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners should consider adopting an emergency ordinance that sets forth interim regulations. ANALYSIS: The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners has held discussions regarding code amendments and projects to help people who are experiencing homelessness. Based on staff reviews of other jurisdictions who have dealt with the same issues,the best course of action is to adopt an emergency ordinance that allows for the establishment of temporary homeless facilities to be permitted and built in selected locations in unincorporated Jefferson County. The regulations would include site development as well as operational oversight requirements. An Emergency Ordinance is attached to this Agenda Request as Appendix A(Emergency Ordinance). Current county zoning and building codes do not allow for the building and operation of temporary housing facilities including the construction of wooden tents or tiny homes. State law, however, at RCW 36.01.290,authorizes religious organizations to host temporary tent encampments to provide shelter for homeless individuals on properties these religious organizations own. The adoption of the Emergency Ordinance is allowed by state law. The rationale behind this approach for Jefferson County is that it will allow for those religious or qualified private,non-profit organizations that may wish to manage such temporary homeless encampments to now legally do so. Adoption of the Emergency Ordinance must be followed up with a public hearing within 60 days following adoption. At the public hearing and in consideration of public input,the Board can consider changes if necessary to the interim regulations in the Emergency Ordinance. The Emergency Ordinance would last for one year from the date of its adoption, if confirmed at the required hearing because it has a workplan for developing permanent regulations. That timeframe 1 Item 7a Regular Agenda allows for time to consider longer-term regulations in support of facilities and programs for the homeless. FISCAL IMPACT: Work associated with the drafting of the Emergency Ordinance is funded entirely by the County's general fund. Any subsequent permitting activity carried out under the Emergency Ordinance would be funded by the requisite permit fees. RECOMMENDATION: Adopt the Emergency Ordinance. REVIEWED BY: Philip Morley, County Administrator Date 2 Item 7a Appendix A Emergency Ordinance COUNTY OF JEFFERSON STATE OF WASHINGTON An Ordinance Adopting Interim Zoning } Regulations for the Siting, Establishment, } and Operation of Temporary Homeless } ORDINANCE NO. Facilities in Unincorporated Areas of } Jefferson County WHEREAS,homelessness continues to be a local, regional and national challenge due to many social and economic factors; and WHEREAS, tent and tiny house encampments have become a temporary mechanism for providing shelter for homeless individuals and families; and WHEREAS, under RCW 36.01.290 the Washington State Legislature has authorized religious organizations to host temporary encampments to provide shelter for homeless individuals on property that these religious organizations own or control; and WHEREAS, the Jefferson County Code does not currently have permanent provisions addressing the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities; and WHEREAS,the Washington State Department of Health has confirmed localized person- to-person spread of COVID-19 in Washington State, significantly increasing the risk of exposure and infection to the general public, and creating an extreme public health risk that may spread quickly; and WHEREAS, the Jefferson County Public Health Department has confirmed localized person-to-person spread of COVID-19 in Jefferson County—and this localized person-to-person spread of COVID-19 in Jefferson County is increasing; and WHEREAS, based on the COVID-19 threat profile, providing shelter to the homeless population would help to prevent the spread of COVID-19; and WHEREAS, because of the COVID-19 emergency adoption of interim temporary homeless facilities regulations and processing requirements to preserve and protect public health and safety and prevent danger to public or private property would help to prevent the spread of COVID-19; and WHEREAS, interim zoning controls enacted under RCW 36.70A.390 or RCW 36.70.790 are methods by which the County may preserve the status quo so that new plans and regulations will not be rendered moot by intervening development; and WHEREAS, RCW 36.70A.390 or RCW 36.70.790 both authorize the enactment of an interim zoning map, interim zoning ordinance, or interim official control without holding a public hearing as long as a public hearing is held within at least sixty days of enactment; and Page 1of11 Item 7a Appendix A Emergency Ordinance WHEREAS, RCW 36.70A.390 provides that, "A county or city governing body that adopts a moratorium, interim zoning map, interim zoning ordinance, or interim official control without holding a public hearing on the proposed moratorium, interim zoning map, interim zoning ordinance, or interim official control, shall hold a public hearing on the adopted moratorium, interim zoning map, interim zoning ordinance, or interim official control within at least sixty days of its adoption, whether or not the governing body received a recommendation on the matter from the planning commission or department If the governing body does not adopt findings offact justifying its action before this hearing, then the governing body shall do so immediately after this public hearing. A moratorium, interim zoning map, interim zoning ordinance, or interim official control adopted under this section may be effective for not longer than six months, but may be effective for up to one year if a work plan is developed for related studies providing for such a longer period. A moratorium, interim zoning map, interim zoning ordinance, or interim official control may be renewedfor one or more six-month periods ifa subsequent public hearing is held and findings offact are made prior to each renewal;" and WHEREAS, in conformity with the responsibilities of Jefferson County to meet public health, safety and welfare requirements and provide zoning and land use regulations pursuant to state law, and the County's authority to regulate land use activity within its corporate limits, the County intends to develop appropriate public health, safety and welfare requirements and zoning and land use regulations for the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities; and WHEREAS,the County Board of Commissioners has determined it needs additional time to conduct appropriate research to analyze the effects of the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities; and WHEREAS, interim zoning will provide the County with additional time to review and amend its public health, safety and welfare requirements and zoning and land use regulations related to the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities; and WHEREAS, interim zoning will also allow qualifying religious organizations and registered not-for-profit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) organizations the opportunity to establish and operate temporary homeless facilities; and WHEREAS, the County Board of Commissioners concludes that the County does have the authority to establish an interim zoning ordinance and that the County must adopt interim zoning concerning the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities to act as a stop- gap measure: (1) to provide the County with an opportunity to study the issues concerning the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities and prepare appropriate revisions to the County's codes and regulations; (2)to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Jefferson County by avoiding and ameliorating negative impacts and unintended consequences of establishing and operating temporary homeless facilities and, (3) to avoid applicants possibly establishing vested rights contrary to and inconsistent with any revisions the County may make to its rules and regulations as a result of the County's study of this matter; and WHEREAS, the County Board of Commissioners adopts the foregoing as its findings of facts justifying the adoption of this Ordinance; and Page 2 of 11 Item 7a Appendix A Emergency Ordinance NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners that: Section 1.Findings of Fact. The County Board ofCommissioners adopts the above"WHEREAS" recitals as findings of fact in support of its action as required by RCW 36.70A.390 or RCW 36. 70.790. Section 2. Regulations established. Regulations concerning the establishment and processing of applications for temporary homeless facilities in unincorporated Jefferson County are hereby established pursuant to RCW 36.70A.390, RCW 36.70.790, and RCW 38.52.070(2). Establishing such facilities contrary to the provisions of this ordinance is prohibited. Type II Administrative Use approvals shall be required in accordance with Jefferson County Code (JCC) 18.40.270 for temporary homeless facilities in the County. Applications for administrative use approvals, land use approvals, or any other permit or approval, in any way associated with temporary homeless facilities, shall not be processed, issued, granted, or approved unless in compliance with this ordinance. If a temporary homeless facility is established in violation of this ordinance or if, after an administrative use permit is issued for the same, the director of the planning and development services department determines that the permit holder has violated this ordinance or any condition of the permit, the temporary homeless facility, its sponsor and managing agency shall be subject to code enforcement and all activities associated with the temporary homeless facility shall cease, and the site shall be vacated and restored to its pre-encampment conditions. Section 3. Definitions. The following definitions apply to temporary homeless facilities: a)"Temporary homeless facility"means a facility providing temporary housing accommodations that includes a sponsor and managing agency, the primary purpose of which is to provide temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness in general or for specific populations of the homeless. Temporary homeless facilities include temporary tent encampments and temporary tiny house encampments. b) "Temporary tent encampment" means a short-term living facility for a group of homeless people that is composed of tents or other temporary structures, as approved by the director, on a site provided or arranged for by a sponsor with services provided by a sponsor and supervised by a managing agency. c) "Temporary tiny house encampment" means a temporary homeless facility for a group of people living in purpose-built tiny houses for people experiencing homelessness, as approved by the director, on a site provided or arranged for by a sponsor with services provided by a sponsor and supervised by a managing agency. Temporary tiny houses for the homeless are typically less than 200 square feet and easily constructed and moved to various locations. For the purposes of this ordinance, temporary tiny homes are not dwelling units and, as such, are not required to meet building codes. d) "Managing" in agency" organization identified as the manager of a temporary homelessgggencYmeansan facility that has the capacity to organize and manage a temporary homeless facility. Managing agencies are limited to religious organizations and non-profit agencies. A"managing agency"may be the same entity as the sponsor. Page 3 of 11 Item 7a Appendix A Emergency Ordinance e) "Sponsor"means an organization that: i) invites a temporary homeless facility to reside on land they own or lease; and ii) is a State of Washington registered not-for-profit corporation and federally recognized tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization; or 3. is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as exempt from federal income taxes as a religious organization,which expresses its religious mission, in part, by organizing living accommodations for the homeless. f) "Director"means the Community Development Department Director. Section 4. Requirements. The following requirements shall apply to all temporary homeless facilities approved under this ordinance, unless modified by the director through approval of a Type II administrative use permit. a) The encampment shall be located a minimum of 20 feet from the property line of abutting properties containing commercial, industrial, and multifamily residential uses. The encampment shall be located a minimum of 40 feet from the property line of abutting properties containing single-family residential or public recreational uses, unless the director finds that a reduced buffer width will provide adequate separation between the encampment and adjoining uses, due to changes in elevation, intervening buildings or other physical characteristics of the site of the encampment. b) No temporary homeless facility shall be located within a critical area or its buffer as defined by Chapter 18.22 JCC. c) A temporary homeless facility shall comply with the applicable development standards ofTitle 18 JCC, except that temporary homeless facilities shall not be considered structures for the purposes of calculating parcel's total lot coverage. d) A six-foot-tall fence is required around the perimeter of the encampment to limit access to the site for safety and security reasons;provided,that the fencing does not create a sight obstruction at the street or street intersections or curbs as determined by the county engineer, unless the director determines that there is sufficient vegetation, topographic variation, or other site conditions such that fencing would not be needed. e) Exterior lighting must be directed downward and glare contained within the temporary encampment. f) The maximum number of residents at a temporary encampment site shall be determined by the director taking into consideration site conditions, but in no case shall the number be greater than fifty (50) people. g) On-site parking of the sponsor shall not be displaced unless sufficient required off- street parking remains available for the host's use to compensate for the loss of on-site parking or unless a shared parking agreement is executed with adjacent properties. h) A transportation plan, including provisions for transit, and pedestrian and bicycle ingress and Page 4 of 11 Item 7a Appendix A Emergency Ordinance egress to the encampment, shall be submitted for review and approval. i) No children under the age of 18 are allowed to stay overnight in the temporary encampment,unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. If a child under the age of 18 without a parent or guardian present attempts to stay at the encampment, the sponsor and the managing agency shall immediately contact Child Protective Services and shall actively endeavor to find alternative shelter for the child. j) The sponsor or managing agency shall provide and enforce a written code of conduct, which not only provides for the health, safety and welfare of the temporary encampment residents, but also mitigates impacts to neighbors and the community. A copy of the code of conduct shall be submitted to the County at the time of application for the administrative use permit. Said code shall be incorporated into the conditions of approval. The managing agency shall post the County approved written code of conduct on site. k) An operations plan must be provided that addresses site management, site maintenance, and provision of human and social services. Individuals or organizations shall have either a demonstrated experience providing similar services to homeless residents; and/or certification or academic credentials in an applicable human service field;and/or applicable experience in a related program with a homeless population. Should an individual or organization not have any of the preceding qualifications,additional prescriptive measures may be required to minimize risk to both residents of the temporary homeless facility and the community in general. 1) The sponsor and the managing agency shall ensure compliance with Washington State laws and regulations and the Jefferson County Health Department's regulations concerning, but not limited to, drinking water connections, solid waste disposal, and human waste. The sponsor and the managing agency shall permit inspections by local agencies and/or departments to ensure such compliance and shall implement all directives resulting therefrom within the specified time period. m)The sponsor and managing agency shall assure all applicable public health regulations, including but not limited to the following, will be met for: i) Potable water, which shall be available at all times at the site; ii) Sanitary portable toilets, which shall be set back from all property lines as determined by the director; iii)Hand-washing stations by the toilets and food preparation areas; iv) Food preparation or service tents; and v) Refuse receptacles. n) Public health regulations (including those in Chapter 246-215 WAC and Title 8 JCC) shall be followed to specifically include food handling and storage(including proper temperature control), and homeless encampment residents involved in food donations and storages shall be made aware of these Jefferson County Health Department requirements. Page 5 of 11 Item 7a Appendix A Emergency Ordinance o) The sponsor and the managing agency shall designate points of contact and provide contact information (24-hour accessible phone contact) to the chief criminal deputy of the Jefferson County Sheriff or his/her designee. At least one designated point of contact shall be on duty at all times. The names of the on duty points of contact shall be posted on-site daily and their contact information shall be provided to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office as described above. p) Facilities for dealing with trash shall be provided on-site throughout the encampment. A regular trash patrol in the immediate vicinity of the temporary encampment site shall be provided. q) The sponsor and the managing agency shall take all reasonable and legal steps to obtain verifiable identification information, to include full name and date of birth, from current and prospective encampment residents and use the identification to obtain sex offender and warrant checks from appropriate agencies. The sponsor and the managing agency shall keep a current log of names and dates of all people who stay overnight in the encampment. This log shall be available upon request to law enforcement agencies and prospective encampment residents shall be so advised by the sponsor and managing agency. r) Persons who have active warrants, or who are required to register as sex offenders, are prohibited from the encampment's location. s) The sponsor and the managing agency shall immediately contact the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office if someone is rejected or ejected from the encampment when the reason for rejection or ejection is an active warrant or a match on a sex offender check, or if, in the opinion of the on- duty point of contact or on-duty security staff, the rejected/ejected person is a potential threat to the community. t) Tents over 300 square feet in size and canopies in excess of 400 square feet shall utilize flame retardant materials. u) The sponsor,the managing agency and temporary encampment residents shall cooperate with other providers of shelters and services for homeless persons within the County and shall make inquiry with these providers regarding the availability of existing resources. v) The sponsor and/or managing agency shall provide before-encampment photos of the host site with the application. Upon vacation of the temporary encampment, all temporary structures and debris shall be removed from the host site within one calendar week. w)Upon cessation of the temporary encampment, the site shall be restored, as near as possible,to its original condition. Where deemed necessary by the director, the sponsor and/or managing agency shall re-plant areas in which vegetation had been removed or destroyed. Section 5. Frequency and duration-of temporary homeless facilities. a) No more than a maximum of 50 people may be housed in temporary homeless facilities encampments) located in the unincorporated County at any time. Multiple encampment locations may be permitted provided that the aggregate total of people in all temporary tent and/or tiny house encampments shall not exceed 50. Page 6 of 11 Item 7a Appendix A Emergency Ordinance sitemorethanonce in anycalendar year;b) The director shall not grant a permit for the same or y , provided that director is not authorized to issue a permit for the same site sooner than 180 days from the date the site is vacated as provided for in Section 4 ofthis ordinance. c) Temporary tent encampments may be approved for a period not to exceed 180 days. The director may grant one 180-day extension, provided all conditions have been complied with and circumstances associated with the use have not changed. This extension shall be subject to a Type II review process and may be appealed to the hearing examiner as provided in JCC 18.40.270. The permit shall specify a date by which the use shall be terminated and the site vacated and restored to its pre-encampment condition. d) Temporary tiny house encampments may be approved for a period of between six months and up to one year,provided the sponsor and managing agency comply with all permit conditions. The director may grant one or more extension(s) not to exceed one additional year, provided enabling legislation allows so. Extensions are subject to a Type II review process in accordance with JCC 18.40.270 and may be appealed to the hearing examiner as provided in JCC 18.40.270. The permit shall specify a date by which the use shall be terminated and the site vacated and restored to its pre-encampment condition. Section 6. Permit required. Establishment of a temporary homeless facility shall require approval of an administrative use permit, as described in this ordinance, and compliance with all other applicable County regulations. The director shall have authority to grant, grant with conditions or deny an application for an administrative use permit under this ordinance. Section 7.Application,Application for a Type II administrative use permit shall be made on forms provided by the County, and shall be accompanied by the following information; provided, that the director may waive any of these items, upon request by the applicant and finding that the item is not necessary to analyze the application. An application to establish a temporary homeless facility shall be signed by both the sponsor and the managing agency("applicant") and contain the following: a) A site plan of the property, drawn to scale, showing existing natural features, existing and proposed grades, existing and proposed utility improvements, existing rights-of-way and improvements, and existing and proposed structures, tents and other improvements (including stormwater and erosion control, landscaping and fencing at the perimeter of the proposed encampment and the property and off-street parking); b) A vicinity map, showing the location of the site in relation to nearby streets and properties; c) A written summary of the proposal, responding to the standards and requirements of this ordinance; d) The written code of conduct, operations plan and a transportation plan as required by this ordinance; e) Statement of actions that the applicant will take to obtain verifiable identification from all encampment residents and to use the identification to obtain sex offender and warrant checks from appropriate agencies; Page 7 of 11 Item 7a Appendix A Emergency Ordinance f) Project statistics, including site area, building coverage, number and location of tents and temporary structures, expected and maximum number of residents, and duration of the encampment; g) Address and parcel number of the subject property; h) Photographs of the site; i) A list of other permits that are or may be required for development of the property (issued by the County or by other government agencies), insofar as they are known to the applicant; j) Permit fees for temporary homeless facilities shall be in accordance with Title 18 JCC; and, k) A list of any requirement under this ordinance for which the applicant is asking to modify. Section 8. Permit Procedures. a)Notice. All temporary homeless facility applications shall be reviewed under a Type II process under JCC 18.40.270, except that the final decision must be rendered within 60 days of a determination of completeness. Additionally, the notice of application shall contain proposed duration and operation of the temporary homeless facility, number of residents for the encampment, and contain a County website link to the proposed written code of conduct, operations plan and transportation plan for the facility. b) Decision and Notice of Decision. Final action on permit applications made under this section shall be in accordance with Title 18 JCC. Before any such permit may be granted, the applicant shall demonstrate and the director shall find consistency with Jefferson County Code and the following: i) The proposed use meets the requirements of this ordinance; and, ii) Measures, including the requirements herein and as identified by the director, have been taken to minimize the possible adverse impacts which the proposed encampment may have on the area in which it is located. It is acknowledged that not all impacts can be eliminated, however the risk of significant impacts can be reduced to a temporary and acceptable level as the duration of the encampment will be limited. A notice of the decision shall be provided in accordance with Title 18 JCC. c) Conditions. Because each temporary encampment has unique characteristics,including,but not limited to, size, duration, uses, number of occupants and composition, the director shall have the authority to impose conditions on the approval of an administrative use permit to ensure that the proposal meets the criteria for approval listed above. Conditions, if imposed, must be intended to protect public health, life and safety and minimize nuisance-generating features such as noise, waste, air quality, unsightliness, traffic, physical hazards and other similar impacts that the temporary encampment may have on the area in which it is located. In cases where the application for an administrative use permit does not meet the provisions of this ordinance (except when allowed under subsection (D) of this section) or adequate mitigation may not be feasible or possible,the director shall deny the application. Page 8 of 11 Item 7a Appendix A Emergency Ordinance d) Modification of Requirements. The director may approve an administrative use permit for a temporary encampment that relaxes one or more of the standards in this ordinance only when, in addition to satisfying the decision criteria stated above, the applicant submits a description of the standard to be modified and demonstrates how the modification would result in a safe encampment with minimal negative impacts to the host community under the specific circumstances of the application. In considering whether the modification should be granted, the director shall first consider the effects on the health and safety of encampment residents and the neighboring communities. Modifications shall not be granted if their adverse impacts on encampment residents and/or neighboring communities will be greater than those without modification. The burden of proof shall be on the applicant. Section 9. Appeal. The director's decision may be appealed to the hearing examiner as provided in Title 18 JCC. Section 10. Revocation. The director shall also have the authority to revoke an approved administrative use permit,pursuant to Title 18 JCC at any time a sponsor or managing agency has failed to comply with the applicable provisions of this ordinance or permit. Section 11. Purpose. The purpose of this interim ordinance is to allow and establish a review process for the location, siting, and operation of temporary homeless facilities within the unincorporated County. While the interim ordinance is in effect, the County will study the land use and other impacts associated with temporary homeless facilities, draft final zoning and regulations to address such uses, hold public hearings on such draft regulations, and adopt such regulations. Section 12.Duration of Interim Ordinance.Unless subsequently extended by the County Board of Commissioners pursuant to state law,this interim Ordinance shall remain for up to one year since a work plan is adopted in Section 13 for related studies providing for a longer period. Section 13. Work Plan. During the interim ordinance period, County staff will study the issues concerning the establishment and operation of temporary homeless facilities. Staff will prepare a draft ordinance with appropriate revisions to the County's land use regulations on or before 180 days from the date of adoption;perform SEPA review ofthe draft ordinance on or before 240 days from the date ofadoption,and conduct the public review process,including a public hearing before the County's Planning Commission on or before 270 days from the date of adoption and a public hearing before County Board of Commissioners on or before 300 days from the date of adoption, in accordance with the public participation process required for amendments to the County's development regulations. Section 14. Conflict with other Jefferson County Code Provisions. If the provisions of this Ordinance are found to be inconsistent with other provisions of the Jefferson County Code, this Ordinance shall control. Section 15. Severability. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance should be held to be unconstitutional or unlawful by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of any other sentence, clause or phrase in this Ordinance. Page 9 of 11 Item 7a Appendix A Emergency Ordinance Section 16. Effective Date. This ordinance is effective immediately upon adoption. Section 17. Public Hearing. Pursuant to state law, a public hearing regarding this must be held within at least sixty days of its adoption„ namely on or before February_, 2021. SIGNATURES FOLLOW ON NEXT PAGE) Page 10 of 11 Item 7a Appendix A Emergency Ordinance ADOPTED this day of 2020, at : _ _.m. JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS SEAL: Greg Brotherton, Chair David Sullivan, Member ATTEST: Kate Dean, Member APPROVED AS TO FORM: Carolyn Gallaway, Date Philip C. Hunsucker, Date Deputy Clerk of the Board Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Page 11 of 11 Item 7a 7B i 7B i 7B i 7B i 1 JEFFERSON COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AGENDA TO: Jefferson County Planning Commissioners FROM: Bryan Benjamin, Assistant Planner, Department of Community Development VIA: David Wayne Johnson, Planning Manager, Department of Community Development DATE: October 15, 2021 SUBJECT: HSN Comments and Proposed Amendments to Jefferson County Code (JCC) 18.10.130 (M) (S) & (T) - Definitions; JCC 18.15.40 - Allowable and Prohibited Uses; JCC 18.20.375 (1) a, (1) h & (2) a - Temporary Homeless Facilities RECOMMENDATION: Review and provide input on comments regarding Ordinance Number 10-1221-20 prepared by the Tiny Home Community Housing Action Team, Housing Solutions Network. STATEMENT OF ISSUE: DCD Director Brent Butler received the attached Comments on Draft County Ordinance Re: Temporary Homeless Facilities dated September 13, 2021 from local non-profit entity Housing Solutions Network (HSN). The Ordinance HSN’s comments addressed was drafted in response to the localized spread of COVID-19 in unhoused populations and the Board of County Commissioners’ recognition of an acute need for housing for unhousing individuals and families during COVID-19. Ordinance No. 10-1221-20 addresses some of the community needs for housing those who are unhoused but may not address the full range of community needs in Jefferson County. HSN’s comments and recommendations consist of ten (10) recommended changes to language and development standards that could improve the ordinance’s clarity and the Ordinance’s ability to meet community needs in the County. The analysis provided summarizes each of HSN’s recommendation and DCD’s response to each comment. ANALYSIS: 1.Remove limitations on the number of people served: The first of HSN’s comments addresses the 50 person limitation Ordinance 10-1221-20 places on the number of people served by temporary housing facilities, and recommends that any limitations on the number of individuals served should remain be flexible according to continuing assessment of community needs. DCD is receptive to expanding the limitation on the number of people served in temporary housing facilities and will proceed by developing an approach to assessing and quantifying need for these facilities in the county’s communities. 2.Replace the time limitation on permitted facilities by making the permit annually renewable: HSN recommends that the 24-month limitation on placement of temporary housing facilities creates Item 7b ii 2 a substantive expense for service providers, and that the condition of clearing the site after 24 months should be opened after 24 months to annual renewal. While changing locations of these sites may present increased financial expense to service providers, these developments are intended not only as temporary housing for unhoused individuals but as temporary uses. An annual renewal process without any limitation would create the potential for these facilities—which are designated as temporary uses and therefore can meet temporary use development standards—to be permanent in practice. The temporary use designation of these facilities has the benefit of creating flexibility where permanent uses would otherwise need to meet applicable development standards (density, on-site septic management, etc.). However, DCD will seek input and consider the possibility of limited renewals and develop standards of allowance for renewals during the pre-draft process of the permanent ordinance. 3.Do not refer to shelters offered in temporary housing facilities as tiny homes or houses: This comment seeks to align language used in the Ordinance with State definitions (WAC 51-51-60104) of housing types to avoid the potential for creating confusion in public perception of various housing solutions. HSN requests that the term Tiny Home or Tiny House be removed from the language of temporary housing facilities ordinance, as the terms may become associated with temporary housing uses in the public’s perception. To avoid creating confusion in public perception of permanent and affordable Tiny Home housing options, DCD agrees that this language should be changed to better align with State definitions and standards for housing types. 4.Replace “Temporary Homeless Facilities” with “Temporary Housing Facilities”: HSN requests that DCD refer to these facilities as ‘Temporary Housing Facilities” as these types of temporary housing developments can respond to various contexts (health emergencies, natural hazard events, transitional housing needs, etc.) and that the specificity of these developments to the provision of homeless services is erroneous. DCD agrees with this comment and recommends incorporation of “Temporary Housing Facilities” into the permanent ordinance language during the drafting process. 5.Reduce setback requirements: HSN argues that the 40-foot setback present in the emergency ordinance is onerous and effectively bans temporary housing in residential areas in the County. Further, HSN argues that such a ban is prohibited by HB/SB 1220, which revised the elements of the Growth Management Act (GMA). DCD has requested counsel on how to determine whether these setback standards create an effective ban in residential areas in the county, and will also consider equity and accessibility concerns in the drafting process with regard to siting temporary housing facilities. Public and planning commission comment on setback requirements for temporary housing facilities is encouraged. 6.Simplify parking requirements: This comment requests that parking requirements be assessed on a case by case, site by site basis and references language from Olympia’s ordinance for Emergency Housing Facilities, which states “Adequate on-site parking shall be provided for the Emergency Housing Facility, as determined by the City upon review of the application.” DCD is currently assessing on-site parking requirements for temporary housing facilities to accommodate unhoused individuals living in personal vehicles. Further, on-site parking requirements per 18.20.375(1)(g) already allow placement of host parking spaces off site if appropriate on-street parking is available. 7.Revise requirements for written code of conduct: HSN requests that the standards for a written code of conduct be altered to reflect a community-driven code of conduct process rather than top- down requirements imposed by the County. HSN argues that community-driven codes of conduct encourage pro-social behavior in temporary housing facilities and therein benefit its residents and the facility’s neighbors. In addition to ensuring public health and safety considerations for the neighbors surrounding temporary housing facilities, DCD has a responsibility to create fair, safe, and equitable practices for residents of these temporary housing facilities. As such, DCD will review community-driven codes of conduct from other facilities to better understand the process and Item 7b ii 3 outcomes of this process, and open the possibility of community-driven codes of conduct to public and planning commission comment. 8. Modify requirements for food handling: HSN requests that food handling requirements be determined to reflect that kitchens in temporary housing facilities are used for residential use rather than commercial use, and recommends that residential standards for kitchen facilities should apply rather than commercial standards. In addition, HSN argues that the requirement for commercial standards in kitchens for temporary housing facilities create financial burden for host agencies. As such, HSN requests that standards referenced in the State regulations adopted by the emergency ordinance (WAC 246-215) and in JCC be revised to appropriate residential standards. DCD has requested guidance from the Department of Environmental Public Health and the Jefferson County Public Health Food Team in response to this recommendation. 9. Expand the types of emergency shelters allowed: This comment provides no specific instruction on changes to Ordinance 10-1221-20, instead suggesting that the County should review need for other types of emergency shelters allowed in the County. 10. Locate facilities near goods and services: This comment addresses equity concerns, stating that placement of temporary housing facilities away from services and public transportation is discriminatory in its effects, and that the current ordinance does not address equity considerations with regard to siting. DCD agrees that siting of temporary housing facilities should be equitable in its outcomes and will address provisions of this ordinance that might create inequity for residents of temporary housing facilities. DCD encourages public and planning commission comments on any aspects of the ordinance that would limit equitable siting of temporary housing facilities. FISCAL IMPACT/COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS: The anticipated cost of this review and incorporation of recommendations is approximately 5 to 10 hours of staff time. Item 7b ii Appendix A – Draft Proposed UDC Text Amendments For Temporary Homeless Housing Facilities 18.10.130 M definitions. "Managing agency" means an organization identified as the manager of a temporary homeless housing facility that has the capacity to organize and manage a temporary homeless housing facility. Managing agencies are limited to religious organizations and non-profit agencies. A "managing agency" may be the same entity as the sponsor. JCC 18.10.190 S definitions. "Sponsor" means an organization that: (i)invites a temporary homeless housing facility to reside on land they own or lease; and (ii)is a State of Washington registered not-for-profit corporation and federally recognized tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization; or 3. is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as exempt from federal income taxes as a religious organization, which expresses its religious mission, in part, by organizing living accommodations for the homeless. JCC 18.10.200 T definitions. "Temporary homeless housing facility" means a facility providing temporary housing accommodations that includes a sponsor and managing agency, the primary purpose of which is to provide temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness in general or for specific populations of the homeless. Temporary homeless housing facilities include temporary tent encampments and temporary tiny house shelter encampments. "Temporary tent encampment" means a short-term living facility for a group of homeless people that is composed of tents or other temporary structures, as approved by the director, on a site provided or arranged for by a sponsor with services provided by a sponsor and supervised by a managing agency. "Temporary tiny house shelter encampment" means a temporary homeless housing facility for a group of people living in purpose-built tiny houses shelters for people experiencing homelessness, as approved by the director, on a site provided or arranged for by a sponsor with services provided by a sponsor and supervised by a managing agency. Temporary tiny houses shelters for the homeless are typically less than 200 square feet and easily constructed and moved to various locations. For the purposes of this section, temporary tiny homes shelters are not dwelling units and, as such, are not required to meet building codes. JCC 18.15.040 Allowable and Prohibited Uses Single-Family Temporary Housing Facilities (Not sure we need this in the Use Table 3-1 since it’s limited to County and Non-profit property and not a specific zone. Also Essential Public Facilities – Waste Management, though on the zoning map, is not identified in the use table 3-1.) Resource Lands Rural Residential Rural Commercial Rural Industrial Public UGA Formatted Table Item 7c 18.18.040 Table 3A-1 Allowable and Prohibited Uses Irondale and Port Hadlock Urban Growth Area (UGA) Zoning Districts Commercial Residential Industrial Public Urban Commercial Visitor- Oriented Commercial Urban Low Density Residential Urban Moderate Density Residential Urban High Density Residential Urban Light Industrial Public Specific Land Use UC VOC ULDR UMDR UHDR ULI P Residential Uses Single-Family Housing Single-Family Temporary Housing Facilities C(a)? C(a) C(a) C(a) C(a) C(a)? C(a) JCC 18.20.375 Temporary HomelessHousing Facilities. Purpose. To provide regulations regarding the siting, establishment and processing of applications for temporary homeless housing facilities in unincorporated Jefferson County, in conformity with the responsibilities Agricultural – Prime and Local Forest – Commercial, Rural and Inhold ing 1 DU/5 Ac res 1 DU/10 Ac res 1 DU/20 Ac res Rural Village Ce nter Convenience Crossroad Neighborhood/Visitor Crossroad Gene ral Cros sroa d Resource-Base d Indu strial Light Industrial/Commerci al (Glen Cove) Light Indu strial (Gle n Cove) Light Industrial/M anufacturing (Quilcene and Eastview) Heavy Industrial Parks, Preserves and Recreation Irondale and Port Hadlock Urban Growth Area Specific Land Use AG CF/RF/IF RR 1:5 RR 1:10 RR 1:20 RVC CC NC GC RBI LI/C LI LI/M HI PPR UGA Residenti al Uses See Chapter 18.18 JC C Singl e-Fami ly Housing Single-Famil y Temp orary Housing Facili ties C(a) C(a) C(a) C(a) C(a) C(a) ? ? C(a) C(a) C(a) C(a) C(a) C(a) C(a) Item 7c of Jefferson County to meet public health, safety and welfare requirements, without substantial adverse impact on the residential environment and rural character in the vicinity. (1)The following requirements shall apply to all temporary homeless housing facilities approved under this section, unless modified by the director through approval of a Type II administrative use permit. (a)The encampment shall be located to meet the setbacks of the underlying zone. a minimum of 20 feet from the property line of abutting properties containing commercial, industrial, and multifamily residential uses. The encampment shall be located a minimum of 40 feet from the property line of abutting properties containing single-family residential or public recreational uses, unless Tthe director may provide alternate finds that a reduced buffersetback widths or screening requirements that will provide adequate separation between the encampment and adjoining uses based on local site conditions, such as due to changes in elevation, intervening buildings or other physical characteristics of the site of the encampment. (b)No temporary homeless housing facility shall be located within a critical area or its buffer as defined by Chapter 18.22 JCC. (c)A temporary homeless housing facility shall comply with the applicable development standards of Title JCC, except that temporary homeless housing facilities shall not be considered structures for the purposes of calculating parcel's total lot coverage. (d)A six-foot-tall fence is required around the perimeter of the encampment to limit access-to the site for safety and security reasons; provided, that the fencing does not create a sight obstruction at the street or street intersections or curbs as determined by the county engineer, unless the director determines that there is sufficient vegetation, topographic variation, or other site conditions such that fencing would not be needed. (e)Exterior lighting must be directed downward and glare contained within the temporary encampment. (f)The maximum number of residents at a temporary encampment site shall be determined by the director taking into consideration site conditions., but in no case shall the number be greater than fifty (50) people. (g)On-site parking of the sponsor shall not be displaced unless sufficient required off- street parking remains available for the host's use to compensate for the loss of on- site parking or unless a shared parking agreement is executed with adjacent properties. Parking requirements may be modified by the director on review of the site plan and based on local site conditions. (h)A transportation plan, including provisions for transit, and pedestrian and bicycle ingress and egress to the encampment, shall be submitted for review and approval. (i)No children under the age of 18 are allowed to stay overnight in the temporary encampment, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. If a child under the age of 18 without a parent or guardian present attempts to stay at the encampment, the sponsor and the managing agency shall immediately contact Child Protective Services and shall actively endeavor to find alternative shelter for the child. (j)The temporary housing facility residents shall agree to, and sign a community-determined code of conduct, or in the absence of a community-determined code of conduct, the sponsor or managing agency shall provide and enforce a written code of conduct meeting minimum standards defined by the County in the temporary use permit that, which not only provides for the health, safety and welfare of the temporary encampment residents, but and also mitigates impacts to neighbors and the community. A copy of the code of conduct shall be submitted to the County at the time of application for the administrative use permit. Said code shall be incorporated into the conditions of approval. The managing agency shall post the County Item 7c approved written code of conduct on site. (k)An operations plan must be provided that addresses site management, site maintenance, and provision of human and social services. Individuals or organizations shall have either a Item 7c demonstrated experience providing similar services to homeless residents; and/or certification or academic credentials in an applicable human service field; and/or applicable experience in a related program with a homeless population. Should an individual or organization not have any of the preceding qualifications, additional prescriptive measures may be required to minimize risk to both residents of the temporary homeless housing facility and the community in general. (l) The sponsor and the managing agency shall ensure compliance with Washington State laws and regulations and the Jefferson County Health Department's regulations concerning, but not limited to, drinking water connections, solid waste disposal, and human waste. The sponsor and the managing agency shall permit inspections by local agencies and/or departments to ensure such compliance and shall implement all directives resulting therefrom within the specified time period. (m) The sponsor and managing agency shall assure all applicable public health regulations, including but not limited to the following, will be met for: i. Potable water, which shall be available at all times at the site; ii. Sanitary portable toilets, which shall be set back from all property lines as determined by the director; iii. Hand-washing stations by the toilets and food preparation areas; iv. Food preparation or service tents; and v. Refuse receptacles. (n) Public health regulations (including those in Chapter 246-215 WAC and Title JCC) shall be followed to specifically include food handling and storage (including proper temperature control), and homeless encampment residents involved in food donations and storages shall be made aware of these Jefferson County Health Department requirements. [A determination of the required standards for food service is being reviewed]. (o) The sponsor and the managing agency shall designate points of contact and provide contact information (24-hour accessible phone contact) to the chief criminal deputy of the Jefferson County Sheriff or his/her designee. At least one designated point of contact shall be on duty at all times. The names of the on-duty points of contact shall be posted on-site daily and their contact information shall be provided to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office as described above. (p) Facilities for dealing with trash shall be provided on-site throughout the encampment. A regular trash patrol in the immediate vicinity of the temporary encampment site shall be provided. (q) The sponsor and the managing agency shall take all reasonable and legal steps to obtain verifiable identification information, to include full name and date of birth, from current and prospective encampment residents and use the identification to obtain sex offender and warrant checks from appropriate agencies. The sponsor and the managing agency shall keep a current log of names and dates of all people who stay overnight in the encampment. This log shall be available upon request to law enforcement agencies and prospective encampment residents shall be so advised by the sponsor and managing agency. (r) Persons who have active warrants, or who are required to register as sex offenders, are prohibited from the encampment's location. (s) The sponsor and the managing agency shall immediately contact the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office if someone is rejected or ejected from the encampment when the reason for rejection or ejection is an active warrant or a match on a sex offender check, or if, in the opinion of the on- Item 7c duty point of contact or on-duty security staff, the rejected/ejected person is a potential threat to the community. (t) Tents over 300 square feet in size and canopies in excess of 400 square feet shall utilize flame retardant materials. (u) The sponsor, the managing agency and temporary encampment residents shall cooperate with other providers of shelters and services for homeless persons within the County and shall make inquiry with these providers regarding the availability of existing resources. (v) The sponsor and/or managing agency shall provide before-encampment photos of the host site with the application. Upon vacation of the temporary encampment, all temporary structures and debris shall be removed from the host site within one calendar week. (w) Upon cessation of the temporary encampment, the site shall be restored, as near as possible, to its original condition. Where deemed necessary by the director, the sponsor and/or managing agency shall re-plant areas in which vegetation had been removed or destroyed. (2) Frequency and duration of temporary homeless housing facilities. (a) No more than a maximum of 50 people may be housed in temporary homeless facilities (encampments) located in the unincorporated County at any time. Multiple encampment locations may be permitted provided that the aggregate total of people in all temporary tent and/or tiny house encampments shall not exceed 50. (b) The director shall not grant a permit for the same site more than once in any calendar year; provided that director is not authorized to issue a permit for the same site sooner than 180 days from the date the site is vacated as provided for in subsection 1 of this section. (c)(a) Temporary tent encampments may be approved for a period not to exceed 180 days. The director may grant one 180-day extension, provided all conditions have been complied with and circumstances associated with the use have not changed. This extension shall be subject to a Type II review process and may be appealed to the hearing examiner as provided in JCC 18.40.270. The permit shall specify a date by which the use shall be terminated and the site vacated and restored to its pre-encampment condition. (d)(b) Temporary tiny house shelter encampments may be approved for a period of between six months and up to one year. , The original permit may be extended for an additional year upon approval by the director. Two (2) one year permit extensions may be granted by the director, provided the sponsor and managing agency comply with all permit conditions. After the second extension, Tthe sponsor and managing agency may apply for a new temporary use permit. director may grant one or more extension(s) not to exceed one additional year, provided enabling legislation allows so. Extensions are subject to a Type II review process in accordance with JCC 18.40.270 and may be appealed to the hearing examiner as provided in JCC 18.40.270. The permit shall specify a date by which the use shall be terminated and the site vacated and restored to its pre-encampment condition. (3) Permit Required. Establishment of a temporary homeless housing facility shall require approval of an administrative use permit, as described in this section, and compliance with all other applicable County regulations. The director shall have authority to grant, grant with conditions or deny an application for an administrative use permit under this section. (4) Application Application for a Type II conditional administrative “C(a)” use permit shall be made on forms provided by the County, and shall be accompanied by the following information; provided, that the director may waive any of these items, upon request by the applicant and finding that the Item 7c item is not necessary to analyze the application. An application to establish a temporary homeless housing facility shall be signed by both the sponsor and the managing agency ("applicant") and contain the following: (a) A site plan of the property, drawn to scale, showing existing natural features, existing and proposed grades, existing and proposed utility improvements, existing rights-of-way and improvements, and existing and proposed structures, tents and other improvements (including stormwater and erosion control, landscaping and fencing at the perimeter of the proposed encampment and the property and off-street parking); (b) A vicinity map, showing the location of the site in relation to nearby streets and properties; (c) A written summary of the proposal, responding to the standards and requirements of this section; (d) The written code of conduct, operations plan and a transportation plan as required by this section; (e) Statement of actions that the applicant will take to obtain verifiable identification from all encampment residents and to use the identification to obtain sex offender and warrant checks from appropriate agencies; (f) Project statistics, including site area, building coverage, number and location of tents and temporary structures, expected and maximum number of residents, and duration of the encampment; (g) Address and parcel number of the subject property; (h) Photographs of the site; (i) A list of other permits that are or may be required for development of the property (issued by the County or by other government agencies), insofar as they are known to the applicant; (j) Permit fees for temporary homeless housing facilities shall be in accordance with Title 18 JCC; and, (k) A list of any requirement under this section for which the applicant is asking to modify. (5) Notice. All temporary homeless housing facility applications shall be reviewed under a Type II process under JCC 18.40.270, except that the final decision must be rendered within 60 days of a determination of completeness. Additionally, the notice of application shall contain proposed duration and operation of the temporary homeless housing facility, number of residents for the encampment, and contain a County website link to the proposed written code of conduct, operations plan and transportation plan for the facility. (6) Decision and Notice of Decision. Final action on permit applications made under this section shall be in accordance with Title 18 JCC. Before any such permit may be granted, the applicant shall demonstrate and the director shall find consistency with Jefferson County Code and the following: (i) The proposed use meets the requirements of this section; and, (ii) Measures, including the requirements herein and as identified by the director, have been taken to minimize the possible adverse impacts which the proposed encampment may have on the area in which it is located. It is acknowledged that not all impacts can be eliminated, however the risk of significant impacts can be reduced to a temporary and acceptable level as the Item 7c duration of the encampment will be limited. A notice of the decision shall be provided in accordance with Title l] JCC. (7) Conditions. Because each temporary encampment has unique characteristics, including, but not limited to, size, duration, uses, number of occupants and composition, the director shall have the authority to impose conditions on the approval of an administrative use permit to ensure that the proposal meets the criteria for approval listed above. Conditions, if imposed, must be intended to protect public health, life and safety and minimize nuisance-generating features such as noise, waste, air quality, unsightliness, traffic, physical hazards and other similar impacts that the temporary encampment may have on the area in which it is located. In cases where the application for an administrative use permit does not meet the provisions of this section (except when allowed under subsection (8) of this section) or adequate mitigation may not be feasible or possible, the director shall deny the application. (8) Modification of Requirements. The director may approve an administrative use permit for a temporary encampment that relaxes one or more of the standards in this section only when, in addition to satisfying the decision criteria stated above, the applicant submits a description of the standard to be modified and demonstrates how the modification would result in a safe encampment with minimal negative impacts to the host community under the specific circumstances of the application. In considering whether the modification should be granted, the director shall first consider the effects on the health and safety of encampment residents and the neighboring communities. Modifications shall not be granted if their adverse impacts on encampment residents and/or neighboring communities will be greater than those without modification. The burden of proof shall be on the applicant. (9) Appeal. The director's decision may be appealed to the hearing examiner as provided in Title 18 JCC. (10) Revocation. The director shall also have the authority to revoke an approved administrative use permit, pursuant to Title 18 JCC at any time a sponsor or managing agency has failed to comply with the applicable provisions of this section or permit. Standards for Single-Family Temporary Housing Facilities [To be added] Item 7c ESTIMATED TIMELINE FOR TEMPORARY HOUSING FACILITIES ORDINANCE Task 1 Administrative Tasks Dept. of Commerce Notice of Intent to Amend Task 2 Prepare Draft Ordinance Oct. 18 Task 3 SEPA Review Checklist Legal Review Staff Report/SEPA Packet Oct. 18 Task 4 Public Review Process Task 5 PC Public Hearing Nov. 3 Notice Deadline to Leader oct. 18 Pubication of notice of hearing Oct. 20 +10 Task 5.1 PC Recommendations Nov. 17 Forward to BoCC Task 6 BoCC Hearing Dec. 6 Agenda Request for PC Recommendations Transfer PC Recommendations to BoCC Agenda Request Deadline--PC Recommendations Nov. 30 Hearing Notice to Leader Nov. 22 Early Finish BoCC Adoption Bocc Deliberation 13-Dec Task 7 Final Ordinance Adoption Deadline Dec. 20, 2021 Benchmark Task Elapsed Time Ecology Critical Path Item 7c i SEPA Distribution List PL4-83-005D WHATCOM COUNTY Mark Personius, AICP Planning & Development Services Director 5280 Northwest Drive Bellingham, WA 98226-9097 360-778-5900, TTY 800-833-6384 360-778-5901 Fax SEPA Distribution List SEP2021-00063 Date of Issuance: July 6, 2021 Please review this determination. If you have further comments or questions, phone the responsible official at (360) 778-5900. Please submit your response by the comment date noted on the attached notice of determination. WA State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation via email Stephanie Jolivette, stephanie.jolivette@dahp.wa.gov SEPA@dahp.wa.gov SEPA Unit, WA State Department of Ecology, Olympia via email sepaunit@ecy.wa.gov WA State Department of Fish and Wildlife Wendy D. Cole via email wendy.cole@dfw.wa.gov WA State Department of Natural Resources via email Rochelle Goss, sepacenter@dnr.wa.gov Brenda Werden, Brenda.werden@dnr.wa.gov SEPA Unit, WA State Department of Transportation, Burlington via email Roland Storme, stormer@wsdot.wa.gov Judy Johnson, JohnsJu@wsdot.wa.gov Lummi Nation Natural Resources Merle Jefferson, Sr. via email - merlej@lummi-nsn.gov Tamela Smart - tamelas@lummi-nsn.gov Nooksack Indian Tribe George Swanaset, JR via email - george.swanasetjr@nooksack-nsn.gov Trevor Delgado via email - tdelgado@nooksack-nsn.gov Skagit River System Cooperative Nora Kammer via email – nkammer@skagitcoop.org City of Bellingham Kurt Nabbefeld via email - knabbefeld@cob.org Brent Baldwin via email - bbaldwin@cob.org Clare Fogelsong via email - cfogelsong@cob.org City of Blaine Alex Wenger via email – awenger@cityofblaine.com Item 7d i City of Everson Rollin Harper via email - rollinh@sehome.com City of Ferndale Jori Burnett via email – joriburnett@cityofferndale.org City of Lynden Heidi Gudde via email - guddeh@lyndenwa.org Point Roberts All Point Bulletin via email - editor@allpointbulletin.com WCFD #21/WCFD #4 aka North Whatcom Fire and Rescue via email – info@nwfrs.com Lieutenant/Fire Marshal Joel Nielsen via email - jnielsen@nwfrs.com Applicant Whatcom County c/o Matt Aamot via email – MAamot@co.whatcom.wa.us Item 7d i SEPA Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) Page 1 of 1 PL4-83-005E REV February 2021 WHATCOM COUNTY Mark Personius, AICP Planning & Development Services Director 5280 Northwest Drive Bellingham, WA 98226-9097 360-778-5900, TTY 800-833-6384 360-778-5901 Fax SEPA Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) File: SEP2021-00063 Project Description: The subject proposal consists of adopting a new chapter into the Official Whatcom County Zoning Ordinance (Title 20) entitled "Temporary Homeless Facilities" (WCC 20.17). This new chapter includes requirements for temporary homeless facilities, capacity and duration of temporary homeless facilities, application procedures, and permit procedures. The subject proposal also adds new definitions to the Official Whatcom County Zoning Ordinance (WCC 20.97), including a definition of "Temporary Homeless Facility" and related terms. Proponent: Whatcom County Address and Parcel #: County-wide Lead Agency: Whatcom County Planning & Development Services Zoning: Various Comp Plan: Various Shoreline Jurisdiction: Various The lead agency for this proposal has determined that no significant adverse environmental impacts are likely. This proposal will also be reviewed for compliance with all applicable Whatcom County Codes (WCC) which regulates development activities, including but not limited to: WCC 15 – Buildings and Construction, WCC 16.16 – Critical Areas, WCC 17 – Flood Damage Prevention, WCC 20 – Zoning, WCC 21 - Land Division Regulations, WCC 23 – Shoreline Management Program, the Whatcom County Development Standards and/or the Washington State Stormwater Manual. Mitigation may be a requirement of Whatcom County Code. Pursuant to RCW 43.21C.030(2)(c), an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required. This decision was made following review of a completed SEPA environmental checklist and other information on file with the lead agency. This information is available to the public on request. X Pursuant to WAC 197-11-340(2), the lead agency will not act on this proposal for 14 days from the date of issuance indicated below. Comments must be received by 4:00 p.m. on July 20, 2021 and should be sent to: Matt Aamot via email at MAamot@co.whatcom.wa.us Responsible Official: Mark Personius, mpersoni@co.whatcom.wa.us Title: Director Telephone: 360-778-5937 Address: 5280 Northwest Drive Bellingham, WA 98226 Date of Issuance: July 6, 2021 Signature: An aggrieved agency or person may appeal this determination to the Whatcom County Hearing Examiner. Application for appeal must be filed on a form provided by and submitted to the Whatcom County Current Planning Division located at 5280 Northwest Drive, Bellingham, WA 98226, during the ten days following the comment period, concluding July 30, 2021. You should be prepared to make a specific factual objection. Contact Whatcom County Current Planning Division for information about the procedures for SEPA appeals. Item 7d i SEPA Legal Notice - Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) Page 1 of 1 PL4-83-005F REV April 2021 WHATCOM COUNTY Mark Personius, AICP Planning & Development Services Director 5280 Northwest Drive Bellingham, WA 98226-9097 360-778-5900, TTY 800-833-6384 360-778-5901 Fax SEPA Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) Legal Notice To be published one time only on: July 6, 2021 CHARGE TO: Whatcom County Planning & Development Services 5280 Northwest Drive Bellingham, Washington 98226 Acct #AP25580 WHATCOM COUNTY GIVES PUBLIC NOTICE THAT THE FOLLOWING SEPA THRESHOLD DETERMINATION OF NON-SIGNIFICANCE (DNS) HAS BEEN ISSUED TODAY SUBJECT TO THE 14 DAY COMMENT PERIOD CONCLUDING ON JULY 20, 2021. File: SEP2021-00063 Project Description: The subject proposal consists of adopting a new chapter into the Official Whatcom County Zoning Ordinance (Title 20) entitled "Temporary Homeless Facilities" (WCC 20.17). This new chapter includes requirements for temporary homeless facilities, capacity and duration of temporary homeless facilities, application procedures, and permit procedures. The subject proposal also adds new definitions to the Official Whatcom County Zoning Ordinance (WCC 20.97), including a definition of "Temporary Homeless Facility" and related terms. Proponent: Whatcom County Address and Parcel #: County-wide Lead Agency: Whatcom County Planning & Development Services Zoning: Various Comp Plan: Various Shoreline Jurisdiction: Various ANY PERSON OR AGENCY MAY APPEAL THE COUNTY'S COMPLIANCE WITH WAC 197-11 BY FILING AN APPEAL WITH THE WHATCOM COUNTY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES LOCATED AT 5280 NORTHWEST DRIVE, BELLINGHAM, WA 98226. APPEALS MUST BE MADE WITHIN 10 DAYS AFTER THE END OF THE COMMENT PERIOD. Item 7d i WHATCOM COUNTY Mark Personius, AICP Planning & Development Services Director 5280 Northwest Drive Bellingham, WA 98226-9097 360-778-5900, TTY 800-833-6384 360-778-5901 Fax SEP - SEPA Environmental Checklist Purpose of Checklist: Governmental agencies use this checklist to help determine whether the environmental impacts of your proposal are significant. This information is also helpful to determine if available avoidance, minimization or compensatory mitigation measures will address the probable significant impacts or if an environmental impact statement will be prepared to further analyze the proposal. Instructions for Applicants: This environmental checklist asks you to describe some basic information about your proposal. Please answer each question accurately and carefully, to the best of your knowledge. You may need to consult with an agency specialist or private consultant for some questions. You may use “not applicable” or “does not apply” only when you can explain why it does not apply and not when the answer is unknown. You may also attach or incorporate by reference additional studies reports. Complete and accurate answers to these questions often avoid delays with the SEPA process as well as later in the decision-making process. The checklist questions apply to all parts of your proposal, even if you plan to do them over a period of time or on different parcels of land. Attach any additional information that will help describe your proposal or its environmental effects. The agency to which you submit this checklist may ask you to explain your answers or provide additional information reasonably related to determining if there may be significant adverse impact. Use of Checklist for Non-Project Proposals: For non-project proposals (such as ordinances, regulations, plans and programs), complete the applicable parts of sections A and B plus the Supplemental Sheet for Non-project Actions (Part C). Please completely answer all questions that apply and note that the words “project”, “applicant”, and “property or site” should be read as “proposal”, “proponent” and “affected geographic area”, respectively. The lead agency may exclude (for non-projects) questions in Part B – Environmental Elements that do not contribute meaningfully to the analysis of the proposal. Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 1 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 2021 00063 RE Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only A Background 1 Name of proposed project, if applicable: 2 Name of applicant: Applicant phone number: Applicant address: City, State, Zip or Postal Code: Applicant Email address: 3 Contact name: Contact phone number: Contact address: City, State, Zip or Postal Code: Contact Email address: 4 Date checklist prepared: 5 Agency requesting checklist: 6 Proposed timing or schedule (including phasing, if applicable): 7 Do you have any plans for future additions, expansion, or further activity related to or connected with this proposal? Yes No If yes, explain: 8 List any environmental information you know about that has been prepared, or will be prepared, directly related to this proposal: 9 Do you know whether applications are pending for governmental approvals of other proposals directly affecting the property covered by your proposal? Yes No If yes, explain. Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 2 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 RE Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only 10 List any government approvals or permits that will be needed for your proposal, if known. 11 Give brief, complete description of your proposal, including the proposed uses and the size of the project and site. There are several questions later in this checklist that ask you to describe certain aspects of your proposal. You do not need to repeat those answers on this page. (Lead agencies may modify this form to include additional specific information on project description.) 12 Location of the proposal. Give sufficient information for a person to understand the precise location of your proposed project, including a street address, if any, and section, township, and range, if known. If a proposal would occur over a range of area, provide the range or boundaries of the site(s). Provide a legal description, site plan, vicinity map, and topographic map, if reasonably available. While you should submit any plans required by the agency, you are not required to duplicate maps or detailed plans submitted with any permit applications related to this checklist. Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 3 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 RE Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only B Environmental Elements 1 Earth a.General description of the site: Flat Rolling Hilly Steep Slopes Mountainous Other b.What is the steepest slope on the site (approximate percent slope)? c.What general types of soils are found on the site (for example, clay, sand, gravel, peat, muck)? If you know the classification of agricultural soils, specify them and note any agricultural land of long-term commercial significance and whether the proposal results in removing any of thesesoils. d.Are there surface indications or history of unstable soils in the immediate vicinity? Yes No If so, describe. e.Describe the purpose, type, total area, approximate quantities and total affected area of any filling excavation or grading proposed. Indicate source of fill. Indicate were excavation material is going. Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 4 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Part B below will only be filled out for this non-project action if the SEPA Official determines that it would aid SEPA review (Per WAC 197-11-315(1) and Planning and Development Services Policy PL1-83-001Z). Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only f. Could erosion occur as a result of clearing, construction, or use? Yes No If so, generally describe. g. About what percent of the site will be covered with impervious surfaces after project construction (for example, asphalt or buildings)? h. Proposed measures to reduce or control erosion, or other impacts to the earth, if any: 2. Air a. What types of emissions to the air would result from the proposal during construction, operation and maintenance when the project is completed (i.e., dust, automobile, odors, or industrial wood smoke)? If any, generally describe and give approximate quantities if known. b. Are there any off-site sources of emissions or odor that may affect your proposal? Yes No If so, generally describe. c. Proposed measures to reduce or control emissions or other impacts to air, if any: Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 5 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only 3. Water a. Surface: (1) Is there any surface water body on or in the immediate vicinity of the site (including year-round and seasonal streams, saltwater, lakes, ponds, wetlands)? Yes No If yes, describe type and provide names. If appropriate, state what stream or river it flows into. (2) Will the project require any work over, in, or adjacent to (within 200 feet) the described waters? Yes No If yes, please describe and attach available plans. (3) Estimate the amount of fill and dredge material that would be placed in or removed from surface water or wetlands and indicate the area of the site that would be affected. Indicate the source of fill material. (4) Will the proposal require surface water withdrawals or diversions? Yes No Give general description, purpose, and approximate quantities if known. Does the proposal lie within a 100-year floodplain? Yes No If so, note location on the site plan. Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 6 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only (5) Does the proposal involve any discharges of waste materials to surface waters? Yes No If so, describe the type of waste and anticipated volume of discharge b. Ground Water: (1) Will ground water be withdrawn from a well for drinking water or other purposes? Yes No If so, give a general description of the well, proposed uses and approximate quantities withdrawn from the well. Will water be discharged to groundwater? Give general description, purpose, and approximate quantities if known. (2) Describe waste material that will be discharged into the ground from septic tanks or other sources, if any (for example: Domestic sewage; industrial, containing the following chemicals…..; agricultural; etc.). Describe the general size of the system, the number of houses to be served (if applicable), or the number of animals or humans the system(s) are expected to serve. c. Water runoff (including stormwater): (1) Describe the source of runoff (including storm water) and method of collection and disposal, if any (include quantities, if known). Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 7 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only Where will this water flow? Will this water flow into other waters? Yes No If so, describe. (2) Could waste materials enter ground or surface waters? Yes No If so, generally describe. (3) Does the proposal alter or otherwise affect drainage patterns in the vicinity of the site: Yes No If so, describe. d. Proposed measures to reduce or control surface, ground, and runoff water impacts, if any: 4 Plants a. Check types of vegetation found on the site: Deciduous tree: alder, maple, aspen, other Evergreen tree: fir, cedar, pine, other Shrubs Grass Pasture Crop or grain Orchards, vineyards or other permanent crops Wet soil plants: cattail, buttercup, bullrush, skunk cabbage, other Water plants: water lily, eelgrass, milfoil, other Other types of vegetation Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 8 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only b. What kind and amount of vegetation will be removed or altered? c. List threatened or endangered species known to be on or near the site. d. Proposed landscaping, use of native plants, or other measures to preserve or enhance vegetation on the site, if any: e. List all noxious weeds and invasive species known to be on or near the site. 5. Animals a. Check any birds and animals, which have been observed on or near the site or are known to be on or near the site: Birds: Hawk, Heron, Eagle, Songbirds; Other: Mammals: Deer, Bear, Elk, Beaver; Other: Fish: Bass, Salmon, Trout, Herring, Shellfish; Other: b. List any threatened or endangered species known to be on or near the site. Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 9 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only c.Is the site part of a migration route?Yes No If so, explain. d.Proposed measures to preserve or enhance wildlife, if any: e.List any invasive species known to be on or near site. 6.Energy and Natural Resources a.What kinds of energy (electric, natural gas, oil, wood stove, solar) will be used to meet the completed project's energy needs? Describe whether it will be used for heating, manufacturing, etc. b.Would your project affect the potential use of solar energy by adjacent properties? Yes No If so, generally describe. c.What kinds of energy conservation features are included in the plans of this proposal? List other proposed measures to reduce or control energy impacts, if any: 7.Environmental Health a.Are there any environmental health hazards, including exposure to toxic chemicals, risk of fire and explosion, spill, or hazardous waste that could occur as a result of this proposal? Yes No If so, describe. (1)Describe any known or possible contamination at the site from present or past uses. Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 10 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only (2) Describe existing hazardous chemicals/conditions that might affect project development and design. This includes underground hazardous liquid and gas transmission pipelines located within the project area and in the vicinity. (3) Describe any toxic or hazardous chemicals that might be stored, used, or produced during the projects development or construction, or at any time during the operating life of the project. (4) Describe special emergency services that might be required. (5) Proposed measure to reduce or control environmental health hazards, if any: b. Noise (1) What types of noise exist in the area which may affect your project (for example: traffic, equipment, operation, other)? (2) What types and levels of noise would be created by or associated with the project on a short-term or a long-term basis (for example: traffic, construction, operation, other)? Indicate what hours noise would come from the site. (3) Proposed measures to reduce or control noise impacts, if any: Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 11 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only 8 Land and Shoreline Use a. What is the current use of the site and adjacent properties? Will the proposal affect current land uses on nearby or adjacent properties? Yes No If so, describe. b. Has the project site been used as working farmlands or working forest lands? Yes No If so, describe. How much agriculture or forest land of long-term commercial significance will be converted to other uses as a result of the proposal, if any? If resource lands have not been designated, how many acres in farmland or forest land tax status will be converted to non-farm or non-forest use? (1) Will the proposal affect or be affected by surrounding working farm or forest land normal business operations, such as oversize equipment access, the application of pesticides, tilling and harvesting? Yes No If so, how: c. Describe any structures on the site. Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 12 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only d. Will any structures be demolished? Yes No If so, what? e. What is the current zoning classification of the site? f. What is the current comprehensive plan designation of the site? g. If applicable, what is the current shoreline master program designation of the site? h. Has any part of the site been classified as a critical area by the city or county? Yes No If so, specify. i. Approximately how many people would reside or work in the completed project? j. Approximately how many people would the completed project displace? k. Proposed measures to avoid or reduce displacement impacts, if any: l. Proposed measures to ensure the proposal is compatible with existing and projected land uses and plans, if any: m. Proposed measures to ensure the proposal is compatible with nearby agricultural and forest lands of long-term commercial significance, if any? Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 13 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only 9 Housing a. Approximately how many units would be provided, if any? Indicate whether high, middle, or low-income housing. High Middle Low-income b. Approximately how many units, if any, would be eliminated? Indicate whether high, middle, or low-income housing. High Middle Low-income c. Proposed measures to reduce or control housing impacts, if any: 10 Aesthetics a. What is the tallest height of any proposed structure(s), not including antennas; what is the principal exterior building material(s) proposed? b. What views in the immediate vicinity would be altered or obstructed? c. Proposed measures to reduce or control aesthetic impacts, if any: 11 Light and Glare a. What type of light or glare will the proposal produce? What time of day would it mainly occur? b. Could light or glare from the finished project be a safety hazard or interfere with views? Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 14 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only c.What existing off-site sources of light or glare may affect your proposal? d.Proposed measures to reduce or control light and glare impacts, if any: 12 Recreation a.What designated and informal recreational opportunities are in the immediate vicinity? b.Would the proposed project displace any existing recreational uses? If so,describe. c.Proposed measures to reduce or control impacts on recreation, includingrecreation opportunities to be provided by the project or applicant, if any: 13 Historic and Cultural Preservation a.Are there any buildings, structures, or sites, located on or near the site that are over 45 years old listed in or eligible for listing in national, state or local preservation registers located on or near the site? Yes No If so, specifically describe. b.Are there any landmarks, features, or other evidence of Indian, historic use or occupation, this may include human burials or old cemeteries? Yes No Are there any material evidence, artifacts, or areas of cultural importance on or near the site? Yes No Please list any professional studies conducted at the site to identify such resources. Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 15 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only c.Describe the methods used to assess the potential impacts to cultural and historic resources on or near the project site. Examples: Include consultation with tribes and the Department of Archeology and HistoricPreservation, archaeological surveys, historic maps, GIS data, etc. d.Proposed measures to avoid, minimize, or compensate for loss, changes to, and disturbance to resources. Please include plans for the above and any permits that may be required. 14 Transportation a.Identify public streets and highways serving the site or affected geographic area and describe proposed access to the existing street system. Show on site plan, if any. b.Is site or geographic area currently served by public transit?Yes No If not, what is the approximate distance to the nearest transit stop? c.How many parking spaces would the completed project have? How many would the project eliminate? d.Will the proposal require any new or improvements to existing roads, streets, pedestrian, bicycle or state transportation facilities, not including driveways? Yes No If so, generally describe (indicate whether public or private). Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 16 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only e. Will the project use (or occur in the immediate vicinity of) Water, Rail, or Air transportation? If so, generally describe. f. How many vehicular trips per day would be generated by the completed project or proposal? If known, indicate when peak volumes would occur and what percentage of the volume would be trucks (such as commercial and non-passenger vehicles). What data or transportation models were used to make these estimates? g. Proposed measures to reduce or control transportation impacts, if any: 15 Public Services a. Would the project result in an increased need for public services (for example: fire protection, police protection, health care, schools, other)? Yes No If so, generally describe. b. Proposed measures to reduce or control direct impacts on public services, if any. 16 Utilities a. Check utilities currently available at the site: Electricity, Natural gas, Water, Refuse service, Telephone, Sanitary sewer, Septic system, Other Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 17 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only b. Describe the utilities that are proposed for the project, the utility providing the service, and the general construction activities on the site or in the immediate vicinity which might be needed. Signature The above answers are true and complete to the best of my knowledge. I understand that the lead agency is relying on them to make its decision. Signature: Date Submitted: FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Reviewed by Whatcom County Planning & Development Services Staff Staff Signature Date Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 18 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 7/1/2021 Matt Aamot , Robby Eckroth 07/01/2021 RE Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only C Supplemental Sheet for Non-project Actions (It is not necessary to use this sheet for project actions) Because these questions are very general, it may be helpful to read them in conjunction with the list of the elements of the environment. When answering these questions, be aware of the extent the proposal or the types of activities likely to result from the proposal, would affect the item at a greater intensity or at a faster rate than if the proposal were not implemented. Respond briefly and in general terms. 1 How would the proposal be likely to increase discharge to water; emissions to air; production, storage, or release of toxic or hazardous substances; or production of noise? Proposed measures to avoid or reduce such increases are: 2. How would the proposal be likely to affect plants, animals, fish, or marine life? Proposed measures to protect or conserve plants, animals, fish, or marine life are: 3. How would the proposal be likely to deplete energy or natural resources? Proposed measures to protect or conserve energy and natural resources are: Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 19 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 RE Item 7d i To Be Completed Evaluation For By Applicant Agency Use Only 4. How would the proposal be likely to use or affect environmentally sensitive areas or areas designated (or eligible or under study) for governmental protection; such as parks, wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, threatened or endangered species habitat, historic or cultural sites, wetlands, floodplains, or prime farmlands? Proposed measures to protect such resources or to avoid or reduce impacts are: 5. How would the proposal be likely to affect land and shoreline use, including whether it would allow or encourage land or shoreline uses incompatible with existing plans? Proposed measures to avoid or reduce shoreline and land use impacts are: 6. How would the proposal be likely to increase demands on transportation or public services and utilities? Proposed measures to reduce or respond to such demand(s) are: 7. Identify, if possible, whether the proposal may conflict with local, state, or federal laws or requirements for the protection of the environment. Reviewed by initials ________ SEPA Environmental Checklist Page 20 of 20 Form PL4-83-005A January 2019 RE Item 7d i Preliminary Draft - Temporary Homeless Facility Regulations 1 Exhibit A NOTE: The proposal is to insert an entirely new chapter in the Whatcom County Zoning Code (Title 20). Underlining and strikethroughs below are solely to show differences between the proposal and County Ordinance 2020-053 (and/or, as applicable, Bellingham Municipal Code provisions). Chapter 20.17 Temporary Homeless Facilities Sections: 20.17.010 Purpose. 20.17.020 Requirements for Temporary Homeless Facilities. 20.17.030 Additional Requirements for Temporary Building Encampments. 20.17.040 Permit Required. 20.17.050 Capacity of Temporary Homeless Facilities. 20.17.060 Duration of Temporary Homeless Facilities. 20.17.070 Application. 20.17.080 Permit Procedures. 20.17.010 Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to allow and establish a review process for the location, siting, and operation of temporary shelters for people experiencing homelessness (known as temporary homeless facilities). These regulations are intended to protect public health and safety by requiring safe operations of the shelters for both the shelter guests and the broader community. Temporary homeless facilitiesshelters include temporary building encampments, temporary tent encampments, temporary safe parking areas, and temporary tiny house encampments. This chapter does not include regulations for interim housing. Rationale: The Purpose statement above is from Bellingham Municipal Code 20.15.010 relating to “Temporary Shelters for People Experiencing Homelessness” with changes shown with underlining and strike- throughs. Bellingham Municipal Code 20.15A and 20.08.020 have specific provisions relating to longer duration “Interim Housing” that the Whatcom County Code does not contain. Item 7d i Preliminary Draft - Temporary Homeless Facility Regulations 2 20.17.020 Requirements for Temporary Homeless Facilities. The following requirements shall apply to all temporary homeless facilities approved under this chapter ordinance, unless modified by the director through approval of an administrative approval use permit. (1) The temporary homeless facilityencampment shall be located a minimum of 20 feet from the property line of abutting properties containing commercial, industrial, and multifamily residential uses. The temporary homeless facilityencampment shall be located a minimum of 40 feet from the property line of abutting properties containing single-family residential or public recreational uses., unless These buffers may be reduced if the director finds that a reduced buffer width will provide adequate separation between the temporary homeless facilityencampment and adjoining uses, due to changes in elevation, intervening buildings or other physical characteristics of the site of the encampment. (2) No temporary homeless facility shall be located within a critical area or its buffer as defined by Whatcom County Code (WCC) 16.16 or 23. (3) A temporary homeless facility shall comply with the applicable regulationsdevelopment standards of Whatcom County Code Title 20 Zoning, except that temporary homeless facilities shall not be considered structures for the purposes of calculating parcel’s total lot coverage, as defined by WCC 20.97.217. (4) A six-foot-tall fence is required around the perimeter of the temporary homeless facilityencampment to limit access to the site for safety and security reasons; provided, that the fencing does not create a sight obstruction at the street or street intersections or curbs as determined by the county engineer, unless the director determines that there is sufficient vegetation, topographic variation, or other site conditions such that fencing would not be needed. (5) Exterior lighting must be directed downward and glare contained within the temporary homeless facilityencampment. (6) The maximum number of residents at a temporary homeless facilityencampment site shall be determined by the director taking into consideration site conditions, but in no case shall the number be greater than fifty (50) people. (7) On-site parking of the sponsor shall not be displaced unless sufficient required off- street parking remains available for the host's use to compensate for the loss of on- site parking or unless a shared parking agreement is executed with adjacent properties. (8) A transportation plan, including provisions for transit, and pedestrian and bicycle ingress and egress to the temporary homeless facility siteencampment, shall be submitted for review and approval. (9) No children under the age of 18 are allowed to stay overnight in the temporary homeless facilityencampment, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. If a child under the age of 18 Rationale: The definition of “temporary homeless facility” encompasses all four types of temporary homeless facilities (including encampments). Item 7d i Preliminary Draft - Temporary Homeless Facility Regulations 3 without a parent or guardian present attempts to stay at the temporary homeless facilityencampment, the sponsor and the managing agency shall actively endeavor to find alternative shelter for the child through community partners such as Northwest Youth Services, Opportunity Council, Lighthouse Mission, Interfaith Coalition and other appropriate homeless youth services organizations. Children under the age of 18 without a parent or guardian present shall be allowed to remain in a temporary homeless facilityencampment while alternative shelter is being sought. (10) The sponsor or managing agency shall provide and enforce a written code of conduct, which not only provides for the health, safety and welfare of the temporary homeless facilityencampment residents, but also mitigates impacts to neighbors and the community. A copy of the code of conduct shall be submitted to the County at the time of application for the administrative approval use permit. Said The code of conduct shall be incorporated into the conditions of approval. The managing agency shall post the County approved written code of conduct on site. (11) An operations plan must be provided that addresses site management, site maintenance, and provision of human and social services. The managing agency shall demonstrate that:Individuals or organizations shall A. Individuals in the agency have either a demonstrated experience providing similar services to homeless residents; and/or B. Individuals in the agency have certification or academic credentials in an applicable human service field; and/or C. Individuals in the agency have applicable experience in a related program with a homeless population; or. D. Should an individual or organization not have any of the preceding qualifications, Additional prescriptive measures will be implementedmay be required to minimize risk to both residents of the temporary homeless facility and the community in general. (12) The sponsor and the managing agency shall ensure the temporary homeless facility compliescompliance with Washington State laws and regulations and the Whatcom County Health Department's regulations concerning, but not limited to, drinking water connections, solid waste disposal, and human waste. The sponsor and the managing agency shall permit inspections by local agencies and/or departments to ensure such compliance and shall implement all directives resulting therefrom within the specified time period. (13) The sponsor and managing agency shall assure all applicable public health regulations, including but not limited to the following, will be met for: (a) Potable water, which shall be available at all times at the site; (b) Sanitary portable toilets, which shall be set back from all property lines as determined by the director; (c) Hand-washing stations by the toilets and food preparation areas; Rationale: The change above would clarify that the sponsor and managing agency are responsible to ensure the homeless facility complies with State and County laws, but that an individual’s compliance with certain laws is enforced by the Sheriff’s Office. Item 7d i Preliminary Draft - Temporary Homeless Facility Regulations 4 (d) Food preparation or service tents; and (e) Refuse receptacles. (14) Public health regulations (WAC 246.215 and WCC 24.03) on food donations and food handling and storage, including proper temperature control, shall be followed and temporary homeless facilityencampment residents involved in food donations and storages shall be made aware of these Whatcom County Health Department requirements. (15) The sponsor and the managing agency shall designate points of contact and provide contact information (24 hour accessible phone contact) to the chief criminal deputy of the Whatcom County Sheriff or his/her designee. At least one designated point of contact shall be on duty at all times. The names of the on-duty points of contact shall be posted on-site daily and their contact information shall be provided to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office as described above. (16) Facilities for dealing with trash shall be provided on-site throughout the temporary homeless facilityencampment. A regular trash patrol in the immediate vicinity of the temporary encampment site shall be provided. (17) The sponsor and the managing agency shall take reasonable and legal steps to obtain verifiable identification information (recognizing this may not be possible if a homeless individual’s identification documents have been lost or stolen), to include full name and date of birth, from current and prospective temporary homeless facilityencampment residents and use the identification to obtain sex offender and warrant checks from appropriate agencies. The sponsor and the managing agency shall keep a current log of names and dates of all people who stay overnight in the temporary homeless facilityencampment. This log shall be available upon request to law enforcement agencies and prospective encampment residents shall be so advised by the sponsor and managing agency. Persons who have active warrants, or who are required to register as sex offenders, are not allowed in a temporary homeless facilityprohibited from the encampment’s location. (18)The sponsor and the managing agency shall immediately contact the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office if someone is rejected or ejected from the temporary homeless facilityencampment when the reason for rejection or ejection is an active warrant or a match on a sex offender check, or if, in the opinion of the on-duty point of contact or on-duty security staff, the rejected/ejected person is a potential threat to the community. (19)All permanent or temporary structures shall have fully operational smoke detectors installed and can be battery operated. Fire extinguishers shall be provided for each site. The number and type of fire extinguishers shall be determined by the by the director in consultation with the managing agency. Tents over 300 square feet in size and canopies in excess of 400 square feet shall utilize flame retardant materials. (20) The sponsor, the managing agency and temporary homeless facilityencampment residents shall cooperate with other providers of shelters and services for homeless persons within the County and shall make inquiry with these providers regarding the availability of existing resources. Rationale: The added language above was recommended by the Whatcom County Building Services Division Manager/Deputy Fire Marshal. Item 7d i Preliminary Draft - Temporary Homeless Facility Regulations 5 (21) The sponsor and/or managing agency shall provide before-setupencampment photos of the host site with the application. Upon vacation of the temporary homeless facilityencampment, all temporary structures and debris shall be removed from the host site within one calendar week. (22)Upon cessation of the temporary homeless facilityencampment, the site shall be restored, as near as possible, to its original condition. Where deemed necessary by the director, the sponsor and/or managing agency shall re-plant areas in which vegetation had been removed or destroyed. (23)Temporary homeless facilities are only allowed in urban growth areas. This locational requirement does not apply to temporary homeless facilities on property owned or controlled by religious organizations under RCW 36.01.290. 20.17.030 Additional Requirements for Temporary Building Encampments. In addition to the requirements of WCC 20.17.020, the following requirements apply to temporary building encampments, unless modified by the director during the administrative approval use permit approval process: (1) Temporary building encampments hosted in existing structures that do not meet building codes at the time of application may be provisionally approved consistent with the requirements of RCW 19.27.042. (2)No more than one bed per 35 square feet of floor area is permitted. (3)The number of toilets required for each encampment will be determined by the Whatcom County Health Department after a review of factors such as the potential number of guests. Rationale: Subsections 1 - 22 above are from Whatcom County Ordinance 2020-053 relating to Interim Zoning Regulations for Temporary Homeless Facilities (Section 4), with proposed changes shown with underlining and strike-throughs. Subsection 23 is not in Ordinance 2020-053. Under this provision temporary homeless facilities would be allowed only within urban growth areas, where more intensive land uses are permitted, services typically exist nearby, and transportation options are more readily available. However, this provision cannot be applied to facilities on property owned or operated by religious organizations under RCW 36.01.290. Rationale: The requirements above are drawn from requirements from Bellingham Municipal Code 20.15.030. Item 7d i Preliminary Draft - Temporary Homeless Facility Regulations 6 20.17.040 Permit Required. Establishment of a temporary homeless facility shall require approval of an administrative approval use permit, as described in this ordinance, and compliance with all other applicable County regulations. The director shall have authority to grant, grant with conditions or deny an application for an administrative approval use permit for a temporary homeless facilityunder this ordinance. 20.17.050 Capacity Duration of Temporary Homeless Facilities. (1)No more than a A maximum of 100 people may be housed in temporary homeless facilities (encampments) located in the unincorporated County at any time. Multiple temporary homeless facilityencampment locations may be permitted provided that the aggregate total of people in all temporary homeless facilitiestent and/or tiny house encampments shall not exceed 100. 20.17.060 Duration of Temporary Homeless Facilities. (1) The director shall not grant a permit for the same site more than once in any calendar year nor; provided that director is not authorized to issue a permit for the same site sooner than 180 days from the date the site is vacated as provided for in Section 4 of this ordinance. (2) Temporary tent encampments and temporary safe parking areas may be approved for a period not to exceed 190 days. The director may grant one 190-day extension, provided all conditions have been complied with and circumstances associated with the use have not changed. This extension shall be subject to a Type II review process and may be appealed to the hearing examiner as provided in WCC 22.05.020(1). The permit shall specify a date by which the use shall be terminated and the site vacated and restored to its preexistingpre-encampment condition. (3) Temporary tiny house encampments may be approved for a period of between six months and up to one year, provided the sponsor and managing agency comply with all permit conditions. The director may grant one or more extension(s) not to exceed one additional year, provided enabling legislation allows so. Extensions are subject to a Type II review process and may be appealed to the hearing examiner as provided in WCC 22.05.020(1). The permit shall specify a date by which the use shall be terminated and the site vacated and restored to its preexistingpre-encampment condition. Rationale: The requirements above are from Whatcom County Ordinance 2020-053 relating to Interim Zoning Regulations for Temporary Homeless Facilities (Section 6), with proposed changes shown with underlining and strike-throughs. Rationale: The requirements above (subsections 1-3) are from Whatcom County Ordinance 2020- 053 relating to Interim Zoning Regulations for Temporary Homeless Facilities (Section 5), with proposed changes shown with underlining and strike-throughs. All decisions by the Director are subject to appeal under WCC 22.05.160. See also proposed WCC 20.17.080(5) below. Rationale: The requirements above are from Whatcom County Ordinance 2020-053 relating to Interim Zoning Regulations for Temporary Homeless Facilities (Section 5), with proposed changes shown with underlining and strike-throughs. Item 7d i Preliminary Draft - Temporary Homeless Facility Regulations 7 (4) Temporary building encampments may be approved for a period of up to five years, provided the sponsor and managing agency comply with all permit conditions. Should the original permit be granted for a period of less than five years, the director may grant one or more extensions up to a total of five years. Extensions are subject to a Type I review process under BMC 21.10.100 and may be appealed to the hearing examiner as provided in BMC 21.10.250. The permit shall specify a date by which the use shall be terminated and the site vacated and, where applicable, restored to its preexisting condition. 20.17.070 Application. Application for an administrative approval use permit shall be made on forms provided by the County, and shall be accompanied by the following information; provided, that the director may waive any of these items, upon request by the applicant and finding that the item is not necessary to analyze the application. An application to establish a temporary homeless facility shall be signed by both the sponsor and the managing agency ("applicant") and contain the following: (1) A site plan of the property, drawn to scale, showing existing natural features, existing and proposed grades, existing and proposed utility improvements, existing rights-of-way and improvements, and existing and proposed structures, tents and other improvements (including landscaping and fencing at the perimeter of the proposed facilityencampment and the property and off-street parking); (2) A vicinity map, showing the location of the site in relation to nearby streets and properties; (3) A written summary of the proposal, responding to the standards and requirements of WCC 20.17this ordinance; (4) The written code of conduct, operations plan and a transportation plan as required by WCC 20.17.020this ordinance; (5) Statement of actions that the applicant will take reasonable steps to obtain verifiable identification from encampment temporary homeless facility residents and to use the identification to obtain sex offender and warrant checks from appropriate agencies; (6) Project statistics, including site area, building coverage, number and location of tents and temporary structures, expected and maximum number of residents, and duration of the temporary homeless facilityencampment; (7) Address and parcel number of the subject property; (8) Photographs of the site; Rationale: The requirements above (subsection 4) are a modified version of requirements from Bellingham Municipal Code 20.15.060, with proposed changes shown with underlining and strike-throughs. All decisions by the Director are subject to appeal under WCC 22.05.160. See also proposed WCC 20.17.080(5) below. Item 7d i Preliminary Draft - Temporary Homeless Facility Regulations 8 (9) A list of other permits that are or may be required for development of the property (issued by the County or by other government agencies), insofar as they are known to the applicant; (10) Permit fees for temporary homeless facilities shall be in accordance with WCC 22.25 and the Unified Fee Schedule; and (11) A list of any requirements under WCC 20.17 thatthis ordinance for which the applicant is asking to modify. 20.17.080 Permit Procedures. (1) Notice. All temporary homeless facility applications shall be reviewed under a Type II process under WCC 22.05, except that the final decision must be rendered within 60 days of a determination of completeness. Additionally, the notice of application shall contain proposed duration and operation of the temporary homeless facility, number of residents for the facilityencampment, and contain a County website link to the proposed written code of conduct, operations plan and transportation plan for the facility. (2) Decision and Notice of Decision. Final action on permit applications made under this section shall be in accordance with WCC 22.05. Before any such permit may be granted, the applicant shall demonstrate and the director shall find consistency WCC 22.05.02820.84.220 and the following: 1. The proposed use meets the requirements of WCC 20.17this ordinance; and 2. Measures, including the requirements herein and as identified by the director, have been taken to minimize the possible adverse impacts thatwhich the proposed temporary homeless facilityencampment may have on the area in which it is located. It is acknowledged that not all impacts can be eliminated, however the risk of significant impacts can be reduced to a temporary and acceptable level as the duration of the temporary homeless facility encampment will be limited. A notice of the decision shall be provided in accordance with WCC 22.05. (3) Conditions. Because each temporary homeless facilityencampment has unique characteristics, including, but not limited to, size, duration, uses, number of occupants and composition, the director shall have the authority to impose conditions on the approval of an administrative approval use permit to ensure that the proposal meets the criteria for approval listed above. Conditions, if imposed, must be intended to protect public health, life and safety and minimize nuisance-generating features such as noise, waste, air quality, Rationale: The requirements above are from Whatcom County Ordinance 2020-053 relating to Interim Zoning Regulations for Temporary Homeless Facilities (Section 7), with proposed changes shown with underlining and strike-throughs. Item 7d i Preliminary Draft - Temporary Homeless Facility Regulations 9 unsightliness , traffic, physical hazards and other similar impacts that the temporary homeless facilityencampment may have on the area in which it is located. In cases where the application for an administrative approval use permit does not meet the provisions of WCC 20.17this ordinance (except when allowed under WCC 20.17.080(4))subsection (D) of this section) or adequate mitigation may not be feasible or possible, the director shall deny the application. (4) Modification of Requirements. The director may approve an administrative approval use permit for a temporary homeless facilityencampment that relaxes one or more of the standards in this ordinance only when, in addition to satisfying the decision criteria stated above, the applicant submits a description of the standard to be modified and demonstrates how the modification would result in a safe facility encampment with minimal negative impacts to the host community under the specific circumstances of the application. In considering whether the modification should be granted, the director shall first consider the effects on the health and safety of temporary homeless facilityencampment residents and the neighboring communities. Modifications shall not be granted if their adverse impacts on temporary homeless facilityencampment residents and/or neighboring communities will be greater than those without modification. The burden of proof shall be on the applicant. (5) Appeal. The director's decision, including permit extensions, may be appealed to the hearing examiner as provided in WCC 22.05.020(1) and 22.05.160. (6) Revocation. The director shall also have the authority to revoke an approved administrative approval use permit, pursuant to WCC 22.05.150 at any time a sponsor or managing agency has failed to comply with the applicable provisions of WCC 20.17this ordinance or the permit. Rationale: The requirements above are from Whatcom County Ordinance 2020-053 relating to Interim Zoning Regulations for Temporary Homeless Facilities (Section 8), with proposed changes shown with underlining and strike-throughs. Item 7d i Preliminary Draft - Temporary Homeless Facility Regulations 10 Chapter 20.97 DEFINITIONS NOTE: The proposal is to insert entirely new definitions in the Whatcom County Zoning Code (Title 20) as shown below. Underlining and strikethroughs below are solely to show differences between the proposal and County Ordinance 2020-053. Code Publishing would provide proper codification numbers for these new definitions. “Temporary homeless facility” means a facility providing temporary housing accommodations that includes a sponsor and managing agency, the primary purpose of which is to provide temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness in general or for specific populations of the homeless. Temporary homeless facilities include but are not limited to are temporary building encampments, temporary safe parking areas, temporary tent encampments and temporary tiny house encampments. “Temporary building encampment” means a temporary homeless shelter in a building or other permanent structure with overnight sleeping accommodations for the homeless, as approved by the director, on a site provided or arranged for by a sponsor with services provided by a sponsor and supervised by a managing agency. This definition includes low-barrier shelters and other similar uses. “Temporary safe parking area” means a temporary homeless shelter for a group of people living in their vehicles, as approved by the director, on a site provided or arranged for by a sponsor with services provided by a sponsor and supervised by a managing agency. This definition does not include recreational vehicles. "Temporary tent encampment" means a short-term living facility for a group of homeless people that is composed of tents or other temporary structures, as approved by the director, on a site provided or arranged for by a sponsor with services provided by a sponsor and supervised by a managing agency. “Temporary tiny house encampment” means a temporary homeless facility for a group of people living in purpose-built tiny houses for people experiencing homelessness, as approved by the director, on a site provided or arranged for by a sponsor with services provided by a sponsor and supervised by a managing agency. Temporary tiny houses for the homeless are between 100 and 300typically less than 200 square feet and easily constructed and moved to various locations. For the purposes of this ordinance, tTemporary tiny houseshomes are not dwelling units and, as such, are not required to meet building codes. "Managing agency” means an organization identified as the manager of a temporary homeless facility that has the capacity to organize and manage a temporary homeless facility on a 24 hour basis. Managing agencies are limited to religious organizations and non-profit agencies. A group of homeless residents is not considered a managing agency. A "managing agency" may be the same entity as the sponsor. Item 7d i Preliminary Draft - Temporary Homeless Facility Regulations 11 "Sponsor" means an organization that : A.Invites a temporary homeless facility to reside on land they own or lease; and B.Is a State of Washington registered not-for-profit corporation and federally recognized tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization; or C.Is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as exempt from federal income taxes as a religious organization, which expresses its religious mission, in part, by organizing living accommodations for the homeless. Rationale: The definitions above are from Whatcom County Ordinance 2020-053 relating to Interim Zoning Regulations for Temporary Homeless Facilities (Section 3), with the following modifications and additions: The definition of “Temporary homeless facility” in Ordinance 2020-053 indicates that these facilities “include but are not limited to” temporary tent encampments and temporary tiny house encampments. The City of Bellingham’s definition of “Temporary homeless shelter” includes four types of shelters: Temporary building encampments, temporary safe parking areas, temporary tent encampments, and temporary tiny house encampments (Bellingham Municipal Code 20.08.020). The above definition has been modified to include all four types of temporary homeless facilities and delete the phrase “include but are not limited to” in order to increase clarity. A definition of “Temporary building encampment” was added that is consistent with Bellingham Municipal Code 20.08.020. A definition of “Temporary safe parking area” was added that is consistent with Bellingham Municipal Code 20.08.020. In the definition of “Temporary tiny house encampment,” the size of tiny houses was modified from “typically less than 200 square feet” to “between 100 and 300 square feet.” This provides consistency with the definition in the Bellingham Municipal Code 20.08.020. It also provides clarity for the public, managing agencies, sponsors, and staff relating to the allowed size of temporary tiny houses. The definition of “Managing agency” has been modified by inserting a clause that management is “on a 24 hour basis” (recommended by the Whatcom County Building Services Division Manager/Deputy Fire Marshal). Additionally, a phrase included in the definition of “Managing Agency” in Bellingham Municipal Code 20.08.020 has been added (“A group of homeless residents is not considered a managing agency”). Item 7d i KITSAP COUNTY EMERGENCY TRANSITORY ORDINANCE 531-2016 FACT SHEET Homelessness is a growing crisis in unincorporated Kitsap County and recent data shows the number of people experiencing homelessness increasing. In order to reduce homelessness and protect the health and safety of the community, the Board of County Commissioners adopted emergency ordinance 531-2016 to allow for transitory accommodations. This ordinance creates a six-month pilot program while the county and its partners work towards a more permanent solution. Within this ordinance there are five temporary permit types that can be acquired, valid for 180 days with an option of one 180-day extension. Transitory Permits:  Single Family Transitory Accommodations - Permit for one recreational vehicle or up to two tents to reside on a developed residential property. o Transitory SFR Regulations & Application  Small Transitory Accommodations - In partnership with a Host Agency (religious organization, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) or public entity that owns the property). Permit to accommodate up to 10 tents, or 25 people. o Small Transitory Accommodations Regulations & Application  Large Transitory Accommodations - In partnership with a Host Agency. Permit to accommodate 11 to 40 tents and up to 50 people. o Large Transitory Accommodation Regulations & Application  Safe Park - A permit for safe and secure parking in established parking lots for people living in motor vehicles or recreational vehicles. Accommodates six or fewer vehicles. o Safe Park Accommodation Regulations & Application  Indoor Transitory Accommodations - A Host Agency may locate up to 75 people within an existing building, provided they meet the assigned requirements. o Indoor Transitory Accommodation Regulations & Application For questions on transitory permits, call Kitsap County’s Department of Community Development at (360) 337-5777 or e-mail Natalie Kuzmick at nkuzmick@co.kitsap.wa.us. Public feedback on the temporary ordinance is being taken as the county shapes a permanent solution at Transitory Accommodations Feedback. Resources for those living without homes and information on residing in temporary accommodations are available through the Housing Solutions Center of Kitsap County. Information on Kitsap County’s annual Point In Time Count that identified those living unsheltered in Kitsap County, and resources on how to help are available through the Kitsap County Department of Human Services Housing and Homelessness Program or contact Program Coordinator Kirsten Jewell at (360) 337-7286, kjewell@co.kitsap.wa.us. Item 7d ii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 1 | P a g e SEPA Environmental Checklist Purpose of checklist: [help] Governmental agencies use this checklist to help determine whether the environmental impacts of your proposal are significant. This information is also helpful to determine if available avoidance, minimization or compensatory mitigation measures will address the probable significant impacts or if an environmental impact statement will be prepared to further analyze the proposal. Instructions for applicants: This environmental checklist asks you to describe some basic information about your proposal. Please answer each question accurately and carefully, to the best of your knowledge. You may need to consult with an agency specialist or private consultant for some questions. You may use “not applicable” or "does not apply" only when you can explain why it does not apply and not when the answer is unknown. You may also attach or incorporate by reference additional studies reports. Complete and accurate answers to these questions often avoid delays with the SEPA process as well as later in the decision- making process. The checklist questions apply to all parts of your proposal, even if you plan to do them over a period of time or on different parcels of land. Attach any additional information that will help describe your proposal or its environmental effects. The agency to which you submit this checklist may ask you to explain your answers or provide additional information reasonably related to determining if there may be significant adverse impact. Instructions for Lead Agencies: Please adjust the format of this template as needed. Additional information may be necessary to evaluate the existing environment, all interrelated aspects of the proposal and an analysis of adverse impacts. The checklist is considered the first but not necessarily the only source of information needed to make an adequate threshold determination. Once a threshold determination is made, the lead agency is responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the checklist and other supporting documents. Use of checklist for non-project proposals: [help] For non-project proposals (such as ordinances, regulations, plans and programs), complete the applicable parts of sections A and B plus the SUPPLEMENTAL SHEET FOR NON-PROJECT ACTIONS (part D). Please completely answer all questions that apply and note that the words "project," "applicant," and "property or site" should be read as "proposal," "proponent," and "affected geographic area," respectively. The lead agency may exclude Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 2 | P a g e (for non-projects) questions in Part B - Environmental Elements –that do not contribute meaningfully to the analysis of the proposal. Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 3 | P a g e Section A: Background [help] 1) Name of proposed project, if applicable: [help] Amendment to Kitsap County Development Code regarding transitory accommodations 2) Name of applicant: [help] Kitsap County, Washington 3) Address and phone number of applicant and contact person: [help] 619 Division Street, MS-36 Port Orchard, WA 98366 Darren Gurnee, Senior Planner and Project Lead (360) 337-5777 4) Date checklist prepared: [help] March 22, 2018 5) Agency requesting checklist: [help] Kitsap County, Washington 6) Proposed timing or schedule (including phasing, if applicable): [help] Adoption is expected in April of 2018. 7) Do you have any plans for future additions, expansion, or further activity related to or connected with this proposal? If yes, explain. [help] No. 8) List any environmental information you know about that has been prepared, or will be prepared, directly related to this proposal. [help] Not applicable for this non-project proposal. 9) Do you know whether applications are pending for governmental approvals of other proposals directly affecting the property covered by your proposal? If yes, explain. [help] Not applicable for this non-project proposal. 10) List any government approvals or permits that will be needed for your proposal, if known. [help] Not applicable for this non-project proposal. The Washington State Department of Commerce has been notified of the proposed amendment to Kitsap County development code. Adoption by the Kitsap County Board of County Commissioners is planned for April of 2018. 11) Give brief, complete description of your proposal, including the proposed uses and the size of the project and site. There are several questions later in this checklist that ask you to describe certain aspects of your proposal. You do not need to repeat those answers on this page. (Lead agencies may modify this form to include additional specific information on project description.) [help] Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 4 | P a g e The Department of Community Development proposes an amendment to Kitsap County Code Title 17 ‘Zoning’, Chapters 17.410 and 17.505 regarding transitory accommodation allowances in unincorporated Kitsap County. Specifically, the amendments allow transitory accommodations in rural areas and allow flexibility in their construction types (expanded to metal or wood). 12)Location of the proposal. Give sufficient information for a person to understand the precise location of your proposed project, including a street address, if any, and section, township, and range, if known. If a proposal would occur over a range of area, provide the range or boundaries of the site(s). Provide a legal description, site plan, vicinity map, and topographic map, if reasonably available. While you should submit any plans required by the agency, you are not required to duplicate maps or detailed plans submitted with any permit applications related to this checklist. [help] Not applicable because this is a non-project proposal. Proposed code amendment would be applied to future development activities in unincorporated areas of Kitsap County which would be evaluated on an individual project basis. Section B: Environmental Elements [help] 1)Earth a)General description of the site [help] (circle one): Flat, rolling, hilly, steep slopes, mountainous, other _____________ Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b)What is the steepest slope on the site (approximate percent slope)? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. c)What general types of soils are found on the site (for example, clay, sand, gravel, peat, muck)? If you know the classification of agricultural soils, specify them and note any agricultural land of long-term commercial significance and whether the proposal results in removing any of these soils. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. d)Are there surface indications or history of unstable soils in the immediate vicinity? If so, describe. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. e)Describe the purpose, type, total area, and approximate quantities and total affected area of any filling, excavation, and grading proposed. Indicate source of fill. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 5 | P a g e f) Could erosion occur as a result of clearing, construction, or use? If so, generally describe. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. g) About what percent of the site will be covered with impervious surfaces after project construction (for example, asphalt or buildings)? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. h) Proposed measures to reduce or control erosion, or other impacts to the earth, if any: [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. 2) Air a) What types of emissions to the air would result from the proposal during construction, operation, and maintenance when the project is completed? If any, generally describe and give approximate quantities if known. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b) Are there any off-site sources of emissions or odor that may affect your proposal? If so, generally describe. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. c) Proposed measures to reduce or control emissions or other impacts to air, if any: [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. 3) Water a) Surface Water: [help] i) Is there any surface water body on or in the immediate vicinity of the site (including year-round and seasonal streams, saltwater, lakes, ponds, wetlands)? If yes, describe type and provide names. If appropriate, state what stream or river it flows into. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. ii) Will the project require any work over, in, or adjacent to (within 200 feet) the described waters? If yes, please describe and attach available plans. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 6 | P a g e iii) Estimate the amount of fill and dredge material that would be placed in or removed from surface water or wetlands and indicate the area of the site that would be affected. Indicate the source of fill material. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. iv) Will the proposal require surface water withdrawals or diversions? Give general description, purpose, and approximate quantities if known. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. v) Does the proposal lie within a 100-year floodplain? If so, note location on the site plan. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. vi) Does the proposal involve any discharges of waste materials to surface waters? If so, describe the type of waste and anticipated volume of discharge. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b) Ground Water: i) Will groundwater be withdrawn from a well for drinking water or other purposes? If so, give a general description of the well, proposed uses and approximate quantities withdrawn from the well. Will water be discharged to groundwater? Give general description, purpose, and approximate quantities if known. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. ii) Describe waste material that will be discharged into the ground from septic tanks or other sources, if any (for example: Domestic sewage; industrial, containing the following chemicals. . . ; agricultural; etc.). Describe the general size of the system, the number of such systems, the number of houses to be served (if applicable), or the number of animals or humans the system(s) are expected to serve. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. c) Water runoff (including stormwater): i) Describe the source of runoff (including storm water) and method of collection and disposal, if any (include quantities, if known). Where will this water flow? Will this water flow into other waters? If so, describe. [help] Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 7 | P a g e Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. ii) Could waste materials enter ground or surface waters? If so, generally describe. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. iii) Does the proposal alter or otherwise affect drainage patterns in the vicinity of the site? If so, describe. Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. d) Proposed measures to reduce or control surface, ground, and runoff water, and drainage pattern impacts, if any: Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 8 | P a g e 4) Plants [help] a) Check the types of vegetation found on the site: [help] ☐ Deciduous tree: alder, maple, aspen, other ☐ Evergreen tree: fir, cedar, pine, other ☐ Shrubs ☐ Grass ☐ Pasture ☐ Crop or grain ☐ Orchards, vineyards or other permanent crops. ☐ Wet soil plants: cattail, buttercup, bullrush, skunk cabbage, other ☐ Water plants: water lily, eelgrass, milfoil, other ☐ Other types of vegetation Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b) What kind and amount of vegetation will be removed or altered? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. c) List threatened and endangered species known to be on or near the site. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. d) Proposed landscaping, use of native plants, or other measures to preserve or enhance vegetation on the site, if any: [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. e) List all noxious weeds and invasive species known to be on or near the site. Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. 5) Animals a) List any birds and other animals which have been observed on or near the site or are known to be on or near the site. Examples include: [help] Birds: ☐ hawk, ☐ heron, ☐ eagle, ☐ songbirds, ☐ other: Not applicable to this non- project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. Mammals: ☐ deer, ☐ bear, ☐ elk, ☐ beaver, ☐ other: Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 9 | P a g e Fish: ☐ bass, ☐ salmon, ☐ trout, ☐ herring, ☐ shellfish, ☐ other Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b) List any threatened and endangered species known to be on or near the site. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. c) Is the site part of a migration route? If so, explain. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. d) Proposed measures to preserve or enhance wildlife, if any: [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. e) List any invasive animal species known to be on or near the site. Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. 6) Energy and natural resources a) What kinds of energy (electric, natural gas, oil, wood stove, solar) will be used to meet the completed project's energy needs? Describe whether it will be used for heating, manufacturing, etc. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b) Would your project affect the potential use of solar energy by adjacent properties? If so, generally describe. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. c) What kinds of energy conservation features are included in the plans of this proposal? List other proposed measures to reduce or control energy impacts, if any: [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. 7) Environmental health a) Are there any environmental health hazards, including exposure to toxic chemicals, risk of fire and explosion, spill, or hazardous waste, that could occur as a result of this proposal? If so, describe. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 10 | P a g e i) Describe any known or possible contamination at the site from present or past uses. Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. ii) Describe existing hazardous chemicals/conditions that might affect project development and design. This includes underground hazardous liquid and gas transmission pipelines located within the project area and in the vicinity. Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. iii) Describe any toxic or hazardous chemicals that might be stored, used, or produced during the project's development or construction, or at any time during the operating life of the project. Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. iv) Describe special emergency services that might be required. Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. v) Proposed measures to reduce or control environmental health hazards, if any: Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 11 | P a g e b)Noise i)What types of noise exist in the area which may affect your project (for example: traffic, equipment, operation, other)? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. ii)What types and levels of noise would be created by or associated with the project on a short-term or a long-term basis (for example: traffic, construction, operation, other)? Indicate what hours noise would come from the site. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. iii)Proposed measures to reduce or control noise impacts, if any: [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. 8)Land and shoreline use a)What is the current use of the site and adjacent properties? Will the proposal affect current land uses on nearby or adjacent properties? If so, describe. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b)Has the project site been used as working farmlands or working forest lands? If so, describe. How much agricultural or forest land of long-term commercial significance will be converted to other uses as a result of the proposal, if any? If resource lands have not been designated, how many acres in farmland or forest land tax status will be converted to nonfarm or nonforest use? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. i)Will the proposal affect or be affected by surrounding working farm or forest land normal business operations, such as oversize equipment access, the application of pesticides, tilling, and harvesting? If so, how: Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. c)Describe any structures on the site. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. d)Will any structures be demolished? If so, what? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. e)What is the current zoning classification of the site? [help] Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 12 | P a g e Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. f) What is the current comprehensive plan designation of the site? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. g) If applicable, what is the current shoreline master program designation of the site? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 13 | P a g e h) Has any part of the site been classified as a critical area by the city or county? If so, specify. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. i) Approximately how many people would reside or work in the completed project? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. j) Approximately how many people would the completed project displace? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. k) Proposed measures to avoid or reduce displacement impacts, if any: [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. l) Proposed measures to ensure the proposal is compatible with existing and projected land uses and plans, if any: [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. m) Proposed measures to ensure the proposal is compatible with nearby agricultural and forest lands of long-term commercial significance, if any: Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. 9) Housing a) Approximately how many units would be provided, if any? Indicate whether high, middle, or low-income housing. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b) Approximately how many units, if any, would be eliminated? Indicate whether high, middle, or low-income housing. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. c) Proposed measures to reduce or control housing impacts, if any: [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. 10) Aesthetics a) What is the tallest height of any proposed structure(s), not including antennas; what is the principal exterior building material(s) proposed? [help] Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 14 | P a g e Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b) What views in the immediate vicinity would be altered or obstructed? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. c) Proposed measures to reduce or control aesthetic impacts, if any: [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. 11) Light and glare a) What type of light or glare will the proposal produce? What time of day would it mainly occur? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b) Could light or glare from the finished project be a safety hazard or interfere with views? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. c) What existing off-site sources of light or glare may affect your proposal? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. d) Proposed measures to reduce or control light and glare impacts, if any: Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. 12) Recreation a) What designated and informal recreational opportunities are in the immediate vicinity? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b) Would the proposed project displace any existing recreational uses? If so, describe. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. c) Proposed measures to reduce or control impacts on recreation, including recreation opportunities to be provided by the project or applicant, if any: [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 15 | P a g e 13) Historic and cultural preservation a) Are there any buildings, structures, or sites, located on or near the site that are over 45 years old listed in or eligible for listing in national, state, or local preservation registers located on or near the site? If so, specifically describe. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b) Are there any landmarks, features, or other evidence of Indian or historic use or occupation? This may include human burials or old cemeteries. Are there any material evidence, artifacts, or areas of cultural importance on or near the site? Please list any professional studies conducted at the site to identify such resources. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. c) Describe the methods used to assess the potential impacts to cultural and historic resources on or near the project site. Examples include consultation with tribes and the department of archeology and historic preservation, archaeological surveys, historic maps, GIS data, etc. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. d) Proposed measures to avoid, minimize, or compensate for loss, changes to, and disturbance to resources. Please include plans for the above and any permits that may be required. Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 16 | P a g e 14) Transportation a) Identify public streets and highways serving the site or affected geographic area and describe proposed access to the existing street system. Show on site plans, if any. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b) Is the site or affected geographic area currently served by public transit? If so, generally describe. If not, what is the approximate distance to the nearest transit stop? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. c) How many additional parking spaces would the completed project or non-project proposal have? How many would the project or proposal eliminate? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. d) Will the proposal require any new or improvements to existing roads, streets, pedestrian, bicycle or state transportation facilities, not including driveways? If so, generally describe (indicate whether public or private). [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. e) Will the project or proposal use (or occur in the immediate vicinity of) water, rail, or air transportation? If so, generally describe. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. f) How many vehicular trips per day would be generated by the completed project or proposal? If known, indicate when peak volumes would occur and what percentage of the volume would be trucks (such as commercial and nonpassenger vehicles). What data or transportation models were used to make these estimates? [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. g) Will the proposal interfere with, affect or be affected by the movement of agricultural and forest products on roads or streets in the area? If so, generally describe. Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. h) Proposed measures to reduce or control transportation impacts, if any: [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 17 | P a g e 15) Public services a) Would the project result in an increased need for public services (for example: fire protection, police protection, public transit, health care, schools, other)? If so, generally describe. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b) Proposed measures to reduce or control direct impacts on public services, if any. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 18 | P a g e 16) Utilities a) Circle utilities currently available at the site: [help] electricity, natural gas, water, refuse service, telephone, sanitary sewer, septic system, other ___________ Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. b) Describe the utilities that are proposed for the project, the utility providing the service, and the general construction activities on the site or in the immediate vicinity which might be needed. [help] Not applicable to this non-project proposal. To be determined on an individual project basis. Signature [help] The above answers are true and complete to the best of my knowledge. I understand that the lead agency is relying on them to make its decision. Signature: Date: March 22, 2018 Name of signee: Eric Baker, Policy Manager Position and Agency/Organization: Policy Manager, Kitsap County Commissioners Date Submitted: March 22, 2018 Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 19 | P a g e D.Supplemental sheet for non-project actions [help] (IT IS NOT NECESSARY to use this sheet for project actions) Because these questions are very general, it may be helpful to read them in conjunction with the list of the elements of the environment. When answering these questions, be aware of the extent the proposal, or the types of activities likely to result from the proposal, would affect the item at a greater intensity or at a faster rate than if the proposal were not implemented. Respond briefly and in general terms. 1)How would the proposal be likely to increase discharge to water; emissions to air; production, storage, or release of toxic or hazardous substances; or production of noise? Not applicable to this project. The proposed code amendment better aligns with Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan policies and county-wide planning policies including; housing provision and responsive government. Proposed measures to avoid or reduce such increases are: Not applicable to this project. The proposed code amendment better aligns with Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan policies and county-wide planning policies including; housing provision and responsive government. 2)How would the proposal be likely to affect plants, animals, fish, or marine life? Not applicable to this project. The proposed code amendment better aligns with Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan policies and county-wide planning policies including; housing provision and responsive government. Proposed measures to protect or conserve plants, animals, fish, or marine life are: Not applicable to this project The proposed code amendment better aligns with Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan policies and county-wide planning policies including; housing provision and responsive government. 3)How would the proposal be likely to deplete energy or natural resources? Not applicable to this project. The proposed code amendment better aligns with Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan policies and county-wide planning policies including; housing provision and responsive government. Proposed measures to protect or conserve energy and natural resources are: Not applicable to this project. The proposed code amendment better aligns with Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan policies and county-wide planning policies including; housing provision and responsive government. Item 7d iii Kitsap County SEPA Environmental Checklist (WAC 197-11-960) January 16, 2017 20 | P a g e 4) How would the proposal be likely to use or affect environmentally sensitive areas or areas designated (or eligible or under study) for governmental protection; such as parks, wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, threatened or endangered species habitat, historic or cultural sites, wetlands, floodplains, or prime farmlands? Not applicable to this project. The proposed code amendment better aligns with Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan policies and county-wide planning policies including; housing provision and responsive government. Proposed measures to protect such resources or to avoid or reduce impacts are: Not applicable to this project. The proposed code amendment better aligns with Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan policies and county-wide planning policies including; housing provision and responsive government. 5) How would the proposal be likely to affect land and shoreline use, including whether it would allow or encourage land or shoreline uses incompatible with existing plans? Not applicable to this project. The proposed code amendment better aligns with Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan policies and county-wide planning policies including; housing provision and responsive government. Proposed measures to avoid or reduce shoreline and land use impacts are: Not applicable to this project. The proposed code amendment better aligns with Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan policies and county-wide planning policies including; housing provision and responsive government. 6) How would the proposal be likely to increase demands on transportation or public services and utilities? Not applicable to this project. The proposed code amendment better aligns with Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan policies and county-wide planning policies including; housing provision and responsive government. Proposed measures to reduce or respond to such demand(s) are: Not applicable to this project. The proposed code amendment better aligns with Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan policies and county-wide planning policies including; housing provision and responsive government. 7) Identify, if possible, whether the proposal may conflict with local, state, or federal laws or requirements for the protection of the environment. Not applicable to this project. The proposed code amendment better aligns with Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan policies and county-wide planning policies including; housing provision and responsive government. Item 7d iii KITSAP COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 614 DIVISION STREET MS-36, PORT ORCHARD WASHINGTON 98366-4682 LOUISA GARBO, DIRECTOR (360) 337-5777 HOME PAGE - www.kitsapgov.com/dcd/ DETERMINATION OF NONSIGNIFICANCE Description of Proposal: A proposed amendment to Kitsap County Development Code regarding transitory accommodations. The Kitsap County Department of Community Development proposes an amendment to Kitsap County Code Title 17 ‘Zoning’, Chapters 17.410 and 17.505 regarding transitory accommodation allowances in unincorporated Kitsap County. Specifically, the amendments allow transitory accommodations in rural areas and allow flexibility in their construction types (expanded to metal and wood). Proponent: Eric Baker, Policy Manager, Kitsap County Board of Commissioners Staff contact and project lead: Darren Gurney, Senior Planner Lead Agency: Kitsap County Location of proposal, including street address, if any: The proposed action covers the geographical jurisdiction of unincorporated Kitsap County. The lead agency for this proposal has determined that it does not have a probable significant adverse impact on the environment. An environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required under RCW 43.21C.030(2)(c). This decision was made after review of a completed environmental checklist and other information on file with the lead agency. This information is available to the public on request. This DNS is issued under 197-11-340(2); the lead agency will not act on this proposal for 14 days from the date below. Comments must be submitted by April 4, 2018. COMMENTS: This is a nonproject action per WAC 197-11-704(2)(b). Adoption of the code by the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners is expected in April of 2018. Responsible Official: Scott Diener SEPA Coordinator: Steve Heacock Position/Title: SEPA Coordinator, Dept. of Community Development Phone: (360) 337-5777 Address: 619 Division Street, Port Orchard, WA 98366 DATE: 3/21/2018 Signature: Item 7d iv FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT ROBERT MARTIN; LAWRENCE LEE SMITH; ROBERT ANDERSON; JANET F.BELL; PAMELA S. HAWKES; and BASIL E. HUMPHREY, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CITY OF BOISE, Defendant-Appellee. No. 15-35845 D.C. No. 1:09-cv-00540- REB OPINION Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Idaho Ronald E. Bush, Chief Magistrate Judge, Presiding Argued and Submitted July 13, 2017 Portland, Oregon Filed September 4, 2018 Before: Marsha S. Berzon, Paul J. Watford, and John B. Owens, Circuit Judges. Opinion by Judge Berzon; Partial Concurrence and Partial Dissent by Judge Owens Item 7d ix MARTIN V.CITY OF BOISE2 SUMMARY* Civil Rights The panel affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s summary judgment in an action brought by six current or formerly homeless City of Boise residents who alleged that their citations under the City’s Camping and Disorderly Conduct Ordinances violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Plaintiffs sought damages for the alleged violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Two plaintiffs also sought prospective declaratory and injunctive relief precluding future enforcement of the ordinances. In 2014, after this litigation began, the ordinances were amended to prohibit their enforcement against any homeless person on public property on any night when no shelter had an available overnight space. The panel first held that two plaintiffs had standing to pursue prospective relief because they demonstrated a genuine issue of material fact as to whether they faced a credible risk of prosecution on a night when they had been denied access to the City’s shelters. The panel noted that although the 2014 amendment precluded the City from enforcing the ordinances when shelters were full, individuals could still be turned away for reasons other than shelter capacity, such as for exceeding the shelter’s stay limits, or for *This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 3 failing to take part in a shelter’s mandatory religious programs. The panel held that although the doctrine set forth in Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994) and its progeny precluded most — but not all — of the plaintiffs’ requests for retrospective relief, the doctrine had no application to plaintiffs’ request for an injunction enjoining prospective enforcement of the ordinances. Turning to the merits, the panel held that the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause of the Eighth Amendment precluded the enforcement of a statute prohibiting sleeping outside against homeless individuals with no access to alternative shelter. The panel held that, as long as there is no option of sleeping indoors, the government cannot criminalize indigent, homeless people for sleeping outdoors, on public property, on the false premise they had a choice in the matter. Concurring in part and dissenting in part, Judge Owens disagreed with the majority’s opinion that Heck v. Humphrey did not bar plaintiffs’ claim for declaratory and injunctive relief. Judge Owens stated that a declaration that the city ordinances are unconstitutional and an injunction against their future enforcement would necessarily demonstrate the invalidity of plaintiffs’ prior convictions. Judge Owens otherwise joined the majority in full. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE4 COUNSEL Michael E. Bern (argued) and Kimberly Leefatt, Latham & Watkins LLP, Washington, D.C.; Howard A. Belodoff, Idaho Legal Aid Services Inc., Boise, Idaho; Eric Tars, National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, Washington, D.C.; Plaintiffs-Appellants. Brady J. Hall (argued), Michael W. Moore, and Steven R. Kraft, Moore Elia Kraft & Hall LLP, Boise, Idaho; Scott B. Muir, Deputy City Attorney; Robert B. Luce, City Attorney; City Attorney’s Office, Boise, Idaho; for Defendant- Appellee. OPINION BERZON, Circuit Judge: “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.” — Anatole France, The Red Lily We consider whether the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment bars a city from prosecuting people criminally for sleeping outside on public property when those people have no home or other shelter to go to. We conclude that it does. The plaintiffs-appellants are six current or former residents of the City of Boise (“the City”), who are homeless or have recently been homeless. Each plaintiff alleges that, Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 5 between 2007 and 2009, he or she was cited by Boise police for violating one or both of two city ordinances. The first, Boise City Code § 9-10-02 (the “Camping Ordinance”), makes it a misdemeanor to use “any of the streets, sidewalks, parks, or public places as a camping place at any time.” The Camping Ordinance defines “camping” as “the use of public property as a temporary or permanent place of dwelling, lodging, or residence.” Id. The second, Boise City Code § 6- 01-05 (the “Disorderly Conduct Ordinance”), bans “[o]ccupying, lodging, or sleeping in any building, structure, or public place, whether public or private . . . without the permission of the owner or person entitled to possession or in control thereof.” All plaintiffs seek retrospective relief for their previous citations under the ordinances. Two of the plaintiffs, Robert Anderson and Robert Martin, allege that they expect to be cited under the ordinances again in the future and seek declaratory and injunctive relief against future prosecution. In Jones v. City of Los Angeles, 444 F.3d 1118, 1138 (9th Cir. 2006), vacated, 505 F.3d 1006 (9th Cir. 2007), a panel of this court concluded that “so long as there is a greater number of homeless individuals in Los Angeles than the number of available beds [in shelters]” for the homeless, Los Angeles could not enforce a similar ordinance against homeless individuals “for involuntarily sitting, lying, and sleeping in public.” Jones is not binding on us, as there was an underlying settlement between the parties and our opinion was vacated as a result. We agree with Jones’s reasoning and central conclusion, however, and so hold that an ordinance violates the Eighth Amendment insofar as it imposes criminal sanctions against homeless individuals for sleeping outdoors, on public property, when no alternative shelter is available to Item 7d ix MARTIN V.CITY OF BOISE6 them. Two of the plaintiffs, we further hold, may be entitled to retrospective and prospective relief for violation of that Eighth Amendment right. I. Background The district court granted summary judgment to the City on all claims. We therefore review the record in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs. Tolan v. Cotton, 134 S. Ct. 1861, 1866 (2014). Boise has a significant and increasing homeless population. According to the Point-in-Time Count (“PIT Count”) conducted by the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, there were 753 homeless individuals in Ada County — the county of which Boise is the seat — in January 2014, 46 of whom were “unsheltered,” or living in places unsuited to human habitation such as parks or sidewalks. In 2016, the last year for which data is available, there were 867 homeless individuals counted in Ada County, 125 of whom were unsheltered.1 The PIT Count likely underestimates the number of homeless individuals in Ada 1 The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) requires local homeless assistance and prevention networks to conduct an annual count of homeless individuals on one night each January, known as the PIT Count, as a condition of receiving federal funds. State, local, and federal governmental entities, as well as private service providers, rely on the PIT Count as a “critical source of data” on homelessness in the United States. The parties acknowledge that the PIT Count is not always precise. The City’s Director of Community Partnerships, Diana Lachiondo, testified that the PIT Count is “not always the . . . best resource for numbers,” but also stated that “the point-in-time count is our best snapshot” for counting the number of homeless individuals in a particular region, and that she “cannot give . . . any other number with any kind of confidence.” Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 7 County. It is “widely recognized that a one-night point in time count will undercount the homeless population,” as many homeless individuals may have access to temporary housing on a given night, and as weather conditions may affect the number of available volunteers and the number of homeless people staying at shelters or accessing services on the night of the count. There are currently three homeless shelters in the City of Boise offering emergency shelter services, all run by private, nonprofit organizations. As far as the record reveals, these three shelters are the only shelters in Ada County. One shelter — “Sanctuary” — is operated by Interfaith Sanctuary Housing Services, Inc. The shelter is open to men, women, and children of all faiths, and does not impose any religious requirements on its residents. Sanctuary has 96 beds reserved for individual men and women, with several additional beds reserved for families. The shelter uses floor mats when it reaches capacity with beds. Because of its limited capacity, Sanctuary frequently has to turn away homeless people seeking shelter. In 2010, Sanctuary reached full capacity in the men’s area “at least half of every month,” and the women’s area reached capacity “almost every night of the week.” In 2014, the shelter reported that it was full for men, women, or both on 38% of nights. Sanctuary provides beds first to people who spent the previous night at Sanctuary. At 9:00 pm each night, it allots any remaining beds to those who added their names to the shelter’s waiting list. The other two shelters in Boise are both operated by the Boise Rescue Mission (“BRM”), a Christian nonprofit Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE8 organization. One of those shelters, the River of Life Rescue Mission (“River of Life”), is open exclusively to men; the other, the City Light Home for Women and Children (“City Light”), shelters women and children only. BRM’s facilities provide two primary “programs” for the homeless, the Emergency Services Program and the New Life Discipleship Program.2 The Emergency Services Program provides temporary shelter, food, and clothing to anyone in need. Christian religious services are offered to those seeking shelter through the Emergency Services Program. The shelters display messages and iconography on the walls, and the intake form for emergency shelter guests includes a religious message.3 Homeless individuals may check in to either BRM facility between 4:00 and 5:30 pm. Those who arrive at BRM facilities between 5:30 and 8:00 pm may be denied shelter, depending on the reason for their late arrival; generally, anyone arriving after 8:00 pm is denied shelter. Except in winter, male guests in the Emergency Services Program may stay at River of Life for up to 17 consecutive nights; women and children in the Emergency Services Program may stay at City Light for up to 30 consecutive 2 The record suggests that BRM provides some limited additional non-emergency shelter programming which, like the Discipleship Program, has overtly religious components. 3 The intake form states in relevant part that “We are a Gospel Rescue Mission. Gospel means ‘Good News,’ and the Good News is that Jesus saves us from sin past, present, and future. We would like to share the Good News with you. Have you heard of Jesus? . . . Would you like to know more about him?” Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 9 nights. After the time limit is reached, homeless individuals who do not join the Discipleship Program may not return to a BRM shelter for at least 30 days.4 Participants in the Emergency Services Program must return to the shelter every night during the applicable 17-day or 30-day period; if a resident fails to check in to a BRM shelter each night, that resident is prohibited from staying overnight at that shelter for 30 days. BRM’s rules on the length of a person’s stay in the Emergency Services Program are suspended during the winter. The Discipleship Program is an “intensive, Christ-based residential recovery program” of which “[r]eligious study is the very essence.” The record does not indicate any limit to how long a member of the Discipleship Program may stay at a BRM shelter. The River of Life shelter contains 148 beds for emergency use, along with 40 floor mats for overflow; 78 additional beds serve those in non-emergency shelter programs such as the Discipleship Program. The City Light shelter has 110 beds for emergency services, as well as 40 floor mats to handle overflow and 38 beds for women in non-emergency shelter programs. All told, Boise’s three homeless shelters contain 354 beds and 92 overflow mats for homeless individuals. A. The Plaintiffs Plaintiffs Robert Martin, Robert Anderson, Lawrence Lee Smith, Basil E. Humphrey, Pamela S. Hawkes, and Janet F. 4 The parties dispute the extent to which BRM actually enforces the 17- and 30-day limits. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE10 Bell are all homeless individuals who have lived in or around Boise since at least 2007. Between 2007 and 2009, each plaintiff was convicted at least once of violating the Camping Ordinance, the Disorderly Conduct Ordinance, or both. With one exception, all plaintiffs were sentenced to time served for all convictions; on two occasions, Hawkes was sentenced to one additional day in jail. During the same period, Hawkes was cited, but not convicted, under the Camping Ordinance, and Martin was cited, but not convicted, under the Disorderly Conduct Ordinance. Plaintiff Robert Anderson currently lives in Boise; he is homeless and has often relied on Boise’s shelters for housing. In the summer of 2007, Anderson stayed at River of Life as part of the Emergency Services Program until he reached the shelter’s 17-day limit for male guests. Anderson testified that during his 2007 stay at River of Life, he was required to attend chapel services before he was permitted to eat dinner. At the conclusion of his 17-day stay, Anderson declined to enter the Discipleship Program because of his religious beliefs. As Anderson was barred by the shelter’s policies from returning to River of Life for 30 days, he slept outside for the next several weeks. On September 1, 2007, Anderson was cited under the Camping Ordinance. He pled guilty to violating the Camping Ordinance and paid a $25 fine; he did not appeal his conviction. Plaintiff Robert Martin is a former resident of Boise who currently lives in Post Falls, Idaho. Martin returns frequently to Boise to visit his minor son. In March of 2009, Martin was cited under the Camping Ordinance for sleeping outside; he was cited again in 2012 under the same ordinance. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 11 B. Procedural History The plaintiffs filed this action in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho in October of 2009. All plaintiffs alleged that their previous citations under the Camping Ordinance and the Disorderly Conduct Ordinance violated the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause of the Eighth Amendment, and sought damages for those alleged violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Cf. Jones, 444 F.3d at 1138. Anderson and Martin also sought prospective declaratory and injunctive relief precluding future enforcement of the ordinances under the same statute and the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201–2202. After this litigation began, the Boise Police Department promulgated a new “Special Order,” effective as of January 1, 2010, that prohibited enforcement of either the Camping Ordinance or the Disorderly Conduct Ordinance against any homeless person on public property on any night when no shelter had “an available overnight space.” City police implemented the Special Order through a two-step procedure known as the “Shelter Protocol.” Under the Shelter Protocol, if any shelter in Boise reaches capacity on a given night, that shelter will so notify the police at roughly 11:00 pm. Each shelter has discretion to determine whether it is full, and Boise police have no other mechanism or criteria for gauging whether a shelter is full. Since the Shelter Protocol was adopted, Sanctuary has reported that it was full on almost 40% of nights. Although BRM agreed to the Shelter Protocol, its internal policy is never to turn any person away because of a lack of space, and neither BRM shelter has ever reported that it was full. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE12 If all shelters are full on the same night, police are to refrain from enforcing either ordinance. Presumably because the BRM shelters have not reported full, Boise police continue to issue citations regularly under both ordinances. In July 2011, the district court granted summary judgment to the City. It held that the plaintiffs’ claims for retrospective relief were barred under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine and that their claims for prospective relief were mooted by the Special Order and the Shelter Protocol. Bell v. City of Boise, 834 F. Supp. 2d 1103 (D. Idaho 2011). On appeal, we reversed and remanded. Bell v. City of Boise, 709 F.3d 890, 901 (9th Cir. 2013). We held that the district court erred in dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. Id. at 897. In so holding, we expressly declined to consider whether the favorable-termination requirement from Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994), applied to the plaintiffs’ claims for retrospective relief. Instead, we left the issue for the district court on remand. Bell, 709 F.3d at 897 n.11. Bell further held that the plaintiffs’ claims for prospective relief were not moot. The City had not met its “heavy burden” of demonstrating that the challenged conduct — enforcement of the two ordinances against homeless individuals with no access to shelter — “could not reasonably be expected to recur.” Id. at 898, 901 (quoting Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Servs. (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 189 (2000)). We emphasized that the Special Order was a statement of administrative policy and so could be amended or reversed at any time by the Boise Chief of Police. Id. at 899–900. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 13 Finally, Bell rejected the City’s argument that the plaintiffs lacked standing to seek prospective relief because they were no longer homeless. Id. at 901 & n.12. We noted that, on summary judgment, the plaintiffs “need not establish that they in fact have standing, but only that there is a genuine issue of material fact as to the standing elements.” Id. (citation omitted). On remand, the district court again granted summary judgment to the City on the plaintiffs’ § 1983 claims. The court observed that Heck requires a § 1983 plaintiff seeking damages for “harm caused by actions whose unlawfulness would render a conviction or sentence invalid” to demonstrate that “the conviction or sentence has been reversed on direct appeal, expunged by executive order, declared invalid by a state tribunal . . . or called into question by a federal court’s issuance of a writ of habeas corpus.” 512 U.S. at 486–87. According to the district court, “a judgment finding the Ordinances unconstitutional . . . necessarily would imply the invalidity of Plaintiffs’ [previous] convictions under those ordinances,” and the plaintiffs therefore were required to demonstrate that their convictions or sentences had already been invalidated. As none of the plaintiffs had raised an Eighth Amendment challenge as a defense to criminal prosecution, nor had any plaintiff successfully appealed their conviction, the district court held that all of the plaintiffs’ claims for retrospective relief were barred by Heck. The district court also rejected as barred by Heck the plaintiffs’ claim for prospective injunctive relief under § 1983, reasoning that “a ruling in favor of Plaintiffs on even a prospective § 1983 claim would demonstrate the invalidity of any confinement stemming from those convictions.” Item 7d ix MARTIN V.CITY OF BOISE14 Finally, the district court determined that, although Heck did not bar relief under the Declaratory Judgment Act, Martin and Anderson now lack standing to pursue such relief. The linchpin of this holding was that the Camping Ordinance and the Disorderly Conduct Ordinance were both amended in 2014 to codify the Special Order’s mandate that “[l]aw enforcement officers shall not enforce [the ordinances] when the individual is on public property and there is no available overnight shelter.” Boise City Code §§ 6-01-05, 9-10-02. Because the ordinances, as amended, permitted camping or sleeping in a public place when no shelter space was available, the court held that there was no “credible threat” of future prosecution. “If the Ordinances are not to be enforced when the shelters are full, those Ordinances do not inflict a constitutional injury upon these particular plaintiffs . . . .” The court emphasized that the record “suggests there is no known citation of a homeless individual under the Ordinances for camping or sleeping on public property on any night or morning when he or she was unable to secure shelter due to a lack of shelter capacity” and that “there has not been a single night when all three shelters in Boise called in to report they were simultaneously full for men, women or families.” This appeal followed. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 15 II. Discussion A. Standing We first consider whether any of the plaintiffs has standing to pursue prospective relief.5 We conclude that there are sufficient opposing facts in the record to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Martin and Anderson face a credible threat of prosecution under one or both ordinances in the future at a time when they are unable to stay at any Boise homeless shelter.6 “To establish Article III standing, an injury must be concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent; fairly traceable to the challenged action; and redressable by a favorable ruling.” Clapper v. Amnesty Int’l USA, 133 S. Ct. 1138, 1147 (2013) (citation omitted). “Although imminence is concededly a somewhat elastic concept, it cannot be stretched beyond its purpose, which is to ensure that the alleged injury is not too speculative for Article III purposes — that the injury is certainly impending.” Id. (citation omitted). A plaintiff need not, however, await an arrest or prosecution to have standing to challenge the constitutionality of a criminal statute. “When the plaintiff has alleged an 5 Standing to pursue retrospective relief is not in doubt. The only threshold question affecting the availability of a claim for retrospective relief — a question we address in the next section — is whether such relief is barred by the doctrine established in Heck. 6 Although the SAC is somewhat ambiguous regarding which of the plaintiffs seeks prospective relief, counsel for the plaintiffs made clear at oral argument that only two of the plaintiffs, Martin and Anderson, seek such relief, and the district court considered the standing question with respect to Martin and Anderson only. Item 7d ix MARTIN V.CITY OF BOISE16 intention to engage in a course of conduct arguably affected with a constitutional interest, but proscribed by a statute, and there exists a credible threat of prosecution thereunder, he should not be required to await and undergo a criminal prosecution as the sole means of seeking relief.” Babbitt v. United Farm Workers Nat’l Union, 442 U.S. 289, 298 (1979) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). To defeat a motion for summary judgment premised on an alleged lack of standing, plaintiffs “ need not establish that they in fact have standing, but only that there is a genuine question of material fact as to the standing elements.” Cent. Delta Water Agency v. United States, 306 F.3d 938, 947 (9th Cir. 2002). In dismissing Martin and Anderson’s claims for declaratory relief for lack of standing, the district court emphasized that Boise’s ordinances, as amended in 2014, preclude the City from issuing a citation when there is no available space at a shelter, and there is consequently no risk that either Martin or Anderson will be cited under such circumstances in the future. Viewing the record in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, we cannot agree. Although the 2014 amendments preclude the City from enforcing the ordinances when there is no room available at any shelter, the record demonstrates that the City is wholly reliant on the shelters to self-report when they are full. It is undisputed that Sanctuary is full as to men on a substantial percentage of nights, perhaps as high as 50%. The City nevertheless emphasizes that since the adoption of the Shelter Protocol in 2010, the BRM facilities, River of Life and City Light, have never reported that they are full, and BRM states that it will never turn people away due to lack space. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 17 The plaintiffs have pointed to substantial evidence in the record, however, indicating that whether or not the BRM facilities are ever full or turn homeless individuals away for lack of space, they do refuse to shelter homeless people who exhaust the number of days allotted by the facilities. Specifically, the plaintiffs allege, and the City does not dispute, that it is BRM’s policy to limit men to 17 consecutive days in the Emergency Services Program, after which they cannot return to River of Life for 30 days; City Light has a similar 30-day limit for women and children. Anderson testified that BRM has enforced this policy against him in the past, forcing him to sleep outdoors. The plaintiffs have adduced further evidence indicating that River of Life permits individuals to remain at the shelter after 17 days in the Emergency Services Program only on the condition that they become part of the New Life Discipleship program, which has a mandatory religious focus. For example, there is evidence that participants in the New Life Program are not allowed to spend days at Corpus Christi, a local Catholic program, “because it’s . . . a different sect.” There are also facts in dispute concerning whether the Emergency Services Program itself has a religious component. Although the City argues strenuously that the Emergency Services Program is secular, Anderson testified to the contrary; he stated that he was once required to attend chapel before being permitted to eat dinner at the River of Life shelter. Both Martin and Anderson have objected to the overall religious atmosphere of the River of Life shelter, including the Christian messaging on the shelter’s intake form and the Christian iconography on the shelter walls. A city cannot, via the threat of prosecution, coerce an individual to attend religion-based treatment programs consistently with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Inouye v. Item 7d ix MARTIN V.CITY OF BOISE18 Kemna, 504 F.3d 705, 712–13 (9th Cir. 2007). Yet at the conclusion of a 17-day stay at River of Life, or a 30-day stay at City Light, an individual may be forced to choose between sleeping outside on nights when Sanctuary is full (and risking arrest under the ordinances), or enrolling in BRM programming that is antithetical to his or her religious beliefs. The 17-day and 30-day limits are not the only BRM policies which functionally limit access to BRM facilities even when space is nominally available. River of Life also turns individuals away if they voluntarily leave the shelter before the 17-day limit and then attempt to return within 30 days. An individual who voluntarily leaves a BRM facility for any reason — perhaps because temporary shelter is available at Sanctuary, or with friends or family, or in a hotel — cannot immediately return to the shelter if circumstances change. Moreover, BRM’s facilities may deny shelter to any individual who arrives after 5:30 pm, and generally will deny shelter to anyone arriving after 8:00 pm. Sanctuary, however, does not assign beds to persons on its waiting list until 9:00 pm. Thus, by the time a homeless individual on the Sanctuary waiting list discovers that the shelter has no room available, it may be too late to seek shelter at either BRM facility. So, even if we credit the City’s evidence that BRM’s facilities have never been “full,” and that the City has never cited any person under the ordinances who could not obtain shelter “due to a lack of shelter capacity,” there remains a genuine issue of material fact as to whether homeless individuals in Boise run a credible risk of being issued a citation on a night when Sanctuary is full and they have been denied entry to a BRM facility for reasons other than shelter capacity. If so, then as a practical matter, no shelter is Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 19 available. We note that despite the Shelter Protocol and the amendments to both ordinances, the City continues regularly to issue citations for violating both ordinances; during the first three months of 2015, the Boise Police Department issued over 175 such citations. The City argues that Martin faces little risk of prosecution under either ordinance because he has not lived in Boise since 2013. Martin states, however, that he is still homeless and still visits Boise several times a year to visit his minor son, and that he has continued to seek shelter at Sanctuary and River of Life. Although Martin may no longer spend enough time in Boise to risk running afoul of BRM’s 17-day limit, he testified that he has unsuccessfully sought shelter at River of Life after being placed on Sanctuary’s waiting list, only to discover later in the evening that Sanctuary had no available beds. Should Martin return to Boise to visit his son, there is a reasonable possibility that he might again seek shelter at Sanctuary, only to discover (after BRM has closed for the night) that Sanctuary has no space for him. Anderson, for his part, continues to live in Boise and states that he remains homeless. We conclude that both Martin and Anderson have demonstrated a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether they face a credible risk of prosecution under the ordinances in the future on a night when they have been denied access to Boise’s homeless shelters; both plaintiffs therefore have standing to seek prospective relief. B.Heck v. Humphrey We turn next to the impact of Heck v. Humphrey and its progeny on this case. With regard to retrospective relief, the Item 7d ix MARTIN V.CITY OF BOISE20 plaintiffs maintain that Heck should not bar their claims because, with one exception, all of the plaintiffs were sentenced to time served.7 It would therefore have been impossible for the plaintiffs to obtain federal habeas relief, as any petition for a writ of habeas corpus must be filed while the petitioner is “in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court.” See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a); Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U.S. 1, 7, 17–18 (1998). With regard to prospective relief, the plaintiffs emphasize that they seek only equitable protection against future enforcement of an allegedly unconstitutional statute, and not to invalidate any prior conviction under the same statute. We hold that although the Heck line of cases precludes most — but not all — of the plaintiffs’ requests for retrospective relief, that doctrine has no application to the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction enjoining prospective enforcement of the ordinances. 1. The Heck Doctrine A long line of Supreme Court case law, beginning with Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475 (1973), holds that a prisoner in state custody cannot use a § 1983 action to challenge the fact or duration of his or her confinement, but must instead seek federal habeas corpus relief or analogous state relief. Id. at 477, 500. Preiser considered whether a prison inmate could bring a § 1983 action seeking an injunction to remedy an unconstitutional deprivation of good- time conduct credits. Observing that habeas corpus is the traditional instrument to obtain release from unlawful 7 Plaintiff Pamela Hawkes was convicted of violating the Camping Ordinance or Disorderly Conduct Ordinance on twelve occasions; although she was usually sentenced to time served, she was twice sentenced to one additional day in jail. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 21 confinement, Preiser recognized an implicit exception from § 1983’s broad scope for actions that lie “within the core of habeas corpus” — specifically, challenges to the “fact or duration” of confinement. Id. at 487, 500. The Supreme Court subsequently held, however, that although Preiser barred inmates from obtaining an injunction to restore good- time credits via a § 1983 action, Preiser did not “preclude a litigant with standing from obtaining by way of ancillary relief an otherwise proper injunction enjoining the prospective enforcement of invalid prison regulations.” Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 555 (1974) (emphasis added). Heck addressed a § 1983 action brought by an inmate seeking compensatory and punitive damages. The inmate alleged that state and county officials had engaged in unlawful investigations and knowing destruction of exculpatory evidence. Heck, 512 U.S. at 479. The Court in Heck analogized a § 1983 action of this type, which called into question the validity of an underlying conviction, to a cause of action for malicious prosecution, id. at 483–84, and went on to hold that, as with a malicious prosecution claim, a plaintiff in such an action must demonstrate a favorable termination of the criminal proceedings before seeking tort relief, id. at 486–87. “[T]o recover damages for allegedly unconstitutional conviction or imprisonment, or for other harm caused by actions whose unlawfulness would render a conviction or sentence invalid, a § 1983 plaintiff must prove that the conviction or sentence has been reversed on direct appeal, expunged by executive order, declared invalid by a state tribunal authorized to make such determination, or called into question by a federal court’s issuance of a writ of habeas corpus.” Id. Item 7d ix MARTIN V.CITY OF BOISE22 Edwards v. Balisok, 520 U.S. 641 (1997) extended Heck’s holding to claims for declaratory relief. Id. at 648. The plaintiff in Edwards alleged that he had been deprived of earned good-time credits without due process of law, because the decisionmaker in disciplinary proceedings had concealed exculpatory evidence. Because the plaintiff’s claim for declaratory relief was “based on allegations of deceit and bias on the part of the decisionmaker that necessarily imply the invalidity of the punishment imposed,” Edwards held, it was “not cognizable under § 1983.” Id. Edwards went on to hold, however, that a requested injunction requiring prison officials to date-stamp witness statements was not Heck-barred, reasoning that a “prayer for such prospective relief will not ‘necessarily imply’ the invalidity of a previous loss of good- time credits, and so may properly be brought under § 1983.” Id. (emphasis added). Most recently, Wilkinson v. Dotson, 544 U.S. 74 (2005), stated that Heck bars § 1983 suits even when the relief sought is prospective injunctive or declaratory relief, “if success in that action would necessarily demonstrate the invalidity of confinement or its duration.” Id. at 81–82 (emphasis omitted). But Wilkinson held that the plaintiffs in that case could seek a prospective injunction compelling the state to comply with constitutional requirements in parole proceedings in the future. The Court observed that the prisoners’ claims for future relief, “if successful, will not necessarily imply the invalidity of confinement or shorten its duration.” Id. at 82. The Supreme Court did not, in these cases or any other, conclusively determine whether Heck’s favorable-termination requirement applies to convicts who have no practical opportunity to challenge their conviction or sentence via a Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 23 petition for habeas corpus. See Muhammad v. Close, 540 U.S. 749, 752 & n.2 (2004). But in Spencer, five Justices suggested that Heck may not apply in such circumstances. Spencer, 523 U.S. at 3. The petitioner in Spencer had filed a federal habeas petition seeking to invalidate an order revoking his parole. While the habeas petition was pending, the petitioner’s term of imprisonment expired, and his habeas petition was consequently dismissed as moot. Justice Souter wrote a concurring opinion in which three other Justices joined, addressing the petitioner’s argument that if his habeas petition were mooted by his release, any § 1983 action would be barred under Heck, yet he would no longer have access to a federal habeas forum to challenge the validity of his parole revocation. Id. at 18–19 (Souter, J., concurring). Justice Souter stated that in his view “Heck has no such effect,” and that “a former prisoner, no longer ‘in custody,’ may bring a § 1983 action establishing the unconstitutionality of a conviction or confinement without being bound to satisfy a favorable-termination requirement that it would be impossible as a matter of law for him to satisfy.” Id. at 21. Justice Stevens, dissenting, stated that he would have held the habeas petition in Spencer not moot, but agreed that “[g]iven the Court’s holding that petitioner does not have a remedy under the habeas statute, it is perfectly clear . . . that he may bring an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.” Id. at 25 n.8 (Stevens, J., dissenting). Relying on the concurring and dissenting opinions in Spencer, we have held that the “unavailability of a remedy in habeas corpus because of mootness” permitted a plaintiff released from custody to maintain a § 1983 action for damages, “even though success in that action would imply the Item 7d ix MARTIN V.CITY OF BOISE24 invalidity of the disciplinary proceeding that caused revocation of his good-time credits.” Nonnette v. Small, 316 F.3d 872, 876 (9th Cir. 2002). But we have limited Nonnette in recent years. Most notably, we held in Lyall v. City of Los Angeles, 807 F.3d 1178 (9th Cir. 2015), that even where a plaintiff had no practical opportunity to pursue federal habeas relief while detained because of the short duration of his confinement, Heck bars a § 1983 action that would imply the invalidity of a prior conviction if the plaintiff could have sought invalidation of the underlying conviction via direct appeal or state post-conviction relief, but did not do so. Id. at 1192 & n.12. 2. Retrospective Relief Here, the majority of the plaintiffs’ claims for retrospective relief are governed squarely by Lyall. It is undisputed that all the plaintiffs not only failed to challenge their convictions on direct appeal but expressly waived the right to do so as a condition of their guilty pleas. The plaintiffs have made no showing that any of their convictions were invalidated via state post-conviction relief. We therefore hold that all but two of the plaintiffs’ claims for damages are foreclosed under Lyall. Two of the plaintiffs, however, Robert Martin and Pamela Hawkes, also received citations under the ordinances that were dismissed before the state obtained a conviction. Hawkes was cited for violating the Camping Ordinance on July 8, 2007; that violation was dismissed on August 28, 2007. Martin was cited for violating the Disorderly Conduct Ordinance on April 24, 2009; those charges were dismissed on September 9, 2009. With respect to these two incidents, the district court erred in finding that the plaintiffs’ Eighth Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 25 Amendment challenge was barred by Heck. Where there is no “conviction or sentence” that may be undermined by a grant of relief to the plaintiffs, the Heck doctrine has no application. 512 U.S. at 486–87; see also Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384, 393 (2007). Relying on Ingraham v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651, 664 (1977), the City argues that the Eighth Amendment, and the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause in particular, have no application where there has been no conviction. The City’s reliance on Ingraham is misplaced. As the Supreme Court observed in Ingraham, the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause not only limits the types of punishment that may be imposed and prohibits the imposition of punishment grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime, but also “imposes substantive limits on what can be made criminal and punished as such.” Id. at 667. “This [latter] protection governs the criminal law process as a whole, not only the imposition of punishment postconviction.” Jones, 444 F.3d at 1128. Ingraham concerned only whether “impositions outside the criminal process” — in that case, the paddling of schoolchildren — “constituted cruel and unusual punishment.” 430 U.S. at 667. Ingraham did not hold that a plaintiff challenging the state’s power to criminalize a particular status or conduct in the first instance, as the plaintiffs in this case do, must first be convicted. If conviction were a prerequisite for such a challenge, “the state could in effect punish individuals in the preconviction stages of the criminal law enforcement process for being or doing things that under the [Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause] cannot be subject to the criminal process.” Jones, 444 F.3d at 1129. For those rare Eighth Amendment Item 7d ix MARTIN V.CITY OF BOISE26 challenges concerning the state’s very power to criminalize particular behavior or status, then, a plaintiff need demonstrate only the initiation of the criminal process against him, not a conviction. 3. Prospective Relief The district court also erred in concluding that the plaintiffs’ requests for prospective injunctive relief were barred by Heck. The district court relied entirely on language in Wilkinson stating that “a state prisoner’s § 1983 action is barred (absent prior invalidation) . . . no matter the relief sought (damages or equitable relief) . . . if success in that action would necessarily demonstrate the invalidity of confinement or its duration.” Wilkinson, 544 U.S. at 81–82. The district court concluded from this language in Wilkinson that a person convicted under an allegedly unconstitutional statute may never challenge the validity or application of that statute after the initial criminal proceeding is complete, even when the relief sought is prospective only and independent of the prior conviction. The logical extension of the district court’s interpretation is that an individual who does not successfully invalidate a first conviction under an unconstitutional statute will have no opportunity to challenge that statute prospectively so as to avoid arrest and conviction for violating that same statute in the future. Neither Wilkinson nor any other case in the Heck line supports such a result. Rather, Wolff, Edwards, and Wilkinson compel the opposite conclusion. Wolff held that although Preiser barred a § 1983 action seeking restoration of good-time credits absent a successful challenge in federal habeas proceedings, Preiser did not Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 27 “preclude a litigant with standing from obtaining by way of ancillary relief an otherwise proper injunction enjoining the prospective enforcement of invalid . . . regulations.” Wolff, 418 U.S. at 555. Although Wolff was decided before Heck, the Court subsequently made clear that Heck effected no change in the law in this regard, observing in Edwards that “[o]rdinarily, a prayer for . . . prospective [injunctive] relief will not ‘necessarily imply’ the invalidity of a previous loss of good-time credits, and so may properly be brought under § 1983.” Edwards, 520 U.S. at 648 (emphasis added). Importantly, the Court held in Edwards that although the plaintiff could not, consistently with Heck, seek a declaratory judgment stating that the procedures employed by state officials that deprived him of good-time credits were unconstitutional, he could seek an injunction barring such allegedly unconstitutional procedures in the future. Id. Finally, the Court noted in Wilkinson that the Heck line of cases “has focused on the need to ensure that state prisoners use only habeas corpus (or similar state) remedies when they seek to invalidate the duration of their confinement,” Wilkinson, 544 U.S. at 81 (emphasis added), alluding to an existing confinement, not one yet to come. The Heck doctrine, in other words, serves to ensure the finality and validity of previous convictions, not to insulate future prosecutions from challenge. In context, it is clear that Wilkinson’s holding that the Heck doctrine bars a § 1983 action “no matter the relief sought (damages or equitable relief) . . . if success in that action would necessarily demonstrate the invalidity of confinement or its duration” applies to equitable relief concerning an existing confinement, not to suits seeking to preclude an unconstitutional confinement in the future, arising from incidents occurring after any prior conviction and stemming Item 7d ix MARTIN V.CITY OF BOISE28 from a possible later prosecution and conviction. Id. at 81–82 (emphasis added). As Wilkinson held, “claims for future relief (which, if successful, will not necessarily imply the invalidity of confinement or shorten its duration)” are distant from the “core” of habeas corpus with which the Heck line of cases is concerned, and are not precluded by the Heck doctrine. Id. at 82. In sum, we hold that the majority of the plaintiffs’ claims for retrospective relief are barred by Heck, but both Martin and Hawkes stated claims for damages to which Heck has no application. We further hold that Heck has no application to the plaintiffs’ requests for prospective injunctive relief. C. The Eighth Amendment At last, we turn to the merits — does the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause of the Eighth Amendment preclude the enforcement of a statute prohibiting sleeping outside against homeless individuals with no access to alternative shelter? We hold that it does, for essentially the same reasons articulated in the now-vacated Jones opinion. The Eighth Amendment states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” U.S. Const., amend. VIII. The Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause “circumscribes the criminal process in three ways.” Ingraham, 430 U.S. at 667. First, it limits the type of punishment the government may impose; second, it proscribes punishment “grossly disproportionate” to the severity of the crime; and third, it places substantive limits on what the government may criminalize. Id. It is the third limitation that is pertinent here. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 29 “Even one day in prison would be a cruel and unusual punishment for the ‘crime’ of having a common cold.” Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660, 667 (1962). Cases construing substantive limits as to what the government may criminalize are rare, however, and for good reason — the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause’s third limitation is “one to be applied sparingly.” Ingraham, 430 U.S. at 667. Robinson, the seminal case in this branch of Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, held a California statute that “ma[de] the ‘status’ of narcotic addiction a criminal offense” invalid under the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause. 370 U.S. at 666. The California law at issue in Robinson was “not one which punishe[d] a person for the use of narcotics, for their purchase, sale or possession, or for antisocial or disorderly behavior resulting from their administration”; it punished addiction itself. Id. Recognizing narcotics addiction as an illness or disease — “apparently an illness which may be contracted innocently or involuntarily” — and observing that a “law which made a criminal offense of . . . a disease would doubtless be universally thought to be an infliction of cruel and unusual punishment,” Robinson held the challenged statute a violation of the Eighth Amendment. Id. at 666–67. As Jones observed, Robinson did not explain at length the principles underpinning its holding. See Jones, 444 F.3d at 1133. In Powell v. Texas, 392 U.S. 514 (1968), however, the Court elaborated on the principle first articulated in Robinson. Powell concerned the constitutionality of a Texas law making public drunkenness a criminal offense. Justice Marshall, writing for a plurality of the Court, distinguished the Texas statute from the law at issue in Robinson on the Item 7d ix MARTIN V.CITY OF BOISE30 ground that the Texas statute made criminal not alcoholism but conduct — appearing in public while intoxicated. “[A]ppellant was convicted, not for being a chronic alcoholic, but for being in public while drunk on a particular occasion. The State of Texas thus has not sought to punish a mere status, as California did in Robinson; nor has it attempted to regulate appellant’s behavior in the privacy of his own home.” Id. at 532 (plurality opinion). The Powell plurality opinion went on to interpret Robinson as precluding only the criminalization of “status,” not of “involuntary” conduct. “The entire thrust of Robinson’s interpretation of the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause is that criminal penalties may be inflicted only if the accused has committed some act, has engaged in some behavior, which society has an interest in preventing, or perhaps in historical common law terms, has committed some actus reus. It thus does not deal with the question of whether certain conduct cannot constitutionally be punished because it is, in some sense, ‘involuntary’ . . . .” Id. at 533. Four Justices dissented from the Court’s holding in Powell; Justice White concurred in the result alone. Notably, Justice White noted that many chronic alcoholics are also homeless, and that for those individuals, public drunkenness may be unavoidable as a practical matter. “For all practical purposes the public streets may be home for these unfortunates, not because their disease compels them to be there, but because, drunk or sober, they have no place else to go and no place else to be when they are drinking. . . . For some of these alcoholics I would think a showing could be made that resisting drunkenness is impossible and that avoiding public places when intoxicated is also impossible. As applied to them this statute is in effect a law which bans Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 31 a single act for which they may not be convicted under the Eighth Amendment — the act of getting drunk.” Id. at 551 (White, J., concurring in the judgment). The four dissenting Justices adopted a position consistent with that taken by Justice White: that under Robinson, “criminal penalties may not be inflicted upon a person for being in a condition he is powerless to change,” and that the defendant, “once intoxicated, . . . could not prevent himself from appearing in public places.” Id. at 567 (Fortas, J., dissenting). Thus, five Justices gleaned from Robinson the principle that “that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the state from punishing an involuntary act or condition if it is the unavoidable consequence of one’s status or being.” Jones, 444 F.3d at 1135; see also United States v. Roberston, 875 F.3d 1281, 1291 (9th Cir. 2017). This principle compels the conclusion that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the imposition of criminal penalties for sitting, sleeping, or lying outside on public property for homeless individuals who cannot obtain shelter. As Jones reasoned, “[w]hether sitting, lying, and sleeping are defined as acts or conditions, they are universal and unavoidable consequences of being human.” Jones, 444 F.3d at 1136. Moreover, any “conduct at issue here is involuntary and inseparable from status — they are one and the same, given that human beings are biologically compelled to rest, whether by sitting, lying, or sleeping.” Id. As a result, just as the state may not criminalize the state of being “homeless in public places,” the state may not “criminalize conduct that is an unavoidable consequence of being homeless — namely sitting, lying, or sleeping on the streets.” Id. at 1137. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE32 Our holding is a narrow one. Like the Jones panel, “we in no way dictate to the City that it must provide sufficient shelter for the homeless, or allow anyone who wishes to sit, lie, or sleep on the streets . . . at any time and at any place.” Id. at 1138. We hold only that “so long as there is a greater number of homeless individuals in [a jurisdiction] than the number of available beds [in shelters],” the jurisdiction cannot prosecute homeless individuals for “involuntarily sitting, lying, and sleeping in public.” Id. That is, as long as there is no option of sleeping indoors, the government cannot criminalize indigent, homeless people for sleeping outdoors, on public property, on the false premise they had a choice in the matter.8 We are not alone in reaching this conclusion. As one court has observed, “resisting the need to eat, sleep or engage in other life-sustaining activities is impossible. Avoiding public places when engaging in this otherwise innocent conduct is also impossible. . . . As long as the homeless plaintiffs do not have a single place where they can lawfully be, the challenged ordinances, as applied to them, effectively 8 Naturally, our holding does not cover individuals who do have access to adequate temporary shelter, whether because they have the means to pay for it or because it is realistically available to them for free, but who choose not to use it. Nor do we suggest that a jurisdiction with insufficient shelter can never criminalize the act of sleeping outside. Even where shelter is unavailable, an ordinance prohibiting sitting, lying, or sleeping outside at particular times or in particular locations might well be constitutionally permissible. See Jones, 444 F.3d at 1123. So, too, might an ordinance barring the obstruction of public rights of way or the erection of certain structures. Whether some other ordinance is consistent with the Eighth Amendment will depend, as here, on whether it punishes a person for lacking the means to live out the “universal and unavoidable consequences of being human” in the way the ordinance prescribes. Id. at 1136. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 33 punish them for something for which they may not be convicted under the [E]ighth [A]mendment — sleeping, eating and other innocent conduct.” Pottinger v. City of Miami, 810 F. Supp. 1551, 1565 (S.D. Fla. 1992); see also Johnson v. City of Dallas, 860 F. Supp. 344, 350 (N.D. Tex. 1994) (holding that a “sleeping in public ordinance as applied against the homeless is unconstitutional”), rev’d on other grounds, 61 F.3d 442 (5th Cir. 1995).9 Here, the two ordinances criminalize the simple act of sleeping outside on public property, whether bare or with a blanket or other basic bedding. The Disorderly Conduct Ordinance, on its face, criminalizes “[o]ccupying, lodging, or sleeping in any building, structure or place, whether public or private” without permission. Boise City Code § 6-01-05. Its scope is just as sweeping as the Los Angeles ordinance at issue in Jones, which mandated that “[n]o person shall sit, lie or sleep in or upon any street, sidewalk or other public way.” 444 F.3d at 1123. The Camping Ordinance criminalizes using “any of the streets, sidewalks, parks or public places as a camping place 9 In Joel v. City of Orlando, 232 F.3d 1353, 1362 (11th Cir. 2000), the Eleventh Circuit upheld an anti-camping ordinance similar to Boise’s against an Eighth Amendment challenge. In Joel, however, the defendants presented unrefuted evidence that the homeless shelters in the City of Orlando had never reached capacity and that the plaintiffs had always enjoyed access to shelter space. Id. Those unrefuted facts were critical to the court’s holding. Id. As discussed below, the plaintiffs here have demonstrated a genuine issue of material fact concerning whether they have been denied access to shelter in the past or expect to be so denied in the future. Joel therefore does not provide persuasive guidance for this case. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE34 at any time.” Boise City Code § 9-10-02. The ordinance defines “camping” broadly: The term “camp” or “camping” shall mean the use of public property as a temporary or permanent place of dwelling, lodging, or residence, or as a living accommodation at anytime between sunset and sunrise, or as a sojourn. Indicia of camping may include, but are not limited to, storage of personal belongings, using tents or other temporary structures for sleeping or storage of personal belongings, carrying on cooking activities or making any fire in an unauthorized area, or any of these activities in combination with one another or in combination with either sleeping or making preparations to sleep (including the laying down of bedding for the purpose of sleeping). Id. It appears from the record that the Camping Ordinance is frequently enforced against homeless individuals with some elementary bedding, whether or not any of the other listed indicia of “camping” — the erection of temporary structures, the activity of cooking or making fire, or the storage of personal property — are present. For example, a Boise police officer testified that he cited plaintiff Pamela Hawkes under the Camping Ordinance for sleeping outside “wrapped in a blanket with her sandals off and next to her,” for sleeping in a public restroom “with blankets,” and for sleeping in a park “on a blanket, wrapped in blankets on the ground.” The Camping Ordinance therefore can be, and allegedly is, enforced against homeless individuals who take even the most rudimentary precautions to protect themselves from the Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 35 elements. We conclude that a municipality cannot criminalize such behavior consistently with the Eighth Amendment when no sleeping space is practically available in any shelter. III. Conclusion For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court as to the plaintiffs’ requests for retrospective relief, except as such claims relate to Hawkes’s July 2007 citation under the Camping Ordinance and Martin’s April 2009 citation under the Disorderly Conduct Ordinance. We REVERSE and REMAND with respect to the plaintiffs’ requests for prospective relief, both declaratory and injunctive, and to the plaintiffs’ claims for retrospective relief insofar as they relate to Hawkes’ July 2007 citation or Martin’s April 2009 citation.10 10 Costs shall be awarded to the plaintiffs. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE36 OWENS, Circuit Judge, concurring in part and dissenting in part: I agree with the majority that the doctrine of Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994), bars the plaintiffs’ 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims for damages that are based on convictions that have not been challenged on direct appeal or invalidated in state post-conviction relief. See Lyall v. City of Los Angeles, 807 F.3d 1178, 1192 n.12 (9th Cir. 2015). I also agree that Heck and its progeny have no application where there is no “conviction or sentence” that would be undermined by granting a plaintiff’s request for relief under § 1983. Heck, 512 U.S. at 486–87; see also Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384, 393 (2007). I therefore concur in the majority’s conclusion that Heck does not bar plaintiffs Robert Martin and Pamela Hawkes from seeking retrospective relief for the two instances in which they received citations, but not convictions. I also concur in the majority’s Eighth Amendment analysis as to those two claims for retrospective relief. Where I part ways with the majority is in my understanding of Heck’s application to the plaintiffs’ claims for declaratory and injunctive relief. In Wilkinson v. Dotson, 544 U.S. 74 (2005), the Supreme Court explained where the Heck doctrine stands today: [A] state prisoner’s § 1983 action is barred (absent prior invalidation)—no matter the relief sought (damages or equitable relief), no matter the target of the prisoner’s suit (state conduct leading to conviction or internal prison proceedings)—if success in that action Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE 37 would necessarily demonstrate the invalidity of confinement or its duration. Id. at 81–82. Here, the majority acknowledges this language in Wilkinson, but concludes that Heck’s bar on any type of relief that “would necessarily demonstrate the invalidity of confinement” does not preclude the prospective claims at issue. The majority reasons that the purpose of Heck is “to ensure the finality and validity of previous convictions, not to insulate future prosecutions from challenge,” and so concludes that the plaintiffs’ prospective claims may proceed. I respectfully disagree. A declaration that the city ordinances are unconstitutional and an injunction against their future enforcement necessarily demonstrate the invalidity of the plaintiffs’ prior convictions. Indeed, any time an individual challenges the constitutionality of a substantive criminal statute under which he has been convicted, he asks for a judgment that would necessarily demonstrate the invalidity of his conviction. And though neither the Supreme Court nor this court has squarely addressed Heck’s application to § 1983 claims challenging the constitutionality of a substantive criminal statute, I believe Edwards v. Balisok, 520 U.S. 641 (1997), makes clear that Heck prohibits such challenges. In Edwards, the Supreme Court explained that although our court had recognized that Heck barred § 1983 claims challenging the validity of a prisoner’s confinement “as a substantive matter,” it improperly distinguished as not Heck-barred all claims alleging only procedural violations. 520 U.S. at 645. In holding that Heck also barred those procedural claims that would necessarily imply the invalidity of a conviction, the Court did not question our conclusion that claims challenging a conviction “as a substantive matter” are barred by Heck. Item 7d ix MARTIN V. CITY OF BOISE38 Id.; see also Wilkinson, 544 U.S. at 82 (holding that the plaintiffs’ claims could proceed because the relief requested would only “render invalid the state procedures” and “a favorable judgment [would] not ‘necessarily imply the invalidity of [their] conviction[s] or sentence[s]’” (emphasis added) (quoting Heck, 512 U.S. at 487)). Edwards thus leads me to conclude that an individual who was convicted under a criminal statute, but who did not challenge the constitutionality of the statute at the time of his conviction through direct appeal or post-conviction relief, cannot do so in the first instance by seeking declaratory or injunctive relief under § 1983. See Abusaid v. Hillsborough Cty. Bd. of Cty. Comm’rs, 405 F.3d 1298, 1316 n.9 (11th Cir. 2005) (assuming that a §1983 claim challenging “the constitutionality of the ordinance under which [the petitioner was convicted]” would be Heck-barred). I therefore would hold that Heck bars the plaintiffs’ claims for declaratory and injunctive relief. We are not the first court to struggle applying Heck to “real life examples,” nor will we be the last. See, e.g., Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U.S. 1, 21 (1998) (Ginsburg, J., concurring) (alterations and internal quotation marks omitted) (explaining that her thoughts on Heck had changed since she joined the majority opinion in that case). If the slate were blank, I would agree that the majority’s holding as to prospective relief makes good sense. But because I read Heck and its progeny differently, I dissent as to that section of the majority’s opinion. I otherwise join the majority in full. Item 7d ix Emergency Shelter Transitional Housing Safe Haven Total Sheltered Unsheltered TOTAL Households with at least one adult and one child Households 781 767 -1,548 570 2,118 Persons 2,505 2,336 -4,841 1,891 6,732 Households with only children Households 68 26 -94 224 318 Persons 95 47 -142 308 450 Households without children Households 5,813 1,048 81 6,942 7,888 14,830 Persons 5,933 1,112 81 7,126 8,615 15,741 TOTAL Households 6,662 1,841 81 8,584 10,506 17,266 Persons 8,533 3,495 81 12,109 10,814 22,923 Subpopulations Chronically Homeless Individuals 2,268 -67 2,335 4,472 6,807 Chronically Homeless Families 66 --66 164 230 Persons in Chronically Homeless Families 258 --258 610 868 Chronically Homeless Veteran Individuals 196 -25 221 379 600 Adults with a Serious Mental Illness 1,478 344 44 1,866 4,743 6,609 Adults with a Substance Use Disorder 1,146 252 27 1,425 3,873 5,298 Adults with HIV/AIDS 15 18 -33 196 229 Adult Victims of Domestic Violence 829 338 < 10 1,189 2,356 3,545 Veterans Veteran Households 554 269 39 862 673 1,535 Veterans 558 269 39 866 741 1,607 Youth Households (under 25) Households Total numbers of households 500 375 -875 772 1,647 Unaccompanied Youth households 457 286 -743 720 1,463 Parenting Youth Households 43 89 -132 52 184 Persons Total number of persons 620 520 -1,140 1,080 2,220 Persons in parenting youth household 129 219 -348 129 477 Persons in unaccompanied youth household 491 301 -792 951 1,743 2020 Point in Time Count | State Totals Item 7d v Adams County 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Asotin County 13 13 <10 <10 0 0 15 14 Benton County 50 50 81 23 <10 <10 138 79 Chelan County 229 215 92 30 16 <10 337 248 Clallam County 151 147 46 16 <10 <10 198 164 Clark County 536 491 372 120 <10 <10 916 619 Columbia County <10 <10 10 <10 0 0 11 <10 Cowlitz County 244 223 81 28 <10 <10 328 252 Douglas County 12 12 <10 <10 0 0 21 15 Ferry County <10 <10 0 0 0 0 <10 <10 Franklin County 44 44 <10 <10 <10 <10 52 48 Garfield County <10 <10 <10 <10 0 0 <10 <10 Grant County 104 97 75 19 <10 <10 180 117 Grays Harbor County 92 91 15 <10 <10 0 108 95 Island County 105 94 24 <10 0 0 129 103 Jefferson County 119 112 20 <10 0 0 139 118 King County 7707 7222 3743 1190 301 210 11751 8622 Kitsap County 390 366 133 42 <10 <10 524 409 Kittitas County <10 <10 <10 <10 <10 <10 15 14 Klickitat County 28 27 <10 <10 <10 <10 33 30 Lewis County 97 89 45 16 0 0 142 105 Lincoln County 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mason County 90 86 83 25 <10 <10 178 113 Okanogan County 55 49 11 <10 <10 <10 67 56 Pacific County 48 44 11 <10 <10 <10 60 48 Pend Oreille County 11 10 29 <10 <10 <10 42 20 Pierce County 1527 1445 358 113 12 12 1897 1570 San Juan County 55 55 10 <10 0 0 65 59 Skagit County 181 162 130 36 <10 0 314 198 Skamania County 36 35 <10 <10 0 0 43 37 Snohomish County 818 776 284 92 30 29 1132 897 Spokane County 1171 1118 363 104 25 22 1559 1244 Stevens County 35 33 <10 <10 0 0 42 34 Thurston County 672 645 310 95 13 <10 995 747 Wahkiakum County <10 <10 0 0 0 0 <10 <10 Walla Walla County 123 122 <10 <10 <10 <10 140 128 Whatcom County 521 496 165 55 <10 <10 687 552 Whitman County <10 <10 14 <10 <10 0 22 10 Yakima County 457 442 176 49 0 0 633 491 TOTAL 15741 14830 6732 2118 450 318 22923 17266 TOTAL Homeless (sheltered and unsheltered) 2020 Point in Time Count | County Totals Households Persons Households TOTALHouseholds w/out minors Households with minors Households with only minors Persons Households Persons Households Persons County Item 7d v COUNTY OF JEFFERSON STATE OF WASHINGTON IN THE MATTER OF ADOPTING THE FIVE-YEAR HOMELESS HOUSING PLAN FOR JEFFERSON TITLED: MAKING HOMELESSNESS A SINGULAR OCCURRENCE — HOMELESS CRISIS RESPONSE AND HOUSING 5 YEAR PLAN FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY, WASHINGTON 2020-2024 RESOLUTION NO 63-19 WHEREAS, on July 31, 2017, the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners adopted Resolution No. 35-17, finding "that an emergency exists with respect to the availability of housing that is affordable to low-income households and with respect to the availability of housing that is affordable to very low- income households in Jefferson County;" and WHEREAS, on November 26, 2018 the County and the City entered into an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement Between Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend To Support Affordable Housing and Homeless Housing Programs Pursuant To RCW 36. 22.178, RCW 36.22.179, And RCW 36. 22.1791 (the "Affordable Housing/Homeless Housing ILA"); and WHEREAS, the Affordable Housing/Homeless Housing ILA established a Joint Oversight Board and an Affordable Housing and Homeless Housing Task Force with certain responsibilities which include creating the Five -Year Homeless Housing Plan and recommending it for adoption by the Board of County Commissioners pursuant to Guidelines published by the Department of Commerce and due to the Department of Commerce not later than December 1, 2019; and WHEREAS, the Five -Year Homeless Housing Plan establishes Goals, Actions, and Measures to prioritize and guide the allocation of funds derived from recording fees which are intended to reduce and eliminate homelessness as required by the Department of Commerce; and WHEREAS, the Five -Year Homeless Housing Plan titled Making Homelessness a Singular Occurrence: Homeless Crisis Response and Housing 5 Year Plan for Jefferson County, WA (the Plan) can serve as guidance and a prioritized roadmap for actions taken by organizations, volunteers, and local governments working to reduce homelessness in Jefferson County; NOW THEREFORE IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that pursuant to the recommendation from the Affordable Housing and Homeless Housing Joint Oversight Board, the Board of County Commissioners does hereby adopt the Five Year Homeless Housing Plan known as "Making Homelessness a Singular Occurrence — Homeless Crisis Response and Housing 5 Year Plan for Jefferson County, WA prepared by the Affordable Housing and Homeless Task Force 2020-2024". SIGNATURES ON NEXT PAGE Item 7d vi ADOPTED this 18th day ofNovember, 2019. CA/ TTEST: y Ca ofY lllawaay, J Deputy Clerk of the Board JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Kate Dean, Ch it David SLWiva er Greg Brotha"ton, Member Item 7d vi Regular Agenda JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST TO: Board of County Commissioners Philip Morley, County Administrator FROM: Vicki Kirkpatrick, JCPH Director DATE: November 18, 2019 SUBJECT: Public Hearing to Adopt Five -Year Homeless Housing Plan: 2020- 2024 STATEMENT OF ISSUE: One of the requirements for continued local determination and allocation ofthe housing funds generated from recording fees is the creation of a Five -Year Homeless Plan due to the Department of Commerce no later than December 1, 2019. Pursuant to an Interlocal Agreement between Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend, a Joint Oversight Board JOB) was created and tasked with establishing a Task Force that would create a five-year homeless housing plan consistent with guidelines published by the Department of Commerce. The task force has completed their work and unanimously recommended the Five -Year Plan to the Joint Oversight Board. The JOB unanimously approved the Five -Year Plan and is recommending it to the Board of County Commissioners for final adoption and conveyance to the Department of Commerce. ANALYSIS: The Jefferson County Five -Year Homeless Housing Plan, Making Homelessness a Singular Occurrence — Homeless Crisis Response and Housing Five -Year Plan for Jefferson County, WA will serve as a roadmap and guide for organizations engaged in providing housing for people experiencing homelessness in Jefferson. It will guide the allocation of funds from the recording fees. It provides a comprehensive picture of homelessness in Jefferson County and the barriers Jefferson County communities face in their efforts to end homelessness. FISCAL IMPACT: The 5 -Year Homeless Plan required by the State Department of Commerce from every community that utilizes the recording fees to support housing homeless programs pursuant to RCW 36.22.178, RCW 36.22.179 and RCW 36.22.1791 will guide the allocation of funds authorized by said RCWs. The next step in the process will be for the Task Force and Joint Oversight Board to develop a competitive Request for Proposal process that, in addition to allocating the funds, will include requirements for evaluation and data collection so that the impact of the programs can be measured over time and adjustments can be made as needed. The goal is to assure that use of the limited resources moves people experiencing homelessness into housing. The Plan identifies objectives, action and measures to assure that Item 7d vi Regular Agenda happens. It is a guide for community efforts to reduce homelessness and provides a roadmap for collective impact. RECOMMENDATION: Approve Resolution No. adopting the Jefferson County Five -Year Homeless Housing Plan: Making Homelessness a Singular Occurrence — Homeless Crisis Response and Housing 5 Year Plan for Jefferson County, WA. REVIEWED BY: 1111V11119 ilip 1Vo y ministrator Date Item 7d vi Making Homelessness a Singular Occurrence HOMELESS CRISIS RESPONSE AND HOUSING 5 YEAR PLAN FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY, WA PREPARED BY THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING & HOMELESS HOUSING TASK FORCE 2020-2024 CityofPort Townsend Item 7d vi Making Homelessness a Singular Occurrence in Jefferson County, Washington Table of Contents Affordable Housing & Homeless Housing Task Force.......................................................... 3 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 4 Purposeof the Plan................................................................................................................. 6 Our Housing Affordability Crisis.................................................................................... 7 Homelessness & Housing in Jefferson County............................................................ 8 Hidden Homeless: Youth in Jefferson County............................................................ 9 CurrentState Housing............................................................................................................. 11 Partners In this Housing Crisis................................................................................................ 14 CurrentState of Funding.......................................................................................................... 15 Objectives 1-6 Quickly Identify and Engage People Experiencing Homelessness . .................. 17 Prioritization of Homeless Housing for People with the Highest Needs............ 20 Operate an Effective and Efficient Homeless Crisis Response System .............. 22 Projection of the Impact of the Fully Implemented Local Plan ........................... 26 Address Racial, Ethnic and Gender Disparities........................................................ 28 Supportive Efforts Aimed at Ending Homelessness ........................................... 30 Defining and Documenting Success...................................................................................... 32 Recommendationsto the State............................................................................................... 34 Summary...................................................................................................................................... 35 Appendices.................................................................................................................................. 36 Acknowledgements Thanks to the many people and organizations that provided input and supported this effort to create this Plan, including citizens, commissioners, city council members, social service providers, and people experiencing homelessness. Special thanks to Kitsap County for the template on which this Plan was originally based. Note: Definition of Bolded Words can be found in the Glossary of Terms on page 36. 2 Item 7d vi Making Homelessness a Singular Occurrence in Jefferson County, Washington Affordable Housing and Homelessness Task Force Joint Oversight Board Michelle Sandoval, City Council Member, Port Townsend David Sullivan, County Commissioner, Jefferson County Terry Smith, RE/MAX Realtor, Jefferson County Association of Realtors Amanda Funaro, Principal Operations Officer, Good Man Sanitation, Inc. Frank Hoffman, Citizen at Large Members Amanda Funaro, Principal Operations Officer, Good Man Sanitation, Inc. Barbara Morey, Housing Advocate, Citizen at Large Barbara Carr, Director Juvenile Services, Jefferson County Ben Casserd, Shelter Advocate Brian Nash, Shelter Advocate & Representative David Rymph, Citizen at Large David Sullivan, County Commissioner, Jefferson County Frank Hoffman, Citizen at Large Fred Kimball, Former Board President of Habitat for Humanity, Builder Jeff Monroe, Professional House Mover Joe Nole, Sheriff Jefferson County Julia Cochrane, Citizen at Large Lori Fleming, Executive Director of CHIP, Jefferson County Public Health Kathy Morgan, Director of Housing and Community Development, Olympic Community Action Programs Kay Kassinger, Executive Director, Peninsula Housing Authority Michelle Sandoval, City Council Member, Port Townsend Peggy Webster, Affordable Housing Consultant, P.T. Roy Walker, Executive Director, Olympic Area on Aging Sarah Rogers, Shelter Manager, Dove House Terry Smith, RE/MAX Realtor, Jefferson County Association of Realtors Whitney Friddle, Development Manager, Jumping Mouse Children's Center Administration Vicki Kirkpatrick, Director, Director of Public Health, Jefferson County Lizanne Crines Coker, Facilitator of the 5 Year Plan Item 7d vi Introduction In rural communities, affordable housing has been an issue without a home. The 1% property tax limit, loss of motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) revenues, and unfunded mandates have eroded discretionary income of small local governments. Jefferson County has not yet recovered from the Great Recession of 2008 and continues to operate with 10% fewer employees than in 2008. The search for funding to build wastewater infrastructure to support higher density zoning has been elusive. It appears that this is about to change. In 2017 the State Legislature passed HB 1570, raising recording fees used for affordable housing and homelessness and making them permanent. Along with significant volunteer efforts, these fees have been critical to sustaining our homeless shelter and transitional housing services. However, more is needed, especially for families with children and people with health and other special needs. The creation of the Affordable Housing and Homeless Housing Task Force has provided a forum not just for developing this 5 -year plan, but also a space for harnessing the caring and creativity of our community which will be needed to tackle the problems before us. The recent passage of HB 1406 offers another ray of hope, providing a small amount of dedicated funding to leverage other state dollars to increase our affordable housing and rental stock that is in woefully short supply. We are building a foundation for the work to come, to assure everyone has a safe, welcoming place in our community." David Sullivan, Jefferson County Commissioner On any Given Day: People experiencing homelessness in numbers in Jefferson County According to the Point in Time count in January of 2019, an estimated 199 people were experiencing homelessness in Jefferson County (Washington State Dept. of Commerce, 2019). This number includes only 41 of the 96 youth in Port Townsend and Chimacum School Districts who self -identified as homeless (OSPI, 2018). Furthermore, it does not address the 191 individuals in need of shelter, that Dove House has had to turn away. While we as a nation may agree on very little, we as a community agree that these numbers are unacceptable. Bridging the Gap to Stable Housing The current gap between household income and cost of living in Jefferson County is such that even those with stable employment, or opportunity for employment, face the struggle of procuring safe, affordable housing. The people most at risk of homelessness certainly are those 0 Item 7d vi with no income and very low-income — earning less than 30% of the area median income. The current supply of affordable and accessible housing is inadequate to meet our current community demand. In tangent, our community faces a higher need for specialized housing; retirement communities, housing for individuals with disabilities, and single parent households with children. This plan will help guide the way to ensuring that there is housing for all in Jefferson County. The Cost of Doing Nothing: The Social Impact of Homelessness Homelessness affects more than just the individual experiencing it. It destabilizes family situations and escalates already unstable families. It increases the abuse of substances and makes seeking medical assistance overly complex and difficult to manage, especially with those experiencing mental illnesses. It also greatly impacts the cost of emergency services. Particularly troubling is the increase of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in children, which are significant childhood traumas that can result in actual changes in brain development. The long-term effects of this trauma extend not only to their academic achievement, but more importantly to their emotional, social and physical wellbeing. A child faced with homelessness: their own, their parents, their families, will not have the resources, stability or support to be as successful in a classroom as those with stable housing. Their experience as a youth, and the repercussions of unstable housing on their health, have shown to perpetuate the cyclical nature/causes of homelessness. The National Alliance to End Homelessness reported in 2015 that over 83,000 individuals experience chronic homelessness on any given night in the US (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2015). This number refers to people who have chronic and complex health conditions that include mental illness, substance use disorders, and medical conditions who experience long-term homelessness. Without stable housing these individuals cycle in and out of emergency departments, inpatient hospital stays, psychiatric centers, detox programs and jails, resulting in high public cost for these resources and extremely poor health outcomes for these individuals including premature death. While this certainly does not name all the potential causes of an individual becoming homeless, these factors do play a significant role in perpetuating the cycle of homelessness. It is our goal to address these issues, learn more about the gaps in access to housing, and find solutions that work to provide housing to all our community members. Item 7d vi Purpose of the Plan In declaring an Affordable Housing Crisis, both Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend recognize that the increase in people experiencing homelessness will continue to rise without some proactive interventions. Additionally, both affordability and availability of rental housing has reached a crisis level for many of our working individuals and families, leaving them financially stressed and housing cost burdened if they are able to find housing at all. The Jefferson County Homeless Plan is part of a long-term, systematic effort to address the homelessness and affordable housing crisis through a data focused vision for Jefferson County. This 5 -Year Plan is not the first Jefferson County Plan, nor will it be the last, but it does reflect where we are today and the priorities we should collectively work on for the next five years in response to this crisis. The Plan is a roadmap, a guide to help us impact the housing crisis and reduce the barriers to stable and affordable housing. It presents a strategic framework that will guide community leaders, organizations and residents in making decisions about where to invest time and resources to improve housing opportunities. One overarching goal of this 5 -Year Plan is to facilitate alignment of efforts within Jefferson County, utilizing collective impact in order to make measurable differences that increase opportunities for moving people experiencing homelessness into stable and affordable housing and reducing the housing cost burden for very low to moderate income individuals and families. Speaking as your Public Health Director, we know that 70% of an individual's health is determined outside of the health care system by such things as housing, income, education, etc. also known as the Social Determinants of Health. For many individuals and families in Jefferson County, stable and affordable housing is foundational to health and well-being." Vicki Kirkpatrick, Public Health Director, Jefferson County Washington The Affordable Housing and Homeless Housing Task Force identified three main purposes of the plan, in addition to fulfilling the legislative mandate (RCW 43.185C.050, 2018): Blueprint for Implementation: A clear and concise agreement about the community's plan to reduce homelessness through the implementation of these objectives. Tool for Advocacy: An informational focal point to inspire local advocacy and leadership to embrace homelessness as a priority for action. Reference for Funders: An articulation of the community's priorities for funding, ensuring that these priorities meet the Federal, State, and local requirements. This plan lays out our objectives and strategies to guide local government, non-profit agencies, and other partners to achieve the desired outcomes necessary to significantly reduce homelessness and create more affordable housing options for those struggling to find shelter. Item 7d vi Our Housing Affordability Crisis The updated Inter Local Agreement (ILA) between Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend, to "Support Affordable Housing and Homeless Housing Programs", signed in November of 2018, created a City/County Affordable Housing and Homeless Housing Task Force, which drafted this five year homeless housing plan in accordance with RCW43.185C (City of Port Townsend/ Jefferson County, 2018). This task force, composed of related service providers, people who are or were homeless, and other stakeholders, is acutely aware of homelessness and of the lack of affordable housing in Jefferson County. Our ability to increase the number of affordable housing units faces several obstacles including: Rural counties like ours are seen by developers as risky investments as they tend to result in smaller returns. Zoning favors single family development over multi -family. Infrastructure in rural areas of the county, like onsite sewage treatment, is a financial burden. The federal Low -Income Housing Tax Credit Program is the primary source of financing for affordable housing; however, it tends to favor significantly more dense housing options than are permitted in Jefferson County at this time, due to lack of wastewater treatment facilities needed to support higher density development. We expect homelessness to increase in Jefferson County over the next several years and the lack of affordable housing to also increase due to several factors, including inmigration and related income inequality. Rents will continue to rise, household incomes will not keep up, the proportion of older people experiencing homelessness will continue to climb, and many of these people will require health care services. We recognize that people experiencing homelessness are not a homogenous group. People become homeless for many reasons and our response needs to be individualized. This requires adequate resources and accountability, the willingness of a community to pull together to do what it can to address those needs. Our community is in this together. Item 7d vi Homelessness & Housing in Jefferson County According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 12.8 % of Jefferson County residents were living below the poverty level compared to 12.2 % of the state population and 14.6 % of the U.S. population in the period 2013 through 2017. The state and national rates are not directly comparable to the county rate because they each use different data sources. (Sources: Employment Security Department; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey) Per capita personal income in Jefferson County in 2017 was $48,975 compared to $57,896 for the state and $51,640 for the nation. Jefferson County ranked 10th in the state in 2017 in per capita income. It ranked sixth in 2014 (US Census. American Community Survey, 2013-2017). Population growth rate for unincorporated Jefferson County is 0.97% vs. 1.27% for Port Townsend for 2017. We recognize that homelessness is driven by a complex set of factors: poverty, lack of education/training, lack of jobs, behavioral health issues and addiction are key factors. Additionally, the lack of housing and the increase in monthly rental fees have left many without a place to call home. The elderly population are at a disadvantage, particularly if their only source of income is social security. Ten thousand people a day turn 65 and most have no income other than social security. According to the Social Security Association Monthly report dated July 2019, the average social security benefit is $1353.68/ per month. There is simply no way to make ends meet" for many seniors in Jefferson County (Social Security Administration, 2019). According to the Housing Assessment Report provided to the City of Port Townsend by E. D. HOVEE & Company, LLC in 2015 "An estimated 52% of Port Townsend renters and 39% of homeowners are housing cost burdened, a virtual doubling of the proportion of cost -burdened households since 1990." The report created a 20 -year affordability need projection, in which it concluded that based on an expected population growth of 2,711 new residents in Port Townsend; there will be a need for 1,369 new residential housing units by the year 2036. Hovee, 2015) Based on this projection, current AMI and economic trends: Port Townsend will need between 312-338 additional rental units for low to moderate income residents by 2036: 141-153 rental units for very low-income households (less than 30% AMI) 101-109 rental units for low-income residents (at 30- 50% AMI) 70-76 rental units for moderate income households (at 50-80% AMI) Item 7d vi Hidden Homeless: Youth in Jefferson County In addition to building safe housing for adults & families, we recognize that our community, like many others has a hidden sub -group of homeless youth. In 2017, The Interagency Work Group on Youth Homelessness reported that across Washington State 13,000 youth were without safe and stable housing. We understand that our community is no exception to this reality. Youth experience homelessness or are unstably housed for any number of reasons, including abuse, family conflict, rejection due to sexual identity, or family poverty. They might be released from systems of care into homelessness or returned home to a family not adequately prepared to manage the stress of re-entry into the home. These youth are at high risk for homelessness within 12 months of returning home. In concert with statewide efforts, our community will need to make a commitment to: Ensure that youth exiting public systems have a safe, stable place to go. Invest in crisis intervention and provide services for families experiencing conflict. Improve education and employment outcomes. Develop a continuum of youth stable housing opportunities including street outreach services, crisis placement opportunities, a minimum of two host homes, and a 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 transitional housing program for youth ages 16-24. SELF IDENTIFIED HOMELESS YOUTH IN LOCAL SCHOOLS 2014-2018 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 Quilcene —Port Townsend—Chimacum 9 Item 7d vi The need for safe, affordable housing is clear. This Plan is dedicated to breaking down the issues we face in our community, starting with those most in need of a safe and secure resting place. We accept that this is a process, one that includes a fundamental shift in our perception of homelessness and how to define it. As we learn more about youth homelessness in our own backyard, we are more inspired than ever to create safe options for our children. For 5 years, our State has tracked "doubling up or couch surfing "statistics with little action. Acknowledging doubling- up" and doing something to end it are two different actions and while we admit doubling up" is better than sleeping in a car or a tent, neither is a proper place for a child to call home. If we are to reduce youth homelessness, we first need to understand the impact it has on the lives of our youth. According to OSPI Reports in Jefferson County: During the 2015 school year, 76 local students admitted to "couch surfing" due to homelessness During the 2017 school year, 96 local students self -identified as homeless 0 20% of all youth self -identifying as homeless have a diagnosed disability Additionally, Chronically Homeless children account for: 36% of all cases of chronic absences or truancy 9.8% of all school expulsions Add to these facts, that chronically homeless youth have a graduation rate of 55% statewide and this issue takes on near epic proportions (OSPI, 2018). It should be noted that beyond standard social and school services, Jefferson County is in the process ofaction. OLYCAP in coordination with Juvenile Services applied for and received a $188,675 HUD Grant for the NEW HOPE PROJECT. It will provide move -in and rental assistance coverage with funding for up to 12 months and possibly up to 18 months, in special cases, with Young Adult Families. Once housed, the Youth will work with a Youth Advocate on a weekly basis for the first two months, in their new home. After this point, the assigned Youth Advocate will continue to meet with the Youth in their home on a monthly basis for up to 18 months after they are housed. 10 Item 7d vi Current State of Housing in Jefferson County, WA The City of Port Townsend together with Jefferson County created the Housing Action Plan HAPN) Task Force in 2005. Elected officials, together with service providers, contractors and citizens at large, came together to discuss the growing unaffordability of housing in our community and to create a plan to address the issue. The mid -2000s brought the last housing market spike and this county saw wealthier buyers knocking down historic homes to build larger, more modern houses among the 1880 Victorian homes, and the city/county experienced a historic uptick in permits for newer homes, along with an increasing phenomenon of second home buyers. Little did we know that the great recession would be coming in a couple of years and it would contribute to a perfect storm for Jefferson County's upcoming housing crisis. While the recession stopped the tear -downs and slowed the market enough to give us the feeling we may be able to get our arms around the housing affordability gap before the next boom, it also created financial pressures on the city/county's ability to act on the HAPN plan's strategies because of tightening budgets. The great recession also created a greater dilemma. Housing contractors went out of business, changed jobs or retired. Long time builders could not sustain the downturn and very little housing was built during or soon after the recession. Once the market came back, it came back with a bang and we were left in a dire state — more baby boomers finally retiring after the stock market rebounded, and buying into an area that was less expensive than where they left, urban buyers trying to get away from city life, who had the ability to work in a desirable community, as technology allowed them to work from home, and the ever growing "vacation home buyer" who appreciates the natural beauty and culture of our community but only occupy their homes for a portion of the year. One other new buyer we are also seeing more of: climate "refugees"; people relocating after natural disasters and record hot climates, attracted to our more temperate climate. Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend have a unique setting on the Olympic Peninsula. Remote in terms of accessibility, yet close enough for vacation homes buyer. But the remoteness and the unaffordability have created a vicious cycle in terms of attracting housing contractors who can't find workers. (This is true of other businesses as well.) Many businesses report job openings because applicants can't find housing. This is in all sectors of our workforce, but it is more evident in the service industry. 45% of our workforce is traveling from outside our county to work here). High-end custom homes are consuming the local builder's time. Larger multi -family contractors do not exist in our community. With Seattle experiencing one of the 11 Item 7d vi most expensive housing markets in the country, the larger companies have no desire to take a risk in a rural county 2 hours away when their projects in Seattle have a guaranteed return. One other issue is unique to our community; the vintage housing stock. While other areas may find the older homes more affordable, the Victorians in the City of Port Townsend are most desirable because of their location in the historic district. Those that are in disrepair are unable to qualify for financing, so a required cash purchase negates the affordability, even if the home is priced appropriately. Washington State vacancy rates are around 3% and rent prices, the primary driver for homelessness, continue to rise. In Jefferson County, our current rental vacancy rate is <1%, A vacancy rate of less than 5% indicates that demand exceeds supply and generally results in increased rental costs for existing units. In Jefferson County, we simply do not have enough housing units to meet the demand. This includes housing for Section 8 or VASH voucher holders, as well as for workforce housing." Michelle Sandoval, City Council Member, City of Port Townsend THE PROBLEM: The U.S. has a shortage of more than 7.2 MILLION rental homes affordable and available to extremely low income renter households. 52018 N-ianal Low t-- H --g Coalition M6o NATIONALoA TWCOME Io" MOYSIN6 COAlIT10N Graphic used with permission by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2019) 12 Item 7d vi Subsidized Housing & Short -Term Shelters in Jefferson Co. Name/Location Subsidy Managed By Units # Beds # Subsidized Units Northwest Passage transitional housing) Project -based Section 8 OlyCAP 18 18 Pfeiffer House HUD Section 8 OlyCAP 6 6 South Seven HUD Section 8 OlyCAP 15 15 Haines St. Cottages Emergency / Shelter OlyCAP 8 32 Bayside Housing Private NPO Bayside Housing 16 22 Northwest Village USDA/HFC Tax Credit Davick 29 58 Kearney St. Apts. USDA Davick 18 29 Hancock St. Apts. USDA Pacific Housing Advisory 24 48 Discovery View Apts. USDA /HFC Tax Credit SENIOR CARE 47 60 Claridge Court USDA Pacific Housing Advisory 44 48 Bishop Park USDA Davick 30 30 Garden Court Apts. USDA Port Hadlock Garden Court Partnership 40 40 Laurel Heights HFC Tax Credit Davick 45 100 San Juan Commons HFC Tax Credit SENIOR 50 59 Avamere HFC Bond SENIOR CARE 24 24 Victoria House HFC Bond SENIOR CARE 8 8 Pat's Promise Dove House 30 30 Hendricks St. House 4 4 Marine Plaza Apts. HUD Section 8 40 40 Admiralty Apts. HUD Section 8 Pvt. 38 38 Dove House Dove House 20 20 Total Units vs. Bedrooms 554 729 13 Item 7d vi Partners in this Housing Crisis As is common in many smaller counties, Jefferson County does not have a Housing Department within its County government, instead Jefferson partners with the following service providers: Olympic Community Action Programs (OIyCAP) serves both Jefferson & Clallam Counties as the main providers of shelter services running the local emergency shelter, food banks, Senior and Low income Housing for both short and long term housing options. Peninsula Housing Authority (PHA) serves both Jefferson and Clallam counties by providing Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) processing and placement, Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) and Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA). Dove House serves Jefferson County as the only domestic violence center and victim service provide. Habitat for Humanity serves Jefferson County as a permanent housing solution. Bayside Housing serves Jefferson County as a transitional housing provider. Homeward Bound serves as a housing steward currently building an affordable 4 unit rental. Service Partners in this Homeless Crisis Jefferson County Public Health: Community Health Improvement Plan and Behavioral Health Advisory Committee that recommend to the Board of County Commissioners the allocation of 1/10th of 1% Sales and Use Tax Funds for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Proctor House: An alternative to juvenile detention program for youth ages 12-17. Provides limited transition services to youth in their care in the form of referral, transportation, general assistance and education. Juvenile Services: Provides services to at -risk youth under the age of 18 including probation, diversion, youth at risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system and those at risk of homelessness. Case management and services to families in crisis who do not rise to the level of abuse and neglect, and families where youth are experiencing chronic school absenteeism. Olympic Area on Aging (O3A) serves Jefferson, Clallam, Pacific and Grays Harbor as an entry point for information and assistance for seniors and adults with disabilities. Jefferson County Sheriff & Port Townsend Police Department Jumping Mouse Children Center provides expressive mental health therapy to children for as long as necessary. Nurturing each child's healthy development and supportive relationships at home and in the community. 14 Item 7d vi Current State of Funding Many funding sources are specifically "targeted" towards homelessness and are restricted to services and projects which directly benefit individuals and families experiencing homelessness and others with special needs. This chart summarizes state and local targeted funding sources and how they are spent on Jefferson County program types (Washington State Dept. of Commerce, 2018). DEPT. OF COMMERCE FUNDING BY PROJECT FOR 2018 Northwest Passagf.Crossroads Permanent Apartments, Solutions, $129,195, 15% 144,481, 17%_.. Haines Street Cottages, $15,571 2% Home Fund Rent Assistance, $93,419 11% South Seven Senior Village, $74,465, 9% Pfeiffer House, 53,979,6% Housing and Essential Needs Housing Grant RRH, $39,346, 4% Ending Family _ ` Homelessness HP, 5,490,1% Housing and Essential Needs Housing Grant HP, 39,346,4% Consolidated Homeless Grant Rent Assistance RRH, $25,206, 3% See Appendix B & C for more details of funding sources. 15 Ending Family imelessness RRH, 5,490,1% Emergency Shelter 173,339, 20% supportive Services for Veteran Families RRH, 20,365,2% Supportive Services for Veteran Families HP, 20,365,2% Consolidated Homeless Grant Rent Assistance HP, 25,206,3% Item 7d vi In March 2018, the Washington State legislature made a significant increase to the amount of funding available for homeless programs through local and state grants. This funding became available for grants in mid -2019. The chart below shows funding specifically used for homeless prevention efforts in 2019. 2019 Jefferson County Homeless Prevention Funding Sources Mental Health Tax, $22,000 2163 Funds, 255, 000 SSVF, 110,000 HEN, $88,711 CHG, $96,730 HARPS, 53,000 PSH, $13,983 HUD RRH YOUTH GRANT, $125,000 60,240 HOUSING FUNDED BY THE 1/10TH OF 1% FUND Two Year Budget/2019- 2020 18,000 40,000 12,000 18,000 See Appendix B & C for more details of funding sources. 16 Haines St. Cottages Harborside Hotel Room Bayside Hotel Thomas St. Apt a Behavior Health Court District Court Item 7d vi The County, the City and the Task Force will continue to monitor the plan's implementation and assure that the steps outlined are taken (or replaced by others aiming at the same targets), tracked, evaluated, refined and updated throughout the five-year framework of this plan. OBJECTIVE # 1 Quickly identify and engage people experiencing homelessness. The purpose of a Coordinated Entry System (CES) is to provide the quickest access to the most appropriate housing to every household experiencing or at -risk of homelessness through a standardized assessment and referral process. To ensure those experiencing homelessness are quickly and appropriately housed we will: Enhance and improve the current Coordinated Entry System. Expand outreach efforts to agencies and organizations connected to individuals and families experiencing homelessness and establish partnerships as appropriate to enhance coordination of services. Identify subpopulations to work towards achieving Functional Zero. Current condition of Coordinated Entry as a system within Jefferson County. Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP) runs the intake for all housing services within the County. OlyCAP and Peninsula Housing Authority enter data into the Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) used by Washington State. However, Bayside Housing Services and Dove House Advocacy Services are getting certified with HMIS and will be part of the Data Entry system in 2020. Measure of success: a) Compliance with state and federal Coordinated Entry requirements for all projects receiving federal, state and local homeless funds. b) Compliance with State & Federal Coordinated Entry Data Collection. Participating projects accepting referrals must fill openings exclusively through the CE system and eliminate all side doors. 17 Item 7d vi Victim service providers and emergency shelters are NOT required to participate as an access point or by accepting referrals. Again, however, as indicated above, local governments awarding tax funds can request that agencies receiving funds participate in HMIS. Without emergency shelters (including warming shelters and domestic violence shelters) data, the official homeless count may be significantly undercounted. Strategies: 1) Form a Coordinated Entry Advisory Board (CEAB) to develop and maintain policies and procedures that are recommended to the Joint Oversight Task Force for adoption. This advisory board will also evaluate prioritization practices and vulnerability assessments. 2) Work with the Department of Commerce's Coordinated Entry manager in the development of a CE advisory committee, prioritization, policies and procedures, and implementation of the CE Core Elements Manual's best practices. 3) Outreach: A) Expand outreach to agencies, such as, county & city law enforcement, hospitals, schools, food banks, veterans support groups, emergency shelters, churches, street outreach programs, Recovery Cafe and behavioral health agencies to improve their referral rates to CE. B) Partner with key agencies such as, the Dept. of Social & Health Services (DSHS) and Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to ensure households have access to and are referred to CE. C) Invite non -partnering private organizations to make use of the Continuum of Care CoC) where useful. 4) Quickly identify and engage at least two key subpopulations to achieve functional zero for each population. Functional zero: A population group is said to reach "Functional Zero" when the number of people in that group at a given POINT IN TIME (PIT) is no greater than the monthly rate of those served for that group. 5) Identify and implement CE staff trainings such as diversion, progressive engagement, motivational interviewing, trauma informed care and following best practices. 6) Apply for additional funding to aid the outreach and engagement process. 18 Item 7d vi Actions to Meet Objective #1 Action Activity Responsible Timeline Party Compliance w/ 1) Form Coordinated Entry Advisory Board Task Force on 2020 — Form a Coordinated Coordinated CEAB") Homelessness & Entry Advisory Board Entry 2) Implement all policies and procedures Affordable 2021— Implement P&P per Guidelines required by the WA State CE Guidelines Housing and / or WA State CE Guidelines 3) Implement the Coordinated Entry Core CEAB Elements Manual 2022 — Implement CE Core 4) CE Advisory Board to evaluate the CE Elements system and document in CE Plan. 2023 -2024 Annually update Policies and Procedures in the CE Plan Quickly identify 1) Identify all systems that encounter Local 2020 — Apply for OHY and and engage people experiencing homelessness and organizations YHDP funding people have CE connect with each regularly providing 2019 — 2024 continuously experiencing 2) Apply for funding through Office of services to evaluate access points and homelessness Youth Homelessness (OYH) and Youth persons who are cross agency coverage efforts. homeless or at Housing Development Programs (YHDP) to risk of becoming expand outreach homeless. 3) Improve CE marketing efforts by creating list of all outreach navigators Tracking & CE lead agency to report on the OLYCAP, PHA, 2020 - Create an annual Reporting homelessness status, engagement and Bayside & Dove agency report form for the housing placement for each HH House JOB. Increase 1) Comply with all trainings required by the OLYCAP, PHA, 2020 -2024 - Support staff training Dept. of Commerce. 03A, Dove continued annual trainings for House, Bayside, providers. 2) Provide training in trauma informed Jefferson Public care, diversion and progressive Health, Sheriff engagement. Dept, PT Police 3) Agencies keep a training log on program Dept., Jefferson staff. County Schools. 19 Item 7d vi OBJECTIVE # 2 Prioritization of homeless housing for people with the highest needs. In 2018, Jefferson County's unsheltered entries were 73% while the state average is 54%. Unsheltered entries are people living without safe shelter or are fleeing violence. The State of Washington believes that every county should be focusing their homeless dollars on the homeless population and therefore hopes that each county will have a service support rate that deals with truly unsheltered people in excess of the 60% compliance level of the Consolidated Homeless Grant. Measure of success: A) Compliance with state and federal Coordinated Entry requirements for all projects receiving federal, state and local homeless funds. B) Using the Office of Homeless Youth's "Five Recommendations for Making Coordinated Entry Work for Youth and Young Adults" design a system for prioritizing housing for homeless youth. C) Prioritization of policies for all projects receiving federal, state and local homeless funds, resulting in people prioritized and consistently housed in a timely manner. D) Department of Commerce Consolidated Housing Grant (CHG) sections 2.1.1, 8.4.2 and 8.4.4 _ Prioritize unsheltered homeless households and increase percent served of unsheltered homeless households served by 5% or maintain compliance level. Strategies: 1) Create prioritization policies according to the WA State CE Guidelines and CE Core Elements. 2) Review the vulnerability assessment and evaluate it to improve the process. 3) Focus case conference meetings on the prioritization of households for programs and services for which they qualify and continue problem solving support with case managers and navigators. All households that contact Coordinated Entry and are literally homeless are assessed using a vulnerability assessment and referred to programs for which they may qualify. The vulnerability assessment identifies barriers to housing and is used for all subpopulations except for youth and victims of domestic violence where an alternative assessment tool is used. 20 Item 7d vi The goal is to identify, serve and house the most vulnerable. However, who is served is limited by the programs that are available in the community and, in the case of finding market rate housing, by whom the landlord selects. By improving the prioritization assessment, we will strengthen the foundation of the referral system, promoting efficiency and improving data collection in the process. As in Objective #1, staff training in progressive engagement, motivational interviewing, trauma informed care and diversion will help in the engagement of households experiencing homelessness and aid in resolving their housing crisis. Actions to Meet Objective #2 Action Activity Responsible Timeline/Milestone Party Compliance with all 1) CE Advisory Board/Governing Task Force on 2020 — Form a Prioritization Policies Body to evaluate and update Housing & Coordinated Entry prioritization policy in accordance Homelessness, Advisory Board with WA State CE Guidelines and Joint Oversight Consolidated Homeless Grant Board and 2021— 2024 CEAB 2) Review vulnerability OIyCAP updates Policies and assessment and adjust based on Procedure (P&P) recommendations by the CE annually per WA Advisory Board State CE Guidelines 3) Implement Coordinated Entry from Dept. of Core Elements as recommended Commerce by the CE Advisory Board Maintain current rate 1) Continue to prioritize OLYCAP, PHA, 2019- 2024 or increase percent unsheltered homeless households Dove House & served of unsheltered into emergency shelter, Bayside Housing homeless households transitional housing, homeless to remain in prevention, or any permanent compliance with the housing project intervention. Dept. of Commerce 2) Prioritize households with Consolidated Housing unsheltered homelessness in their Grant history. Work to ensure that Host community information Task Force 2020- Actively work our local providers events so that the public can be with providers to have governmental aware of the true nature of apply forfunding backing and increased homelessness in JC. community support. 21 Item 7d vi Objective # 3 Operate an effective and efficient homeless crisis response system that swiftly moves people into stable and permanent housing while providing services. Jefferson County currently has one adult shelter which operates year-round and is located in the basement of the America Legion in downtown Port Townsend. In the 2018-2019 year, this shelter received enough funding to remain open for 365 consecutive days. There are 23 beds for men & 8 beds for women and 2 medical rooms as well. No one under 18 may stay at this shelter. Last year, the Emergency Shelter accepted 116 individuals offering a total of 10,224 bed nights of safety to adults. Currently, all local shelter participants are handled by the staff at the Jefferson County Adult Emergency Shelter (must be 18 or older) in partnership OLYCAP, COAST & the American Legion. Most are returning clients; however new clients are provided information at check-in and go through CE within 24 hours. Fortunately, Jefferson County also has Dove House Advocacy services which operates an emergency shelter for victims fleeing domestic violence, as well as, a transitional housing program for women and families transitioning into independence. Last year, Dove House sheltered 63 victims offering a total of 6,707 bed nights of safety with 3,475 for children and 3,232 for adults. Dove House does not currently enter clients into the CES but staff works with OlyCAP to quickly connect clients with support services. There is also a transitional housing service in Jefferson County, Bayside Housing & Services, that operates all year long. It employs a unique partnership with a hotel: to rent out a floor of hotel rooms that they offer on an extended -stay basis to low-income individuals, couples and families facing homelessness. Last year, Bayside sheltered 36 guest offering a total of 6,097 bed nights of safety with beds 2,635 for men and 3,462 for women. They offer personalized case management assisting with filling out housing applications across multiple counties, scheduling and transportation for medical appointments, and navigating other social services related to independent living and securing long-term housing. Clients track housing search activities, and if of working age and ability, must also be employed or searching for employment. Entry to Bayside is managed through referral and admittance is based on need. Priority is given to seniors, veterans, and people in the workforce who need housing in order to retain employment. Applicants must be low-income (up to 80% of Area Median Income) to be considered; most Bayside client households are closer to 30% of AMI. 22 Item 7d vi In addition to these shelter providers, Voices for Veterans annually hosts 3 events in Port Townsend, Forks & Port Angeles for Veterans. With these one -day events in 2017, they reached 615 Veterans with direct services and support. The Olympic Peninsula has the highest per capita percentage of Veterans in the United States, with over 15,000 living on the Peninsula. "On average, 13.5% of veterans who attend the "Stand Down" events are women, and 17.5% of veterans who attend these events are homeless, in which, 3.2% of those homeless are women." Voices for Veterans, 2019) Measures of success: System -wide performance assessments based on improving: a) The percentage of exits to permanent housing greater than 79% as per Dept. of Commerce. guidelines. b) Reduce returns to homelessness after exit to permanent housing to less than 10 %. c) Reduce the average length of time in homelessness of those served. d) Establish a legally recognized address system for people who are experiencing homelessness which results in increased access to medical, legal and behavioral health services. e) Increase outreach services for Youth (persons under 25) Strategies: 1) Enhance the system of case management for people who are homeless or those at risk of homelessness to address individual barriers to stable housing (income, education, employment skills, treatment services, etc.) 2) Increase innovative solutions to transitional housing. 3) Maximize resources to house people, especially where funds exist for targeted subpopulations. 4) Improve data quality to minimize error responses to housing destination that impact "exits to permanent housing" and improves confidence in the data measuring this outcome. 5) Coordinate with the Behavioral Health Advisory Committee (BHAC) to assist in leveraging Mental Health Sales Tax Funds to address the housing and homelessness crisis for individuals involved in treatment and recovery programs. 23 Item 7d vi According to the Dept. of Commerce in 2018, OIyCAP registered 85 people into CES this number does not include those sheltered in either the Emergency Shelter or Dove House). Of the 85 people entered in the CES: 73% or 62 individuals identified as Unsheltered Homeless 617 days was the average reported length of time in homelessness of those entering the Coordinated Entry System All were successfully placed into housing of some sort Unfortunately, the unserved homeless numbers for Jefferson County tell a more desperate story. According to the Jefferson County Point in Time Count from 2019, the Homeless Youth report of 2018 from Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction & the unmet requests for shelter during the 2018-2019 service year from Dove House Advocacy services: Total Bed Nights: June 2018 -June 2019 Emergency Shelter Bayside Housing Dove House 71 people identified themselves unsheltered homeless 191 requests for shelter went unfulfilled by Dove House Advocacy 96 youth in our schools identified as homeless, many of whom existed by "couch surfing" 105 of the 615 Veterans who attended a local "Stand Down" event in 2017, self -identified as homeless. 24 Item 7d vi Actions to Meet Objective #3 Action Activity Responsible Party Timeline/ Milestone Maintain System 1) Prioritize shelter OLYCAP, PHA, 2022 review and Exits (Shelter + RRH + participants for RRH DOVE HOUSE, improve TH) to PH 2) Partner with BAYSIDE HOUSING behavioral health agencies 3) By name lists both intra and inter agency Improve Data Quality A program manager or OLYCAP, PHA, 2020 - monthly director reviews data BAYSIDE & DOVE review of data quality frequently and HOUSE trains staff regularly Increase Bank of Engage WA Landlord OLYCAP 2020-2024 increase Master -Lease Association and Realtor the stock of Master Property Association leases by 10% a year Reduce Returns to Ensure stability by: Discovery 2022 Milestone —at Homelessness 1) Continuing Case Behavioral Health, benchmark by management and Believe in intervention type supportive services Recovery, Safe once person/family is Harbor/ Beacon of housed Hope and OlyCAP 2) Partnering with as well as other Behavioral Health local support agencies where service providers appropriate Increase Youth Explore ways to OSPI, Youth Social 2020 — Milestone Access to Services increase data -sharing Service Providers, host a Youth Task between McKinney and School Force summit Vento Liaison and local districts providers Create a Host Family Develop a Host Family OHY, Juvenile 2020- Create a Host System for Youth Network for Youth Services, DSHS and Family System in JC OlyCAP Identify youth in Conduct a Youth Local Schools, 2020 — complete a need Homelessness Survey OlyCAP, Dove Youth survey on House, JC Health homelessness Dept. 25 Item 7d vi Objective # 4 A projection of the number of households & individuals left unsheltered, assuming existing resources and stated policies. A projection of the impact of the fully implemented local plan on the number of households or Individuals housed. This objective is focused on ensuring limited resources are used to support interventions that deliver good outcomes at the lowest cost possible per person served. Measure of success: As a small rural county, Jefferson County will produce an Annual Report on Homelessness that reflects both credible data for homelessness and affordable rental options for our community. Strategies: A) Use tools provided by the Department of Commerce to assist in this prediction B) Use data from a variety of sources to project an estimate C) Use the data to identify housing solutions that will reduce homelessness Actions to Meet State Objective #4 26 Activity Responsible Party Timeline/Milestone Projected count Use of the Dept. Task Force Prediction of of unsheltered & of Commerce Individuals by 2024: sheltered Tool for this Total 242 homeless calculation Unsheltered 145 individuals in Sheltered 97 2024 if there is no change in current resources 26 Item 7d vi The projected number of 145 unsheltered persons was arrived at by examining the PIT count over the past 12 years and paying close attention to the past 5 years. To predict the number of persons living in homelessness in 2024, we used the 6% increase as reported in the most recent Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress which features the increase in the percentage of people living in homelessness between 2017 and 2018 in Washington State (US Dept of Commerce, 2019). PIT Chart Jefferson County Washington 300 ------ --- __ - _._---___---__------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 250 200 150 100 i 50 0 Total Homeless Sheltered Unsheltered 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 225 141 134 108 82 98 70 272 181 187 59 199 94 78 78 95 74 57 29 67 59 100 27 93 131 63 56 13 8 41 41 205 122 87 32 106 By using the PIT chart above, an average number can be created based on the past 12 years & 5 years respectively. As the average number ran higher for the past 5 years, we adopted to use this as the accepted base average and then proceeded to increase annually at a rate of 6%. In response to our current homeless housing and affordable housing crisis a set of actions is qualified in Objective # 6 to support the creation of 300 additional safe Housing Units in Jefferson County by December 31, 2024. The projected number needed by 2024 is included in the number of units needed by 2036 referenced in the 20 -year housing needs projection found in the 2015 Housing Inventory and Needs Assessment for the City of Port Townsend. 27 Average over 12 years Average over 5 years Projection of future annual counts based on the 5 -year average from 2014-2019 with the addition of a 6% annual increase Future Year 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Total 147 180 191 203 215 228 242 Sheltered 71 70 75 80 85 91 97 Unsheltered 76 110 116 123 130 137 145 In response to our current homeless housing and affordable housing crisis a set of actions is qualified in Objective # 6 to support the creation of 300 additional safe Housing Units in Jefferson County by December 31, 2024. The projected number needed by 2024 is included in the number of units needed by 2036 referenced in the 20 -year housing needs projection found in the 2015 Housing Inventory and Needs Assessment for the City of Port Townsend. 27 Item 7d vi Objective # 5 Address Racial, Ethnic and Gender Disparities among People Experiencing Homelessness Measures of Success: Completion of an initial analysis using the equity tool and data provided by the Department of Commerce will be reviewed when the Dept of Commerce uploads the 2019 counts. This is due to the abnormally low PIT Count of 54 people in 2018. As poverty is a driving force in homelessness, we will use it as tool to track disparity with regard to subpopulations. It is clear from the table below that people of color are disproportionately represented with regard to poverty levels in Jefferson County. While 12. 15% of Whites live in poverty, 31% of African Americans do. By the same standard, 43.2% of Native Indians/Alaskan Natives live in poverty (U.S. Census Quick Facts, 2013-2017). Population Living in Percentage RACE AND HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN Jefferson Poverty In JC White alone 27,347 3,297 12.10% Black or African American alone 87 27 31. 00% American Indian and Alaska Native 551 238 43.20% Asian alone 524 29 5.50% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander alone 68 2 2.90% Identifies as another race 128 48 37.50% Identifies as two or more races 969 158 16.30% Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race) 934 248 26.60% The Table below is a comparison by percentages, of the individuals counted in the 2018 Point in Time Counts in Jefferson, Clallam, Island & San Juan Counties. They are by race & ethnicity. 2018 PIT Counts & Percentages in Neighboring Counties 28 Jefferson Clallam Island San Juan Total 54 100 216 100 128 100 56 100 White 46 84 171 79 107 83 47 84 African Amer. 2 4 4 2 6 5 0 0 Native 2 4 9 13 5 4 3 5 Asian 2 4 2 1 2 2 0 0 Multi -Racial 2 4 0 5 8 6 6 11 Hispanic 2 4 9 4 13 10 0 0 Non -Hispanic 47 87 189 88 103 80 52 93 28 Item 7d vi The PIT count does not request information regarding self -perception or self -identification with regard to gender, making it difficult to address the issues of gender inequality. For the safety of our citizens, as a Task Force, we voted to focus our work on this objective to include Racial, Ethnic and Gender Disparities among People Experiencing Homelessness. According to the most recent U.S. Transgender Survey: 26% of transgender people experienced some form of housing discrimination in the past year because of being transgender and 33% of respondents avoided staying in a shelter because they feared being mistreated as a transgender person (U.S. Transgender Survey, 2017). Strategies: A) Use tools provided by the Department of Commerce to assist in addressing these disparities. Actions to Meet Objective #5 Action Activity Responsible Party Timeline/Milestone Eliminate racial, ethnic Use the equity tool to CEAB and the Task 2020- 2024 Annual gender disparities evaluate data and devise Force on Homelessness review of progress plans to minimize disparities Affordable Housing Reach out to federally Work with these tribes and CEAB and the Task 2020-2024 Annual recognized tribes to offer to explore Force on Homelessness review of progress discuss housing opportunities to collaborate Affordable Housing initiatives and any on housing initiatives possible opportunities for collaboration 29 Item 7d vi Objective # 6 Supportive Efforts Aimed at Ending Homelessness The local plan guidance from the Department of Commerce requires that plans be aimed at ending homelessness. This section of the plan addresses the community efforts needed to achieve this goal and reach functional zero for at least two subpopulations. Measure of Success: Increase the development of affordable housing and alternative housing models through incentives and policy changes. Implement discharge planning, including case management, for homeless individuals entering the community from jails, correctional facilities, foster care, hospitals, and behavioral health systems of care. Expand the use of performance measures and data to ensure the most efficient use of public funds. Expand leadership, accountability, and opportunities for community education and volunteering. Identify at least two subpopulations in Jefferson County by 2020, that could be reduced to Functional Zero by 2024 in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the Consolidated Homeless Grant section 8.4.3 (U.S. Dept of Commerce, 2019). Strategies: 1) Use Local Document Recording fees to support the development of more shelter and housing 2) Apply for other grant funding to end homelessness within subpopulations 3) Support state and local initiatives that increase housing stock Actions to meet Objective # 6 Action Activity Responsible Party Timeline/ Milestone Develop a public and Appoint a small sub- Joint Oversight Operational by Vt transparent process and group to draft process Board, CEAB quarter of 2020 necessary policies for the and policy award of City/County funds 30 Item 7d vi Increase funding for 1.Explore opportunities PHA, OlyCAP, Bayside Use funding to affordable housing for to expand the capacity Building Depts. support those under the 50% of of affordable housing PT City Council 50 new units by 2024. the AMI providers members & JC BOCC. 2. Implement HB 1406 Increase work force 1.Recruit developers Private Developers, Increase units in housing units for those 2.Incentivize building City and County County by 5 in 2020 between 50-80% of the Planning & Bldg. and by 32 by 2024. AMI Depts. Increase market rate 1.Recruit developers Private Developers, Increase rentals in rental units 2.Incentivize building City of Port County by 20 in 2020 3. Encourage micro- Townsend & BoCC and by 80 in 2024. units & small apts. Create a Host family Identify key agencies OlyCAP, Dove House Start a HOST family network for Youth and recruit homes. Juvenile Services network & create 2 hosts homes by 2024. Evaluate the needs for Use of "2060" funds to Task Force on Ongoing emergency housing support transitional Homeless Housing & housing projects Affordable Housing Increase youth hostel/ Renovate Co -housing City and County 2020 — Build 4 boarding rooms for ages and group living options Planning Depts. & hostel/boarding units 18-24 NPO by 2024. Review tiny home Examine possible code City and County 2024 — create 4 tiny communities & co- changes to allow tiny Planning & Bldg. home communities in housing communities villages Depts. and NPO Jefferson County. Build houses for those Secure land for home Habitat for Humanity 2024 - build 30 new earning between 30-80% affordable homes of the AMI Add respite care shelter Use of "2060" funds to Healthcare providers 2024 — create 12 beds for people with support respite housing respite beds in medical needs projects Jefferson County. Conduct a Community Create an interagency Housing task force Operational by 4th Education Campaign and community group sub -group quarter of 2020 to plan and conduct the campaign. Evaluation of the CES Create policies and Task Force and Operational by 4th procedures to evaluate vendors quarter of 2020 the CES. Add long term Senior RV Examine possible code City and County 2024 - create 2 new Park communities changes to allow new Planning Bldg. Depts RV communities in RV Parks. 1C Environmental Jefferson County. Public Health Division Relocate the Warming Work with previous OLYCAP, COAST, City 2024 - create a Center team & identify a lead of PT & the Jefferson permanent day group. Interfaith Action center. Coalition. 31 Item 7d vi Explore Transitory Establish guidelines to Task Force, Dec 2020 Housing Accommodation support transitory Community partners in Jefferson County housing options Defining and Documenting Success Defining Success For many years success in homeless programs was defined by how many people received housing services. Over time, the idea of what constitutes success has shifted to focus on outcomes for the individuals served. It is not enough to say that services were received, but instead we must determine the efficacy of those services in reducing homelessness. This can be a difficult process, since long-term follow-up of people who received housing or services is difficult and impractical. Challenges Success in the realm of reducing overall homelessness is an elusive proposition. Several factors contribute to the challenge: Dynamic Population: the people experiencing homelessness is not static: there is a constant influx of people who are becoming homeless at any given time, while at the same time previously homeless people are being housed. While hundreds of homeless people may have been housed over a period, more have become homeless over the same period. Therefore, the overall number of homeless may have stayed the same or increased. Prevention Efforts: Many of our efforts are geared at preventing homelessness and evaluating the long-term effectiveness of these programs is difficult to measure. Inaccurate Data & Counts: There are numerous homeless people who either do not consider themselves to be homeless because they are "staying with friends" or "living in their car" or who do not want to be counted due to a variety of personal issues. Our community experiences these people and their homelessness, but they are not included in our voluntary homeless counts. Challenges notwithstanding, it is crucial that we develop ways to assess whether the time, effort, and financial commitments to the issue of homelessness are effective. Tools In addition to data from community partners, two primary tools will be used to assist with evaluating success: 32 Item 7d vi Annual Point in Time Count Each January, Jefferson County carries out a countywide count of people experiencing homelessness, both sheltered (currently receiving subsidized emergency or transitional housing) and un -sheltered (living on the streets, in cars, with friends, or identified as incarcerated transients). Participation by people experiencing homelessness is voluntary. Data collected from this effort provides the state with basic statistics about Jefferson County's progress in reducing homelessness and provides the County and the community with information about the housing and services gaps. It also influences the amount of federal funding counties are eligible to receive. Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) This state mandated database project collects detailed data about users of homeless housing and services. Currently all data is entered by OlyCAP. The collected data is used by the state to analyze the resources necessary to move individuals from homelessness to self-sufficiency. On a local level, it facilitates coordination among agencies and delivery of services to homeless individuals. It also allows excellent quality demographic and programmatic information to be collected about homeless households who are receiving services. Performance Indicators For each of the Plan's objectives, specific indicators of success are listed. Some are data -based, whereas others are performance-based. These performance indicators are also drawn from measures developed by the Washington State Department of Commerce. Projected goals stated in Objective #6 were created based on current housing shortfalls, combined with growth patterns and a 2015 housing study created for Port Townsend, WA. If fully implemented, by 2024 our county should see an increase of: 162 apartments 30 new Habitat for Humanity homes 28 safe beds (16 hostel & 12 respite) 40 safe placements for Senior in 20 Senior RV units 20 tiny homes, serving at least 20 individuals 20 safe beds in 2 host homes & multiple host families homes for Youth 300 Additional Safe Housing Units by Dec 31, 2024 33 Item 7d vi Recommendations to the State from Jefferson County The local plan guidance from the Department of Commerce, "strongly encourages local governments to include in their plans recommendations to the state for changes in state laws, policies and resources that may be necessary to further reduce homelessness and work toward the goal of ending homelessness as defined under the federal criteria". This section of the plan attempts to address this recommendation. Step 1- Identify individuals, elected officials and advisory boards and the process to make recommendations to them. Goal Representative/Agency Recommendation Explore ability to increase WA State Legislature Create higher than zoned density for rentals in rural density to address the areas. current housing crisis. Allow tiny home ownership WA State Legislature Legally zone tiny home on shared land. villages Increase State and Federal Federal Representatives Use the Local taxing funds for affordable housing WA State Legislature authority power and apply for more Federal funding Create a set aside in the 9% tax credit program for rural counties Create a fund to fund infrastructure necessary for affordable housing Provide advanced services to 24th District Representatives Remove the current homeless persons who WA State Legislature requirement for a currently have no physical permanent physical address. address" for those in need of social services. Support rural Urban Growth 24th District Representatives Provide State funding for Areas and Limited Areas of WA State Legislature rural infrastructure More Intense Rural especially sewer) Development Allow flexibility and limited expansion of LAMIRDs in small rural counties 34 Item 7d vi Empower local gov't with the WA State Legislature Increase the councilmanic power to act taxing authority of local governments Explore the impact of GMA WA State Legislature Provide clear guidance on density requirements in rural setting rural densities to counties that have declared accommodate workforce an affordable housing crisis. and affordable housing Summary: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke Aside from the natural beauty and charm of Jefferson County, the greatest asset of the community is the people who call it home. Because homelessness affects more than just the individual experiencing it, we recognize that we all have a part to play in making homelessness a rare and singular experience for our neighbors. This five-year plan will serve as our road map, giving us the tools needed to individualize our approach to those experiencing homelessness. By quickly identifying and engaging all people experiencing homelessness, prioritizing homeless housing for people with the highest needs and operating an effective and efficient homeless crisis response system that swiftly moves people into stable and permanent housing while providing services; we can move closer to ending homelessness in Jefferson County. It is also our intention that this document not only address how to help people who are experiencing homelessness but to create measures that prevent homelessness from occurring in the first place. To do so we must be sure that our limited resources are used to support interventions that deliver good outcomes at the lowest cost possible per person served. Having a streamlined process for coordinated entry, options for housing people based on their individual need, fully engaging all stakeholders, and the ability to respond quickly will ensure that fewer of our neighbors are left out in the cold. 35 Item 7d vi Appendix A: Glossary of Terms Definitions below are offered to assist in understanding some of the terms used in the Plan. Most of these terms refer to complex ideas; the definitions below should be considered a brief starting point for understanding. Additional information about each is available from online resources and local service providers. Adults: Persons age 18 and older (however in many cases those age 18-24 are still viewed as youth) Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being. These experiences range from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse to parental divorce or the incarceration of a parent or guardian. Affordable Housing: This term is used to describe housing, rental or owner -occupied, that is affordable no matter what one's income is. The federal government considers housing costs at or below 30% of one's income to be affordable. At -Risk of Homelessness: People who are living in sub -standard, unstable or unsafe housing. This includes people who are "couch surfing," which means they are staying with family or friends, living in trailers, doubled or tripled up in small apartments or living in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Basic Shelter: Basic shelters tend to have limited hours and provide services focused on basic needs and respite from being outdoors, like mats on the floor and a restroom. A person successfully exits a shelter program when they have left the shelter to move to a permanent home. Behavioral Health Advisory Committee (BHAC): Administers the funds coming to Jefferson County resulting from the Washington State legislation sponsored by Senator Hargrove that authorized Counties to impose a one -tenth -of -one -percent local sales tax to fund new mental health, chemical dependency, (collectively known as behavioral health) and therapeutic court services. Item 7d vi Child — Persons under age 18 Chronically Homeless Person: - A person who: A. Is homeless and lives in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter; and B. Has been homeless and living or residing in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter continuously for at least 1 year or on at least four separate occasions in the last 3 years where the combined length of time homeless in those occasions is at least 12 months; and C. Has a disability Continuum of Care (CoQ: Continuum of Care is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Program to promote community -wide commitment and support to end homelessness. Community Outreach Association Shelter Team (COAST): COAST is a group of local churches and other community partners that support the emergency shelter. Coordinated Entry System (CES): The purpose of a Coordinated Entry System (CES) is to provide the quickest access to the most appropriate housing to every household experiencing or at -risk of homelessness through a standardized assessment and referral process. Day and Hygiene Centers: Day and Hygiene Centers provide a place to rest during the day and a place to tend to basic needs like using the restroom, showering and doing laundry Diversion: Diversion services offer people experiencing homelessness one-time financial assistance or services to bypass shelter and move directly to housing. Diversion is offered to people who are homeless but have not yet or have just entered the shelter system. These programs offer financial assistance and/or case management to find creative solutions to the difficulties a person faces. Diversion can help people reunite with family, mediate with a landlord, or pay rent for a short time. Diversion services are available from outreach programs, shelters and Coordinated Entry for All (CEA) Regional Access Points. A person successfully exits a diversion program when they use one-time assistance to bypass the shelter and move directly to housing. Dynamic Prioritization: A process that uses prioritization criteria (i.e., assessment result, unsheltered status, length of time homeless) to identify the most vulnerable (preferably through a case conferencing process) based on the number of anticipated housing placements across all resources that will occur in the next XX days. 37 Item 7d vi Dept. of Social & Health Services (DSHS): State Department responsible for the health, support and safety of every person in Washington. Dept. of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF): State Department responsible for the support of Children, Youth & Families in Washington. Enhanced Shelter: Enhanced shelters have extended or 24/7 -hour service and provide many services such as meals, hygiene services, storage, and staffing to support leaving shelter for permanent housing. A person successfully exits a shelter program when they have left the shelter to move to a permanent home. Functional zero: A population group is said to reach "Functional Zero" when the number of people in that group at a given POINT IN TIME (PIT) is no greater than the monthly rate of those served for that group. in Subgroup is less than (<) the monthly rate = # of the subgroup served per month /# of Months Functional Zero in reference to Homeless Veterans Populations with a community: Functional zero, used in this context, is reached when the number of veterans who are homeless, whether sheltered or unsheltered, is no greater than the monthly housing placement rate for veterans. Hardest to House or Hardest to Serve: Refers to people with more complex needs and multiple challenges when it comes to housing, such as mental illness, addiction, other conditions or disabilities, justice -system histories, etc. Harm -reduction: Harm reduction is an approach for substance use treatment that involves a set of practical techniques that are openly negotiated with clients around what is most likely to be achieved. The focus is on reducing the negative consequences and risky behaviors of substance use; it neither condones nor condemns any behavior. Homelessness: The experience of an individual or family who is not able to acquire and maintain permanent, safe, affordable, and decent housing. People counted as homeless may be sleeping outdoors, in cars, garages or sheds, or other places not meant for human habitation; in temporary facilities like emergency shelters or transitional housing; in hotels or motels due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations; or may be sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason. Homeless Management Information System (HMIS): Is a shared database designed to record and store client -level information on the characteristics and service needs of homeless persons. 38 Item 7d vi Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP): This program includes Tenant Based vouchers awarded and attached to the individual and mobile to wherever that person moves) and Project Based Vouchers (attached to the specific unit and remain with the unit regardless of who lives in it - so long as income qualified). Housing Cost -burdened: According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), people are housing cost -burdened when they spend over 30% of their income on housing. Severely Housing Cost -burdened: According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), people who spend over 50% of their income on housing are said to be severely housing cost -burdened. Housing First: Housing First is a homeless assistance paradigm that prioritizes providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, thus ending their homelessness and serving as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life. Housing First does not require people experiencing homelessness to address the all of their problems including behavioral health problems, or to graduate through a series of services programs before they can access housing. This approach is guided by the belief that people need basic necessities like food and a place to live before attending to anything less critical, such as getting a job, budgeting properly, or attending to substance use issues. Low Barrier Housing: Housing where a minimum number of conditions are placed on residents to enable serving individuals with a higher level of challenges to attaining and maintaining housing. Typically, this includes reducing barriers that might otherwise exclude or screen out tenants such as requirements for ID or documentation, having little or no income, having poor or lack of rental history, having poor credit or financial history, having involvement with the criminal justice system, having active or a history of alcohol and/or substance use, having active or a history of mental health issues, having a history of victimization, or other behaviors that are perceived as indicating a lack of "housing readiness." Low -barrier facilities typically follow a harm reduction philosophy. Motivational Interviewing: Motivational interviewing is a directive, client -centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. Compared with nondirective counseling, it is more focused, and goal directed. Night -by -Night Shelter or Drop -In Shelter: Emergency housing that provides a short-term stay at no cost. Beds are not reserved for multiple days but are made available on an individual night basis. 39 Item 7d vi Office of Homeless Youth WHY): The Office of Homeless Youth Other Permanent Housing (OPH): provides housing with or without services that is specifically for formerly homeless people but that does not require people to have a disability Outreach & Engagement: Outreach & Engagement programs include both street outreach to people living unsheltered and housing case management. Outreach workers connect unsheltered people to resources within the homeless services system and housing case managers work with people prioritized by Coordinated Entry for All (CEA) for housing to help them to prepare to move into permanent housing. A person successfully exits an outreach program when she has used outreach services to find and move to a permanent home. Parenting Youth: Are people under age 25 who are the parents or legal guardians of one or more children (under age 18) who are present with or sleeping in the same place as that youth parent, where there is no person over age 24 in the household. Parenting Youth Household: Is a household with at least one parenting youth and the child or children for whom the parenting youth is the parent or legal guardian. Permanent Supportive Housing: Permanent subsidized housing that serves individuals or households in need of ongoing supportive services and assistance such as people with mental health issues, substance abuse disorders, physical disabilities, or more than one of these. Permitted Village/Encampment: Permitted villages offer supported outdoor, temporary accommodations for people who are living unsheltered in conditions that threaten their health and safety. Villages may offer tents or tiny house like living structures, community kitchens, hygiene services and case management to clients that have lived outside for extended periods of time or for whom traditional shelter may not be a good fit. A person successfully exits a village when he/she/they leave(s) the village to move to permanent housing. Point in Time Count (PIT): The Point in Time Count (PIT) is required by the Department of Commerce and HUD in order to receive homeless grant funds. The information from the count is compiled and submitted to WA State and is used locally for evaluation and planning purposes. The PIT surveys sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on the fourth Thursday in January during a specific 24-hour period in all Washington State counties. As a rural county, Jefferson County has an entire week during which to conduct the count, but census workers refer to that specific date as the Point In Time being assessed. Jefferson County has conducted an annual Point in Time Count of the homeless since 2005. Prevention Services: Prevention services are used to assist people who are currently housed but face an imminent risk of becoming homeless. Prevention programs help people remain in their homes, with the use of onetime financial assistance or case management. A person successfully exits a prevention program when he remains in housing and doesn't become homeless. 40 Item 7d vi Progressive Engagement: A strategy to enable service delivery systems to effectively target resources. Progressive Engagement refers to a strategy of starting with a small amount of assistance and then adding more assistance as needed. Project Based Vouchers: Vouchers attached to the specific unit and remain with the unit regardless of who lives in it - so long as income qualified. Proiect Entries: Entries reported to the Dept of Commerce through the CES. Rapid Rehousing (RRH): Rapid Rehousing assists individuals who have been evicted or recently lost their housing to quickly return to permanent housing. Rapid Rehousing offers rental assistance and supportive services for up to 1 year. A person successfully exits a rapid rehousing program when he is living in permanent housing without a subsidy. Residential Emergency Shelter: Emergency housing that provides a short-term stay at no cost. Beds are reserved for residents until they exit the program. In the past, shelter stays were limited to 90 days, but recent guidance from the Washington State Department of Commerce indicates that shelter stays do not need to be time limited. Shelter stays typically include housing case management and connections with resources with the goal of securing appropriate permanent housing. Safe Haven (SH): provides temporary shelter and services to hard -to -serve individuals. Subsidized: Housing that receives funding from the government or community organization. Tenants who live in subsidized housing pay rent that is less than market value, and typically is no more than 30% of their income. Supportive Services: Services, other than providing physical housing and housing tenancy supports, which assist an individual or household to remove barriers to acquiring and maintaining housing. Supportive services can include mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, behavioral therapy, or other types of supports. Transitional Housing: Subsidized housing for up to 2 years with rent typically set at no more than 30% of client's income. Case management services are included to prepare individuals to obtain housing and live self -sufficiently. Transitory Housing: Permitted forms of Temporary Alternative Housing for 180 days with a possible 180 day extension such as: a designated safe park for people living in vehicles; permitting people to live in an RV on residential property; permitting people to live in tents on a residential property; permitting the use of garages or sheds as temporary housing; or the establishment of temporary shelters in existing structures or in portable tiny houses on public land. (Jefferson County Housing Emergency Resolution 17-35) 41 Item 7d vi Trauma -informed Care: Trauma -informed care is a strengths based framework that is grounded in an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma, that emphasizes physical, psychological, and emotional safety for both providers and survivors, and that creates opportunities for survivors of trauma to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment. The Tenant -Based Rental Assistance (TBRA): The program provides eligible low-income families with financial assistance to obtain affordable housing. It helps families lease privately owned rental units from participating landlords. Tenant Based Vouchers: Vouchers awarded and attached to the individual and mobile to wherever that person moves. Unaccompanied Youth: — Unaccompanied youth are persons under age 25 who are not accompanied by a parent or guardian and are not a parent presenting with or sleeping in the same place as his/her child(ren). Unaccompanied youth are single youth, youth couples, and groups of youth presenting together as a household. Unsheltered Entries: People who are living without safe shelter or are fleeing violence. People who are living in places not meant for human habitation, such as: cars, parks, sidewalks, tents, RV's without established utility connections, abandoned buildings, on the street, in garages and sheds. Veteran—This population category of the PIT includes adults who have served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States. This does not include inactive military reserves or the National Guard unless the person was called up to active duty. Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing WASH): Voucher Program is a program designed to help homeless veterans locate affordable, safe, decent and sanitary rental housing with the landlord of their choosing. Victim Service Provider— A private nonprofit organization whose primary mission is to provide services to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. This term includes rape crisis centers, battered women's shelters, domestic violence transitional housing programs, and other programs. Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP): Programs that develop and execute a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness. Youth: — Persons under age 25. HUD collects and reports youth data based on persons under 18 and persons between ages 18 and 24. 42 Item 7d vi Appendix B: Federal and State Funding Sources for Homelessness CHG (Consolidated Homeless Grant) The purpose of the CHG program is to provide assistance and to rapidly re -house persons who are experiencing homelessness. This program is intended to target individuals and families who would be homeless but for this assistance. EFH (Ending Family Homelessness) For households who are homeless or at risk of homelessness that are enrolled in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. HARP'S This grant is for Chronically Homeless with Substance Abuse and or other Disability. It is a three-month program with a small rental assistance component. HEN (Housing and Essential Needs) This grant replaces the DSHS cash assistance for disabilities lifeline clients. This grant can help with a small portion of rent for clients that qualify along with some essential needs support. HF (Home Fund Housing Assistance) Offers limited funding for households who are At Risk of losing their housing due to Pay or Vacate or Eviction Notice from their landlord. This fund can also assist households with limited move -in costs. PSH (Permanent Senior Housing) This program is intended to target individuals 55+ who would be homeless but for this assistance. SSVF (Supportive Services for Veteran Families) The goal with this grant is to help locate housing with the tenant using outside landlords to gain housing and to also help the families retain and keep their housing. Section 8 Housing This HUD program provides eligible low-income families with financial assistance to obtain affordable housing. Tenant -Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) This HUD program provides eligible low-income families with financial assistance to obtain affordable housing. It helps families lease privately owned rental units from participating landlords. 43 Item 7d vi Appendix C: Funding Sources for Housing & Homelessness 2060 FUNDS — An act relating to funds for operating and maintenance of low-income housing projects and for innovative housing demonstration projects. Brief Description: Providing funds for housing projects. 2163 FUNDS - Local Filing Fee Revenue used for homeless housing & affordable housing. Mental Health Tax Funds - 1/10th of 1% Sales and Use Tax for MH/SUD/Therapeutic Courts does go to housing. Annual amount 2018 = $72,000 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) are apartments with reduced rents for housing. Housing Trust Fund- (HTF) dollars support a wide range of projects serving a diverse array of low- income populations. Projects can serve people with incomes up to 80% of Area Median Income, but most projects funded to date serve households with special needs or incomes below 30% of Area Median Income. TIF - Tax Increment Financing (TIF) provides the opportunity to leverage limited public financing of public infrastructure (roads, sewers and utilities) and site preparation in order to attract private investment. It encourages the development of projects that are in the public interest PILOT- (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) enables a City to allow a business, landowner or developer to substitute the annual real estate taxes due on a property with a negotiated payment for a limited time period. Example Calculation: Payment is 10% of shelter rent (rents paid by residents) Historic Tax Credits -The Federal Historic Tax Credit (HTC) program was enacted in 1976 to encourage the preservation and rehabilitation of historically significant buildings. Investments in the HTC program helps to restore our nation's architectural heritage and bring new residential and commercial activity into these communities. New Market Tax Credits- Legislated in 2000 as a catalyst to encourage the investment of private capital in designated low-income communities, the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program fosters the construction and rehabilitation of real estate and the expansion of operating businesses in order to create jobs, generate economic activity. Opportunity Zones - An Opportunity Zone is an economically distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. Capital Magnet Fund- Through the Capital Magnet Fund, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI) provides competitively awarded grants to CDFIs and qualified non-profit housing organizations. These awards can be used to finance affordable housing activities, as well as related economic development activities and community service facilities. Federal Home Loan Bank - Since 1990, the FHL Banks have awarded more than $5.8 billion which have assisted in the purchase, construction or rehabilitation of more than 865,000 units of affordable housing. EV Item 7d vi Appendix D: Works Cited City of Port Townsend/ Jefferson County. (2018). Inter Local Agreement. City of Port Townsend: Jefferson County. Hovee, E. (2015). Housing Inventory and Needs Assessment. Seattle: E.D. Hovee & Company, LLC. National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2015). Report on Homelessness 2015. Washington DC: National Alliance to End Homelessness. National Low Income Housing Coalition. (2019). Graphic on Rents Needed in America. Retrieved from National Low Income Housing Coalition: https://nlihc.org OSPI. (2018). Homeless Students Data 2018. Olympia: Office of Superintedent of Public School. RCW 43.185C.050. (2018). A five-year homeless housing plan. Retrieved from https:Happ.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx Social Security Administration. (2019). Quickfacts Snapshot. Washington DC, Washington, Jefferson: US Government. U.S. Census Quick Facts. (2013-2017). quickfacts/fact/table/jeffersoncountywashington. Retrieved from QUICKFACTS: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/jeffersoncountywashington/PST045218 U.S. Dept of Commerce. (2019, July). Guideline for the Consolidated Homeless Grant. Retrieved from https:Hdeptofcommerce.app. box.com/s/sddzidhj I n9zvb2zao5fes3 rpwbc3990 U.S. Transgender Survey. (2017). 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey Washington State Report. US Census. American Community Survey. (2013-2017). U.S. Census Bureau; Jefferson County WA (2013-2017). Washington DC, WA, Jefferson: US Government. Retrieved from American Community Survey. US Dept of Commerce. (2019). Annual Homeless Assessment report to Congress. Washington DC: US Dept. of Commerce. Voices for Veterans. (2019). Website Information. Retrieved from Voices for Veterans: http://www.voicesforveterans.org/ Washington State Dept. of Commerce. (2018). Golden Report. Olympia: Washington Dept of Commerce. Washington State Dept. of Commerce. (2019). POINT IN TIME COUNT. WA Dept. Commerce. 45 Item 7d vi Appendix D: Source Information HE 1570: House bill which extended the collection of recorded documents fees 60% of which are locally used to combat homelessness. HB 1406: Authorizes the governing body of a county or city to impose a local sales tax credited against the state sales tax, for affordable or supportive housing Washington. State Dept. of Commerce. Homeless Assistance.2019 Point in Time Report Jefferson County. Retrieved from https•//www commerce wa gov/serving-communities/homelessness/annual-point-time- co nt Washington. OSPI. REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE UPDATE: Homeless Students Data 2018.1efferson Counts. Retrieved from https://www.kl2.wa.us/sites/default/files/public/homelessed/ 12ubdocs/2018- 12homelessstudentedoutcomes.pdf National Alliance to End Homelessness Report 2015: Retrieved from https://endhomelessness.org/resource/annual-report-2015 The 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) Retrieved from https://www.wpr.org/sites/default/files/2018-ahar-part-l-compressed pdf 2015 -Dec. Housing Inventory and Needs Assessment by E.D. Hovee Retrieved from http://weblink.citvofpt.us/WebLink/DocView.aspx?dbid=0&id=139915&page=l&cr=1 2005 HAPN Plan Created by Jefferson County, WA Retrieved from http://weblink.cityofpt.us/WebLink/DocView aspx?dbid=0&id=157202&page=l&cr=1 2005 -2015 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness in Jefferson County WA 46 Item 7d vi U.S. Census Bureau: Jefferson County WA (2013-2017) Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ieffersoncountywashington# U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey American Fact Finder. Jefferson County, WA 2013-2017. Retrieved from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nay/isf/pages/community facts.xhtml Office of Homeless Youth Prevention & Protection Programs 2016 Report Retrieved from http://www.commerce.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/hau-ohy-report-2016-update pdf 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey Washington State Report May 2017 Retrieved from http://www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTSWAStateReport%281017 2/0 9.pdf Voices for Veterans. General information Retrieved from http://www.voicesforveterans.orp,/ US Dept. of Agriculture Economic Research Service. Percentage of Pop. in Poverty 2017. Retrieved from https://data.ers.usda.gov/reports.aspx?ID=17826 Department of Commerce Consolidated Housing Grant (CHG) sections 2.1. 1, 8.4.2 and 8.4.4 http://www.commerce.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/hau-chg-guidelines-2017- 2019 Version-2.Revised-7.10.17.pdf National Low Income Housing Coalition Graphics 2018 (used in accordance with website guidelines) Retrieved from https://niihc.orp/housing-needs-by-state/washington 47 Item 7d vi Making Homelessness a Singular Occurrence Homeless Crisis Response and Housing 5 Year Plan for Jefferson County, WA Prepared by the Affordable Housing & Homeless Housing Task Force 2020 -2024 Item 7d vi Making Homelessness a Singular Occurrence in Jefferson County, Washington 2 Table of Contents Affordable Housing & Homeless Housing Task Force………………………………………….……… 3 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4 Purpose of the Plan ……………....………………………………………………………….……………………… 6 Our Housing Affordability Crisis…………………...…………………………………………………… 7 Homelessness & Housing in Jefferson County…………………………………………………… 8 Hidden Homeless: Youth in Jefferson County …………………………………………………… 9 Current State Housing ……………………………………………………….……………………………………… 11 Partners In this Housing Crisis………………………………………….……….………………………….…… 14 Current State of Funding ..………………………………………………….……………………………….……… 15 Objectives 1-6 Quickly Identify and Engage People Experiencing Homelessness. ……………… 17 Prioritization of Homeless Housing for People with the Highest Needs……...… 20 Operate an Effective and Efficient Homeless Crisis Response System…….……. 22 Projection of the Impact of the Fully Implemented Local Plan…………..……….… 26 Address Racial, Ethnic and Gender Disparities ………..……….……………………….….… 28 Supportive Efforts Aimed at Ending Homelessness ………………………………….… 30 Defining and Documenting Success ...………………………….…………….……………………………... 32 Recommendations to the State ...………………………………...……………………………………….……. 34 Summary …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 35 Appendices …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….. 36 Acknowledgements Thanks to the many people and organizations that provided input and supported this effort to create this Plan, including citizens, commissioners, city council members, social service providers, and people experiencing homelessness. Special thanks to Kitsap County for the template on which this Plan was originally based. Note: Definition of Bolded Words can be found in the Glossary of Terms on page 36. Item 7d vi Making Homelessness a Singular Occurrence in Jefferson County, Washington 3 Affordable Housing and Homelessness Task Force Joint Oversight Board Michelle Sandoval, City Council Member, Port Townsend David Sullivan, County Commissioner, Jefferson County Terry Smith, RE/MAX Realtor, Jefferson County Association of Realtors Amanda Funaro, Principal Operations Officer, Good Man Sanitation, Inc. Frank Hoffman, Citizen at Large Members Amanda Funaro, Principal Operations Officer, Good Man Sanitation, Inc. Barbara Morey, Housing Advocate, Citizen at Large Barbara Carr, Director Juvenile Services, Jefferson County Ben Casserd, Shelter Advocate Brian Nash, Shelter Advocate & Representative David Rymph, Citizen at Large David Sullivan, County Commissioner, Jefferson County Frank Hoffman, Citizen at Large Fred Kimball, Former Board President of Habitat for Humanity, Builder Jeff Monroe, Professional House Mover Joe Nole, Sheriff Jefferson County Julia Cochrane, Citizen at Large Lori Fleming, Executive Director of CHIP, Jefferson County Public Health Kathy Morgan, Director of Housing and Community Development, Olympic Community Action Programs Kay Kassinger, Executive Director, Peninsula Housing Authority Michelle Sandoval, City Council Member, Port Townsend Peggy Webster, Affordable Housing Consultant, P.T. Roy Walker, Executive Director, Olympic Area on Aging Sarah Rogers, Shelter Manager, Dove House Terry Smith, RE/MAX Realtor, Jefferson County Association of Realtors Whitney Friddle, Development Manager, Jumping Mouse Children’s Center Administration Vicki Kirkpatrick, Director, Director of Public Health, Jefferson County Lizanne Crines Coker, Facilitator of the 5 Year Plan Item 7d vi 4 Introduction “In rural communities, affordable housing has been an issue without a home. The 1% property tax limit, loss of motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) revenues, and unfunded mandates have eroded discretionary income of small local governments. Jefferson County has not yet recovered from the Great Recession of 2008 and continues to operate with 10% fewer employees than in 2008. The search for funding to build wastewater infrastructure to support higher density zoning has been elusive. It appears that this is about to change. In 2017 the State Legislature passed HB 1570, raising recording fees used for affordable housing and homelessness and making them permanent. Along with significant volunteer efforts, these fees have been critical to sustaining our homeless shelter and transitional housing services. However, more is needed, especially for families with children and people with health and other special needs. The creation of the Affordable Housing and Homeless Housing Task Force has provided a forum not just for developing this 5-year plan, but also a space for harnessing the caring and creativity of our community which will be needed to tackle the problems before us. The recent passage of HB 1406 offers another ray of hope, providing a small amount of dedicated funding to leverage other state dollars to increase our affordable housing and rental stock that is in woefully short supply. We are building a foundation for the work to come, to assure everyone has a safe, welcoming place in our community.” ~ David Sullivan, Jefferson County Commissioner On any Given Day: People experiencing homelessness in numbers in Jefferson County According to the Point in Time count in January of 2019, an estimated 199 people were experiencing homelessness in Jefferson County (Washington State Dept. of Commerce, 2019). This number includes only 41 of the 96 youth in Port Townsend and Chimacum School Districts who self-identified as homeless (OSPI, 2018). Furthermore, it does not address the 191 individuals in need of shelter, that Dove House has had to turn away. While we as a nation may agree on very little, we as a community agree that these numbers are unacceptable. Bridging the Gap to Stable Housing The current gap between household income and cost of living in Jefferson County is such that even those with stable employment, or opportunity for employment, face the struggle of procuring safe, affordable housing. The people most at risk of homelessness certainly are those Item 7d vi 5 with no income and very low-income – earning less than 30% of the area median income. The current supply of affordable and accessible housing is inadequate to meet our current community demand. In tangent, our community faces a higher need for specialized housing; retirement communities, housing for individuals with disabilities, and single parent households with children. This plan will help guide the way to ensuring that there is housing for all in Jefferson County. The Cost of Doing Nothing: The Social Impact of Homelessness Homelessness affects more than just the individual experiencing it. It destabilizes family situations and escalates already unstable families. It increases the abuse of substances and makes seeking medical assistance overly complex and difficult to manage, especially with those experiencing mental illnesses. It also greatly impacts the cost of emergency services. Particularly troubling is the increase of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in children, which are significant childhood traumas that can result in actual changes in brain development. The long-term effects of this trauma extend not only to their academic achievement, but more importantly to their emotional, social and physical wellbeing. A child faced with homelessness: their own, their parents, their families, will not have the resources, stability or support to be as successful in a classroom as those with stable housing. Their experience as a youth, and the repercussions of unstable housing on their health, have shown to perpetuate the cyclical nature/causes of homelessness. The National Alliance to End Homelessness reported in 2015 that over 83,000 individuals experience chronic homelessness on any given night in the US (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2015). This number refers to people who have chronic and complex health conditions that include mental illness, substance use disorders, and medical conditions who experience long-term homelessness. Without stable housing these individuals cycle in and out of emergency departments, inpatient hospital stays, psychiatric centers, detox programs and jails, resulting in high public cost for these resources and extremely poor health outcomes for these individuals including premature death. While this certainly does not name all the potential causes of an individual becoming homeless, these factors do play a significant role in perpetuating the cycle of homelessness. It is our goal to address these issues, learn more about the gaps in access to housing, and find solutions that work to provide housing to all our community members. Item 7d vi 6 Purpose of the Plan “In declaring an Affordable Housing Crisis, both Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend recognize that the increase in people experiencing homelessness will continue to rise without some proactive interventions. Additionally, both affordability and availability of rental housing has reached a crisis level for many of our working individuals and families, leaving them financially stressed and housing cost burdened if they are able to find housing at all. The Jefferson County Homeless Plan is part of a long-term, systematic effort to address the homelessness and affordable housing crisis through a data focused vision for Jefferson County. This 5-Year Plan is not the first Jefferson County Plan, nor will it be the last, but it does reflect where we are today and the priorities we should collectively work on for the next five years in response to this crisis. The Plan is a roadmap, a guide to help us impact the housing crisis and reduce the barriers to stable and affordable housing. It presents a strategic framework that will guide community leaders, organizations and residents in making decisions about where to invest time and resources to improve housing opportunities. One overarching goal of this 5-Year Plan is to facilitate alignment of efforts within Jefferson County, utilizing collective impact in order to make measurable differences that increase opportunities for moving people experiencing homelessness into stable and affordable housing and reducing the housing cost burden for very low to moderate income individuals and families. Speaking as your Public Health Director, we know that 70% of an individual’s health is determined outside of the health care system by such things as housing, income, education, etc. also known as the Social Determinants of Health. For many individuals and families in Jefferson County, stable and affordable housing is foundational to health and well-being.” ~ Vicki Kirkpatrick, Public Health Director, Jefferson County Washington The Affordable Housing and Homeless Housing Task Force identified three main purposes of the plan, in addition to fulfilling the legislative mandate (RCW 43.185C.050, 2018): •Blueprint for Implementation: A clear and concise agreement about the community’s plan to reduce homelessness through the implementation of these objectives. •Tool for Advocacy: An informational focal point to inspire local advocacy and leadership to embrace homelessness as a priority for action. •Reference for Funders: An articulation of the community’s priorities for funding, ensuring that these priorities meet the Federal, State, and local requirements. This plan lays out our objectives and strategies to guide local government, non-profit agencies, and other partners to achieve the desired outcomes necessary to significantly reduce homelessness and create more affordable housing options for those struggling to find shelter. Item 7d vi 7 Our Housing Affordability Crisis The updated Inter Local Agreement (ILA) between Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend, to "Support Affordable Housing and Homeless Housing Programs", signed in November of 2018, created a City/County Affordable Housing and Homeless Housing Task Force, which drafted this five year homeless housing plan in accordance with RCW43.185C (City of Port Townsend/ Jefferson County, 2018). This task force, composed of related service providers, people who are or were homeless, and other stakeholders, is acutely aware of homelessness and of the lack of affordable housing in Jefferson County. Our ability to increase the number of affordable housing units faces several obstacles including: • Rural counties like ours are seen by developers as risky investments as they tend to result in smaller returns. • Zoning favors single family development over multi-family. • Infrastructure in rural areas of the county, like onsite sewage treatment, is a financial burden. • The federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program is the primary source of financing for affordable housing; however, it tends to favor significantly more dense housing options than are permitted in Jefferson County at this time, due to lack of wastewater treatment facilities needed to support higher density development. We expect homelessness to increase in Jefferson County over the next several years and the lack of affordable housing to also increase due to several factors, including inmigration and related income inequality. Rents will continue to rise, household incomes will not keep up, the proportion of older people experiencing homelessness will continue to climb, and many of these people will require health care services. We recognize that people experiencing homelessness are not a homogenous group. People become homeless for many reasons and our response needs to be individualized. This requires adequate resources and accountability, the willingness of a community to pull together to do what it can to address those needs. Our community is in this together. Item 7d vi 8 Homelessness & Housing in Jefferson County According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 12.8 % of Jefferson County residents were living below the poverty level compared to 12.2 % of the state population and 14.6 % of the U.S. population in the period 2013 through 2017. The state and national rates are not directly comparable to the county rate because they each use different data sources. (Sources: Employment Security Department; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey) Per capita personal income in Jefferson County in 2017 was $48,975 compared to $57,896 for the state and $51,640 for the nation. Jefferson County ranked 10th in the state in 2017 in per capita income. It ranked sixth in 2014 (US Census. American Community Survey, 2013-2017). Population growth rate for unincorporated Jefferson County is 0.97% vs. 1.27% for Port Townsend for 2017. We recognize that homelessness is driven by a complex set of factors: poverty, lack of education/training, lack of jobs, behavioral health issues and addiction are key factors. Additionally, the lack of housing and the increase in monthly rental fees have left many without a place to call home. The elderly population are at a disadvantage, particularly if their only source of income is social security. Ten thousand people a day turn 65 and most have no income other than social security. According to the Social Security Association Monthly report dated July 2019, the average social security benefit is $1353.68/ per month. There is simply no way to “make ends meet” for many seniors in Jefferson County (Social Security Administration, 2019). According to the Housing Assessment Report provided to the City of Port Townsend by E. D. HOVEE & Company, LLC in 2015 “An estimated 52% of Port Townsend renters and 39% of homeowners are housing cost burdened, a virtual doubling of the proportion of cost-burdened households since 1990.” The report created a 20-year affordability need projection, in which it concluded that based on an expected population growth of 2,711 new residents in Port Townsend; there will be a need for 1,369 new residential housing units by the year 2036. (Hovee, 2015) Based on this projection, current AMI and economic trends: Port Townsend will need between 312-338 additional rental units for low to moderate income residents by 2036: • 141-153 rental units for very low-income households (less than 30% AMI) • 101-109 rental units for low-income residents (at 30-50% AMI) • 70-76 rental units for moderate income households (at 50-80% AMI) Item 7d vi 9 Hidden Homeless: Youth in Jefferson County In addition to building safe housing for adults & families, we recognize that our community, like many others has a hidden sub-group of homeless youth. In 2017, The Interagency Work Group on Youth Homelessness reported that across Washington State 13,000 youth were without safe and stable housing. We understand that our community is no exception to this reality. Youth experience homelessness or are unstably housed for any number of reasons, including abuse, family conflict, rejection due to sexual identity, or family poverty. They might be released from systems of care into homelessness or returned home to a family not adequately prepared to manage the stress of re-entry into the home. These youth are at high risk for homelessness within 12 months of returning home. In concert with statewide efforts, our community will need to make a commitment to: • Ensure that youth exiting public systems have a safe, stable place to go. • Invest in crisis intervention and provide services for families experiencing conflict. • Improve education and employment outcomes. • Develop a continuum of youth stable housing opportunities including street outreach services, crisis placement opportunities, a minimum of two host homes, and a transitional housing program for youth ages 16-24. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 2014- 2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 SELF IDENTIFIED HOMELESS YOUTH IN LOCAL SCHOOLS 2014 -2018 Quilcene Port Townsend Chimacum Item 7d vi 10 The need for safe, affordable housing is clear. This Plan is dedicated to breaking down the issues we face in our community, starting with those most in need of a safe and secure resting place. We accept that this is a process, one that includes a fundamental shift in our perception of homelessness and how to define it. As we learn more about youth homelessness in our own backyard, we are more inspired than ever to create safe options for our children. For 5 years, our State has tracked “doubling up or couch surfing “statistics with little action. Acknowledging “doubling- up” and doing something to end it are two different actions and while we admit “doubling up” is better than sleeping in a car or a tent, neither is a proper place for a child to call home. If we are to reduce youth homelessness, we first need to understand the impact it has on the lives of our youth. According to OSPI Reports in Jefferson County: • During the 2015 school year, 76 local students admitted to “couch surfing” due to homelessness • During the 2017 school year, 96 local students self-identified as homeless • 20% of all youth self-identifying as homeless have a diagnosed disability Additionally, Chronically Homeless children account for: • 36% of all cases of chronic absences or truancy • 9.8% of all school expulsions Add to these facts, that chronically homeless youth have a graduation rate of 55% statewide and this issue takes on near epic proportions (OSPI, 2018). It should be noted that beyond standard social and school services, Jefferson County is in the process of action. OLYCAP in coordination with Juvenile Services applied for and received a $188,675 HUD Grant for the NEW HOPE PROJECT. It will provide move-in and rental assistance coverage with funding for up to 12 months and possibly up to 18 months, in special cases, with Young Adult Families. Once housed, the Youth will work with a Youth Advocate on a weekly basis for the first two months, in their new home. After this point, the assigned Youth Advocate will continue to meet with the Youth in their home on a monthly basis for up to 18 months after they are housed. Item 7d vi 11 Current State of Housing in Jefferson County, WA “The City of Port Townsend together with Jefferson County created the Housing Action Plan (HAPN) Task Force in 2005. Elected officials, together with service providers, contractors and citizens at large, came together to discuss the growing unaffordability of housing in our community and to create a plan to address the issue. The mid-2000s brought the last housing market spike and this county saw wealthier buyers knocking down historic homes to build larger, more modern houses among the 1880 Victorian homes, and the city/county experienced a historic uptick in permits for newer homes, along with an increasing phenomenon of second home buyers. Little did we know that the great recession would be coming in a couple of years and it would contribute to a perfect storm for Jefferson County’s upcoming housing crisis. While the recession stopped the tear-downs and slowed the market enough to give us the feeling we may be able to get our arms around the housing affordability gap before the next boom, it also created financial pressures on the city/county’s ability to act on the HAPN plan’s strategies because of tightening budgets. The great recession also created a greater dilemma. Housing contractors went out of business, changed jobs or retired. Long time builders could not sustain the downturn and very little housing was built during or soon after the recession. Once the market came back, it came back with a bang and we were left in a dire state – more baby boomers finally retiring after the stock market rebounded, and buying into an area that was less expensive than where they left, urban buyers trying to get away from city life, who had the ability to work in a desirable community, as technology allowed them to work from home, and the ever growing “vacation home buyer” who appreciates the natural beauty and culture of our community but only occupy their homes for a portion of the year. One other new buyer we are also seeing more of: climate “refugees”; people relocating after natural disasters and record hot climates, attracted to our more temperate climate. Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend have a unique setting on the Olympic Peninsula. Remote in terms of accessibility, yet close enough for vacation homes buyer. But the remoteness and the unaffordability have created a vicious cycle in terms of attracting housing contractors who can’t find workers. (This is true of other businesses as well.) Many businesses report job openings because applicants can’t find housing. This is in all sectors of our workforce, but it is more evident in the service industry. 45% of our workforce is traveling from outside our county to work here). High-end custom homes are consuming the local builder’s time. Larger multi-family contractors do not exist in our community. With Seattle experiencing one of the Item 7d vi 12 most expensive housing markets in the country, the larger companies have no desire to take a risk in a rural county 2 hours away when their projects in Seattle have a guaranteed return. One other issue is unique to our community; the vintage housing stock. While other areas may find the older homes more affordable, the Victorians in the City of Port Townsend are most desirable because of their location in the historic district. Those that are in disrepair are unable to qualify for financing, so a required cash purchase negates the affordability, even if the home is priced appropriately. Washington State vacancy rates are around 3% and rent prices, the primary driver for homelessness, continue to rise. In Jefferson County, our current rental vacancy rate is <1%, A vacancy rate of less than 5% indicates that demand exceeds supply and generally results in increased rental costs for existing units. In Jefferson County, we simply do not have enough housing units to meet the demand. This includes housing for Section 8 or VASH voucher holders, as well as for workforce housing.” ~ Michelle Sandoval, City Council Member, City of Port Townsend Graphic used with permission by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2019) Item 7d vi 13 Subsidized Housing & Short-Term Shelters in Jefferson Co. Name/Location Subsidy Managed By Units # Beds # Subsidized Units Northwest Passage (transitional housing) Project-based Section 8 OlyCAP 18 18 Pfeiffer House HUD Section 8 OlyCAP 6 6 South Seven HUD Section 8 OlyCAP 15 15 Haines St. Cottages Emergency / Shelter OlyCAP 8 32 Bayside Housing Private NPO Bayside Housing 16 22 Northwest Village USDA/HFC Tax Credit Davick 29 58 Kearney St. Apts. USDA Davick 18 29 Hancock St. Apts. USDA Pacific Housing Advisory 24 48 Discovery View Apts. USDA /HFC Tax Credit SENIOR CARE 47 60 Claridge Court USDA Pacific Housing Advisory 44 48 Bishop Park USDA Davick 30 30 Garden Court Apts. USDA Port Hadlock Garden Court Partnership 40 40 Laurel Heights HFC Tax Credit Davick 45 100 San Juan Commons HFC Tax Credit SENIOR 50 59 Avamere HFC Bond SENIOR CARE 24 24 Victoria House HFC Bond SENIOR CARE 8 8 Pat's Promise Dove House 30 30 Hendricks St. House 4 4 Marine Plaza Apts. HUD Section 8 40 40 Admiralty Apts. HUD Section 8 Pvt. 38 38 Dove House Dove House 20 20 Total Units vs. Bedrooms 554 729 Item 7d vi 14 Partners in this Housing Crisis As is common in many smaller counties, Jefferson County does not have a Housing Department within its County government, instead Jefferson partners with the following service providers: Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP) serves both Jefferson & Clallam Counties as the main providers of shelter services running the local emergency shelter, food banks, Senior and Low income Housing for both short and long term housing options. Peninsula Housing Authority (PHA) serves both Jefferson and Clallam counties by providing Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) processing and placement, Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) and Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA). Dove House serves Jefferson County as the only domestic violence center and victim service provide. Habitat for Humanity serves Jefferson County as a permanent housing solution. Bayside Housing serves Jefferson County as a transitional housing provider. Homeward Bound serves as a housing steward currently building an affordable 4 unit rental. Service Partners in this Homeless Crisis Jefferson County Public Health: Community Health Improvement Plan and Behavioral Health Advisory Committee that recommend to the Board of County Commissioners the allocation of 1/10th of 1% Sales and Use Tax Funds for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Proctor House: An alternative to juvenile detention program for youth ages 12-17. Provides limited transition services to youth in their care in the form of referral, transportation, general assistance and education. Juvenile Services: Provides services to at-risk youth under the age of 18 including probation, diversion, youth at risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system and those at risk of homelessness. Case management and services to families in crisis who do not rise to the level of abuse and neglect, and families where youth are experiencing chronic school absenteeism. Olympic Area on Aging (O3A) serves Jefferson, Clallam, Pacific and Grays Harbor as an entry point for information and assistance for seniors and adults with disabilities. Jefferson County Sheriff & Port Townsend Police Department Jumping Mouse Children Center provides expressive mental health therapy to children for as long as necessary. Nurturing each child’s healthy development and supportive relationships at home and in the community. Item 7d vi 15 Current State of Funding Many funding sources are specifically “targeted” towards homelessness and are restricted to services and projects which directly benefit individuals and families experiencing homelessness and others with special needs. This chart summarizes state and local targeted funding sources and how they are spent on Jefferson County program types (Washington State Dept. of Commerce, 2018). *See Appendix B & C for more details of funding sources. Crossroads Permanent Solutions, $129,195 , 15% Ending Family Homelessness RRH, $5,490 , 1% Emergency Shelter $173,339 , 20% Supportive Services for Veteran Families RRH, $20,365 , 2% Supportive Services for Veteran Families HP, $20,365 , 2% Consolidated Homeless Grant Rent Assistance HP, $25,206 , 3% Consolidated Homeless Grant Rent Assistance RRH, $25,206 , 3% Housing and Essential Needs Housing Grant HP, $39,346 , 4% Ending Family Homelessness HP, $5,490 , 1% Housing and Essential Needs Housing Grant RRH, $39,346 , 4% Pfeiffer House, $53,979 , 6% South Seven Senior Village , $74,465 , 9% Home Fund Rent Assistance, $93,419 11% Haines Street Cottages, $15,570 2% Northwest Passage Apartments, $144,481 , 17% DEPT. OF COMMERCE FUNDING BY PROJECT FOR 2018 Item 7d vi 16 In March 2018, the Washington State legislature made a significant increase to the amount of funding available for homeless programs through local and state grants. This funding became available for grants in mid-2019. The chart below shows funding specifically used for homeless prevention efforts in 2019. *See Appendix B & C for more details of funding sources. Mental Health Tax, $22,000 SSVF, $110,000 HEN, $88,711 CHG, $96,730 PSH, $13,983 HUD RRH YOUTH GRANT, $125,000 HARPS, $53,000 2163 Funds, $255,000 2019 Jefferson County Homeless Prevention Funding Sources $40,000 $12,000 $18,000 $18,000 $60,240 $6,400 HOUSING FUNDED BY THE 1/10TH OF 1% FUND Two Year Budget/2019-2020 Haines St. Cottages Harborside Hotel Room Bayside Hotel Thomas St. Apt Behavior Health Court District Court Item 7d vi 17 The County, the City and the Task Force will continue to monitor the plan’s implementation and assure that the steps outlined are taken (or replaced by others aiming at the same targets), tracked, evaluated, refined and updated throughout the five-year framework of this plan. OBJECTIVE # 1 Quickly identify and engage people experiencing homelessness. The purpose of a Coordinated Entry System (CES) is to provide the quickest access to the most appropriate housing to every household experiencing or at-risk of homelessness through a standardized assessment and referral process. To ensure those experiencing homelessness are quickly and appropriately housed we will: • Enhance and improve the current Coordinated Entry System. • Expand outreach efforts to agencies and organizations connected to individuals and families experiencing homelessness and establish partnerships as appropriate to enhance coordination of services. • Identify subpopulations to work towards achieving Functional Zero. Current condition of Coordinated Entry as a system within Jefferson County. Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP) runs the intake for all housing services within the County. OlyCAP and Peninsula Housing Authority enter data into the Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) used by Washington State. However, Bayside Housing Services and Dove House Advocacy Services are getting certified with HMIS and will be part of the Data Entry system in 2020. Measure of success: a) Compliance with state and federal Coordinated Entry requirements for all projects receiving federal, state and local homeless funds. b) Compliance with State & Federal Coordinated Entry Data Collection. Participating projects accepting referrals must fill openings exclusively through the CE system and eliminate all side doors. Item 7d vi 18 Victim service providers and emergency shelters are NOT required to participate as an access point or by accepting referrals. Again, however, as indicated above, local governments awarding tax funds can request that agencies receiving funds participate in HMIS. Without emergency shelters (including warming shelters and domestic violence shelters) data, the official homeless count may be significantly undercounted. Strategies: 1) Form a Coordinated Entry Advisory Board (CEAB) to develop and maintain policies and procedures that are recommended to the Joint Oversight Task Force for adoption. This advisory board will also evaluate prioritization practices and vulnerability assessments. 2) Work with the Department of Commerce’s Coordinated Entry manager in the development of a CE advisory committee, prioritization, policies and procedures, and implementation of the CE Core Elements Manual’s best practices. 3) Outreach: A) Expand outreach to agencies, such as, county & city law enforcement, hospitals, schools, food banks, veterans support groups, emergency shelters, churches, street outreach programs, Recovery Café and behavioral health agencies to improve their referral rates to CE. B) Partner with key agencies such as, the Dept. of Social & Health Services (DSHS) and Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to ensure households have access to and are referred to CE. C) Invite non-partnering private organizations to make use of the Continuum of Care (CoC) where useful. 4) Quickly identify and engage at least two key subpopulations to achieve functional zero for each population. Functional zero: A population group is said to reach “Functional Zero” when the number of people in that group at a given POINT IN TIME (PIT) is no greater than the monthly rate of those served for that group. 5) Identify and implement CE staff trainings such as diversion, progressive engagement, motivational interviewing, trauma informed care and following best practices. 6) Apply for additional funding to aid the outreach and engagement process. Item 7d vi 19 Actions to Meet Objective #1 Action Activity Responsible Party Timeline Compliance w/ Coordinated Entry Guidelines 1) Form Coordinated Entry Advisory Board (“CEAB”) 2) Implement all policies and procedures required by the WA State CE Guidelines 3) Implement the Coordinated Entry Core Elements Manual 4) CE Advisory Board to evaluate the CE system and document in CE Plan. Task Force on Homelessness & Affordable Housing and / or CEAB 2020 – Form a Coordinated Entry Advisory Board 2021 – Implement P&P per WA State CE Guidelines 2022 – Implement CE Core Elements 2023 -2024 Annually update Policies and Procedures in the CE Plan Quickly identify and engage people experiencing homelessness 1) Identify all systems that encounter people experiencing homelessness and have CE connect with each regularly 2) Apply for funding through Office of Youth Homelessness (OYH) and Youth Housing Development Programs (YHDP) to expand outreach 3) Improve CE marketing efforts by creating list of all outreach navigators Local organizations providing services to persons who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. 2020 – Apply for OHY and YHDP funding 2019 – 2024 continuously evaluate access points and cross agency coverage efforts. Tracking & Reporting CE lead agency to report on the homelessness status, engagement and housing placement for each HH OLYCAP, PHA, Bayside & Dove House 2020 - Create an annual agency report form for the JOB. Increase staff training 1) Comply with all trainings required by the Dept. of Commerce. 2) Provide training in trauma informed care, diversion and progressive engagement. 3) Agencies keep a training log on program staff. OLYCAP, PHA, O3A, Dove House, Bayside, Jefferson Public Health, Sheriff Dept, PT Police Dept., Jefferson County Schools. 2020 -2024 - Support continued annual trainings for providers. Item 7d vi 20 OBJECTIVE # 2 Prioritization of homeless housing for people with the highest needs. In 2018, Jefferson County's unsheltered entries were 73% while the state average is 54%. Unsheltered entries are people living without safe shelter or are fleeing violence. The State of Washington believes that every county should be focusing their homeless dollars on the homeless population and therefore hopes that each county will have a service support rate that deals with truly unsheltered people in excess of the 60% compliance level of the Consolidated Homeless Grant. Measure of success: A)Compliance with state and federal Coordinated Entry requirements for all projects receiving federal, state and local homeless funds. B)Using the Office of Homeless Youth's "Five Recommendations for Making Coordinated Entry Work for Youth and Young Adults” design a system for prioritizing housing for homeless youth. C)Prioritization of policies for all projects receiving federal, state and local homeless funds, resulting in people prioritized and consistently housed in a timely manner. D) Department of Commerce Consolidated Housing Grant (CHG) sections 2.1.1, 8.4.2 and 8.4.4 - Prioritize unsheltered homeless households and increase percent served of unsheltered homeless households served by 5% or maintain compliance level. Strategies: 1)Create prioritization policies according to the WA State CE Guidelines and CE Core Elements. 2)Review the vulnerability assessment and evaluate it to improve the process. 3) Focus case conference meetings on the prioritization of households for programs and services for which they qualify and continue problem solving support with case managers and navigators. All households that contact Coordinated Entry and are literally homeless are assessed using a vulnerability assessment and referred to programs for which they may qualify. The vulnerability assessment identifies barriers to housing and is used for all subpopulations except for youth and victims of domestic violence where an alternative assessment tool is used. Item 7d vi 21 The goal is to identify, serve and house the most vulnerable. However, who is served is limited by the programs that are available in the community and, in the case of finding market rate housing, by whom the landlord selects. By improving the prioritization assessment, we will strengthen the foundation of the referral system, promoting efficiency and improving data collection in the process. As in Objective #1, staff training in progressive engagement, motivational interviewing, trauma informed care and diversion will help in the engagement of households experiencing homelessness and aid in resolving their housing crisis. Actions to Meet Objective #2 Action Activity Responsible Party Timeline/Milestone Compliance with all Prioritization Policies 1) CE Advisory Board/Governing Body to evaluate and update prioritization policy in accordance with WA State CE Guidelines and Consolidated Homeless Grant 2) Review vulnerability assessment and adjust based on recommendations by the CE Advisory Board 3) Implement Coordinated Entry Core Elements as recommended by the CE Advisory Board Task Force on Housing & Homelessness, Joint Oversight Board and OlyCAP 2020 – Form a Coordinated Entry Advisory Board 2021 – 2024 CEAB updates Policies and Procedure (P&P) annually per WA State CE Guidelines from Dept. of Commerce Maintain current rate or increase percent served of unsheltered homeless households to remain in compliance with the Dept. of Commerce Consolidated Housing Grant 1) Continue to prioritize unsheltered homeless households into emergency shelter, transitional housing, homeless prevention, or any permanent housing project intervention. 2) Prioritize households with unsheltered homelessness in their history. OLYCAP, PHA, Dove House & Bayside Housing 2019-2024 Work to ensure that our local providers have governmental backing and increased community support. Host community information events so that the public can be aware of the true nature of homelessness in JC. Task Force 2020- Actively work with providers to apply for funding Item 7d vi 22 Objective # 3 Operate an effective and efficient homeless crisis response system that swiftly moves people into stable and permanent housing while providing services. Jefferson County currently has one adult shelter which operates year-round and is located in the basement of the America Legion in downtown Port Townsend. In the 2018-2019 year, this shelter received enough funding to remain open for 365 consecutive days. There are 23 beds for men & 8 beds for women and 2 medical rooms as well. No one under 18 may stay at this shelter. Last year, the Emergency Shelter accepted 116 individuals offering a total of 10,224 bed nights of safety to adults. Currently, all local shelter participants are handled by the staff at the Jefferson County Adult Emergency Shelter (must be 18 or older) in partnership OLYCAP, COAST & the American Legion. Most are returning clients; however new clients are provided information at check-in and go through CE within 24 hours. Fortunately, Jefferson County also has Dove House Advocacy services which operates an emergency shelter for victims fleeing domestic violence, as well as, a transitional housing program for women and families transitioning into independence. Last year, Dove House sheltered 63 victims offering a total of 6,707 bed nights of safety with 3,475 for children and 3,232 for adults. Dove House does not currently enter clients into the CES but staff works with OlyCAP to quickly connect clients with support services. There is also a transitional housing service in Jefferson County, Bayside Housing & Services, that operates all year long. It employs a unique partnership with a hotel: to rent out a floor of hotel rooms that they offer on an extended-stay basis to low-income individuals, couples and families facing homelessness. Last year, Bayside sheltered 36 guest offering a total of 6,097 bed nights of safety with beds 2,635 for men and 3,462 for women. They offer personalized case management assisting with filling out housing applications across multiple counties, scheduling and transportation for medical appointments, and navigating other social services related to independent living and securing long-term housing. Clients track housing search activities, and if of working age and ability, must also be employed or searching for employment. Entry to Bayside is managed through referral and admittance is based on need. Priority is given to seniors, veterans, and people in the workforce who need housing in order to retain employment. Applicants must be low-income (up to 80% of Area Median Income) to be considered; most Bayside client households are closer to 30% of AMI. Item 7d vi 23 In addition to these shelter providers, Voices for Veterans annually hosts 3 events in Port Townsend, Forks & Port Angeles for Veterans. With these one-day events in 2017, they reached 615 Veterans with direct services and support. The Olympic Peninsula has the highest per capita percentage of Veterans in the United States, with over 15,000 living on the Peninsula. “On average, 13.5% of veterans who attend the “Stand Down” events are women, and 17.5% of veterans who attend these events are homeless, in which, 3.2% of those homeless are women.” (Voices for Veterans, 2019) Measures of success: System-wide performance assessments based on improving: a)The percentage of exits to permanent housing greater than 79% as per Dept. of Commerce. guidelines. b) Reduce returns to homelessness after exit to permanent housing to less than 10 %. c)Reduce the average length of time in homelessness of those served. d)Establish a legally recognized address system for people who are experiencing homelessness which results in increased access to medical, legal and behavioral health services. e) Increase outreach services for Youth (persons under 25). Strategies: 1)Enhance the system of case management for people who are homeless or those at risk of homelessness to address individual barriers to stable housing (income, education, employment skills, treatment services, etc.) 2)Increase innovative solutions to transitional housing. 3) Maximize resources to house people, especially where funds exist for targeted subpopulations. 4) Improve data quality to minimize error responses to housing destination that impact "exits to permanent housing" and improves confidence in the data measuring this outcome. 5)Coordinate with the Behavioral Health Advisory Committee (BHAC) to assist in leveraging Mental Health Sales Tax Funds to address the housing and homelessness crisis for individuals involved in treatment and recovery programs. Item 7d vi 24 According to the Dept. of Commerce in 2018, OlyCAP registered 85 people into CES (this number does not include those sheltered in either the Emergency Shelter or Dove House). Of the 85 people entered in the CES: • 73% or 62 individuals identified as Unsheltered Homeless • 617 days was the average reported length of time in homelessness of those entering the Coordinated Entry System • All were successfully placed into housing of some sort Unfortunately, the unserved homeless numbers for Jefferson County tell a more desperate story. According to the Jefferson County Point in Time Count from 2019, the Homeless Youth report of 2018 from Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction & the unmet requests for shelter during the 2018-2019 service year from Dove House Advocacy services: • 71 people identified themselves unsheltered homeless • 191 requests for shelter went unfulfilled by Dove House Advocacy • 96 youth in our schools identified as homeless, many of whom existed by “couch surfing” • 105 of the 615 Veterans who attended a local “Stand Down” event in 2017, self-identified as homeless. 10224 6707 6097 Total Bed Nights: June 2018 -June 2019 Emergency Shelter Dove House Bayside Housing Item 7d vi 25 Actions to Meet Objective #3 Action Activity Responsible Party Timeline/ Milestone Maintain System Exits (Shelter + RRH + TH) to PH 1) Prioritize shelter participants for RRH 2) Partner with behavioral health agencies 3) By name lists both intra and inter agency OLYCAP, PHA, DOVE HOUSE, BAYSIDE HOUSING 2022 review and improve Improve Data Quality A program manager or director reviews data quality frequently and trains staff regularly OLYCAP, PHA, BAYSIDE & DOVE HOUSE 2020 - monthly review of data Increase Bank of Master-Lease Property Engage WA Landlord Association and Realtor Association OLYCAP 2020-2024 increase the stock of Master leases by 10% a year Reduce Returns to Homelessness Ensure stability by: 1) Continuing Case management and supportive services once person/family is housed 2) Partnering with Behavioral Health agencies where appropriate Discovery Behavioral Health, Believe in Recovery, Safe Harbor/ Beacon of Hope and OlyCAP as well as other local support service providers 2022 Milestone – at benchmark by intervention type Increase Youth Access to Services Explore ways to increase data-sharing between McKinney Vento Liaison and local providers OSPI, Youth Social Service Providers, and School districts 2020 – Milestone host a Youth Task Force summit Create a Host Family System for Youth Develop a Host Family Network for Youth OHY, Juvenile Services, DSHS and OlyCAP 2020- Create a Host Family System in JC Identify youth in need Conduct a Youth Homelessness Survey Local Schools, OlyCAP, Dove House, JC Health Dept. 2020 – complete a Youth survey on homelessness Item 7d vi 26 Objective # 4 A projection of the number of households & individuals left unsheltered, assuming existing resources and stated policies. A projection of the impact of the fully implemented local plan on the number of households or Individuals housed. This objective is focused on ensuring limited resources are used to support interventions that deliver good outcomes at the lowest cost possible per person served. Measure of success: As a small rural county, Jefferson County will produce an Annual Report on Homelessness that reflects both credible data for homelessness and affordable rental options for our community. Strategies: A) Use tools provided by the Department of Commerce to assist in this prediction B) Use data from a variety of sources to project an estimate C) Use the data to identify housing solutions that will reduce homelessness Actions to Meet State Objective #4 Activity Responsible Party Timeline/Milestone Projected count of unsheltered & sheltered homeless individuals in 2024 if there is no change in current resources Use of the Dept. of Commerce Tool for this calculation Task Force Prediction of Individuals by 2024: Total 242 Unsheltered 145 Sheltered 97 Item 7d vi 27 The projected number of 145 unsheltered persons was arrived at by examining the PIT count over the past 12 years and paying close attention to the past 5 years. To predict the number of persons living in homelessness in 2024, we used the 6% increase as reported in the most recent Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress which features the increase in the percentage of people living in homelessness between 2017 and 2018 in Washington State (US Dept of Commerce, 2019). By using the PIT chart above, an average number can be created based on the past 12 years & 5 years respectively. As the average number ran higher for the past 5 years, we adopted to use this as the accepted base average and then proceeded to increase annually at a rate of 6%. Average over 12 years Average over 5 years Projection of future annual counts based on the 5-year average from 2014-2019 with the addition of a 6% annual increase Future Year 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Total 147 180 191 203 215 228 242 Sheltered 71 70 75 80 85 91 97 Unsheltered 76 110 116 123 130 137 145 In response to our current homeless housing and affordable housing crisis a set of actions is qualified in Objective # 6 to support the creation of 300 additional safe Housing Units in Jefferson County by December 31, 2024. The projected number needed by 2024 is included in the number of units needed by 2036 referenced in the 20-year housing needs projection found in the 2015 Housing Inventory and Needs Assessment for the City of Port Townsend. 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Total Homeless 225 141 134 108 82 98 70 272 181 187 59 199 Sheltered 94 78 78 95 74 57 29 67 59 100 27 93 Unsheltered 131 63 56 13 8 41 41 205 122 87 32 106 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 PIT Chart Jefferson County Washington Item 7d vi 28 Objective # 5 Address Racial, Ethnic and Gender Disparities among People Experiencing Homelessness Measures of Success: Completion of an initial analysis using the equity tool and data provided by the Department of Commerce will be reviewed when the Dept of Commerce uploads the 2019 counts. This is due to the abnormally low PIT Count of 54 people in 2018. As poverty is a driving force in homelessness, we will use it as tool to track disparity with regard to subpopulations. It is clear from the table below that people of color are disproportionately represented with regard to poverty levels in Jefferson County. While 12.15% of Whites live in poverty, 31% of African Americans do. By the same standard, 43.2% of Native Indians/Alaskan Natives live in poverty (U.S. Census Quick Facts, 2013-2017). RACE AND HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN Population Jefferson Living in Poverty Percentage In JC White alone 27,347 3,297 12.10% Black or African American alone 87 27 31.00% American Indian and Alaska Native 551 238 43.20% Asian alone 524 29 5.50% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander alone 68 2 2.90% Identifies as another race 128 48 37.50% Identifies as two or more races 969 158 16.30% Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race) 934 248 26.60% The Table below is a comparison by percentages, of the individuals counted in the 2018 Point in Time Counts in Jefferson, Clallam, Island & San Juan Counties. They are by race & ethnicity. 2018 PIT Counts & Percentages in Neighboring Counties Jefferson % Clallam % Island % San Juan % Total 54 100 216 100 128 100 56 100 White 46 84 171 79 107 83 47 84 African Amer. 2 4 4 2 6 5 0 0 Native 2 4 9 13 5 4 3 5 Asian 2 4 2 1 2 2 0 0 Multi-Racial 2 4 0 5 8 6 6 11 Hispanic 2 4 9 4 13 10 0 0 Non-Hispanic 47 87 189 88 103 80 52 93 Item 7d vi 29 The PIT count does not request information regarding self-perception or self-identification with regard to gender, making it difficult to address the issues of gender inequality. For the safety of our citizens, as a Task Force, we voted to focus our work on this objective to include Racial, Ethnic and Gender Disparities among People Experiencing Homelessness. According to the most recent U.S. Transgender Survey: 26% of transgender people experienced some form of housing discrimination in the past year because of being transgender and 33% of respondents avoided staying in a shelter because they feared being mistreated as a transgender person (U.S. Transgender Survey, 2017). Strategies: A) Use tools provided by the Department of Commerce to assist in addressing these disparities. Actions to Meet Objective #5 Action Activity Responsible Party Timeline/Milestone Eliminate racial, ethnic & gender disparities Use the equity tool to evaluate data and devise plans to minimize disparities CEAB and the Task Force on Homelessness & Affordable Housing 2020-2024 Annual review of progress Reach out to federally recognized tribes to discuss housing initiatives and any possible opportunities for collaboration Work with these tribes and offer to explore opportunities to collaborate on housing initiatives CEAB and the Task Force on Homelessness & Affordable Housing 2020-2024 Annual review of progress Item 7d vi 30 Objective # 6 Supportive Efforts Aimed at Ending Homelessness The local plan guidance from the Department of Commerce requires that plans be aimed at ending homelessness. This section of the plan addresses the community efforts needed to achieve this goal and reach functional zero for at least two subpopulations. Measure of Success: Increase the development of affordable housing and alternative housing models through incentives and policy changes. Implement discharge planning, including case management, for homeless individuals entering the community from jails, correctional facilities, foster care, hospitals, and behavioral health systems of care. Expand the use of performance measures and data to ensure the most efficient use of public funds. Expand leadership, accountability, and opportunities for community education and volunteering. Identify at least two subpopulations in Jefferson County by 2020, that could be reduced to Functional Zero by 2024 in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the Consolidated Homeless Grant section 8.4.3 (U.S. Dept of Commerce, 2019). Strategies: 1) Use Local Document Recording fees to support the development of more shelter and housing 2) Apply for other grant funding to end homelessness within subpopulations 3) Support state and local initiatives that increase housing stock Actions to meet Objective # 6 Action Activity Responsible Party Timeline/ Milestone Develop a public and transparent process and necessary policies for the award of City/County funds Appoint a small sub- group to draft process and policy Joint Oversight Board, CEAB Operational by 1st quarter of 2020 Item 7d vi 31 Increase funding for affordable housing for those under the 50% of the AMI 1.Explore opportunities to expand the capacity of affordable housing providers 2. Implement HB 1406 PHA, OlyCAP, Bayside & Building Depts. PT City Council members & JC BOCC. Use funding to support 50 new units by 2024. Increase work force housing units for those between 50-80% of the AMI 1.Recruit developers 2.Incentivize building Private Developers, City and County Planning & Bldg. Depts. Increase units in County by 5 in 2020 and by 32 by 2024. Increase market rate rental units 1.Recruit developers 2.Incentivize building 3. Encourage micro- units & small apts. Private Developers, City of Port Townsend & BoCC Increase rentals in County by 20 in 2020 and by 80 in 2024. Create a Host family network for Youth Identify key agencies and recruit homes. OlyCAP, Dove House & Juvenile Services Start a HOST family network & create 2 hosts homes by 2024. Evaluate the needs for emergency housing Use of “2060” funds to support transitional housing projects Task Force on Homeless Housing & Affordable Housing Ongoing Increase youth hostel/ boarding rooms for ages 18-24 Renovate Co-housing and group living options City and County Planning Depts. & NPO 2020 – Build 4 hostel/boarding units by 2024. Review tiny home communities & co- housing communities Examine possible code changes to allow tiny villages City and County Planning & Bldg. Depts. and NPO 2024 – create 4 tiny home communities in Jefferson County. Build houses for those earning between 30-80% of the AMI Secure land for home Habitat for Humanity 2024 - build 30 new affordable homes Add respite care shelter beds for people with medical needs Use of “2060” funds to support respite housing projects Healthcare providers 2024 – create 12 respite beds in Jefferson County. Conduct a Community Education Campaign Create an interagency and community group to plan and conduct the campaign. Housing task force sub-group Operational by 4th quarter of 2020 Evaluation of the CES Create policies and procedures to evaluate the CES. Task Force and vendors Operational by 4th quarter of 2020 Add long term Senior RV Park communities Examine possible code changes to allow new RV Parks. City and County Planning Bldg. Depts & JC Environmental Public Health Division 2024 - create 2 new RV communities in Jefferson County. Relocate the Warming Center Work with previous team & identify a lead group. OLYCAP, COAST, City of PT & the Jefferson Interfaith Action Coalition. 2024 - create a permanent day center. Item 7d vi 32 Explore Transitory Housing Accommodation in Jefferson County Establish guidelines to support transitory housing options Task Force, Community partners Dec 2020 Defining and Documenting Success Defining Success For many years success in homeless programs was defined by how many people received housing services. Over time, the idea of what constitutes success has shifted to focus on outcomes for the individuals served. It is not enough to say that services were received, but instead we must determine the efficacy of those services in reducing homelessness. This can be a difficult process, since long-term follow-up of people who received housing or services is difficult and impractical. Challenges Success in the realm of reducing overall homelessness is an elusive proposition. Several factors contribute to the challenge: • Dynamic Population: the people experiencing homelessness is not static: there is a constant influx of people who are becoming homeless at any given time, while at the same time previously homeless people are being housed. While hundreds of homeless people may have been housed over a period, more have become homeless over the same period. Therefore, the overall number of homeless may have stayed the same or increased. • Prevention Efforts: Many of our efforts are geared at preventing homelessness and evaluating the long-term effectiveness of these programs is difficult to measure. • Inaccurate Data & Counts: There are numerous homeless people who either do not consider themselves to be homeless because they are “staying with friends” or “living in their car” or who do not want to be counted due to a variety of personal issues. Our community experiences these people and their homelessness, but they are not included in our voluntary homeless counts. Challenges notwithstanding, it is crucial that we develop ways to assess whether the time, effort, and financial commitments to the issue of homelessness are effective. Tools In addition to data from community partners, two primary tools will be used to assist with evaluating success: Item 7d vi 33 Annual Point in Time Count Each January, Jefferson County carries out a countywide count of people experiencing homelessness, both sheltered (currently receiving subsidized emergency or transitional housing) and un-sheltered (living on the streets, in cars, with friends, or identified as incarcerated transients). Participation by people experiencing homelessness is voluntary. Data collected from this effort provides the state with basic statistics about Jefferson County’s progress in reducing homelessness and provides the County and the community with information about the housing and services gaps. It also influences the amount of federal funding counties are eligible to receive. Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) This state mandated database project collects detailed data about users of homeless housing and services. Currently all data is entered by OlyCAP. The collected data is used by the state to analyze the resources necessary to move individuals from homelessness to self-sufficiency. On a local level, it facilitates coordination among agencies and delivery of services to homeless individuals. It also allows excellent quality demographic and programmatic information to be collected about homeless households who are receiving services. Performance Indicators For each of the Plan’s objectives, specific indicators of success are listed. Some are data-based, whereas others are performance-based. These performance indicators are also drawn from measures developed by the Washington State Department of Commerce. Projected goals stated in Objective #6 were created based on current housing shortfalls, combined with growth patterns and a 2015 housing study created for Port Townsend, WA. If fully implemented, by 2024 our county should see an increase of: 162 apartments 30 new Habitat for Humanity homes 28 safe beds (16 hostel & 12 respite) 40 safe placements for Senior in 20 Senior RV units 20 tiny homes, serving at least 20 individuals 20 safe beds in 2 host homes & multiple host families homes for Youth 300 Additional Safe Housing Units by Dec 31, 2024 Item 7d vi 34 Recommendations to the State from Jefferson County The local plan guidance from the Department of Commerce, “strongly encourages local governments to include in their plans recommendations to the state for changes in state laws, policies and resources that may be necessary to further reduce homelessness and work toward the goal of ending homelessness as defined under the federal criteria”. This section of the plan attempts to address this recommendation. Step 1 - Identify individuals, elected officials and advisory boards and the process to make recommendations to them. Goal Representative/Agency Recommendation Explore ability to increase density for rentals in rural areas. WA State Legislature Create higher than zoned density to address the current housing crisis. Allow tiny home ownership on shared land. WA State Legislature Legally zone tiny home villages Increase State and Federal funds for affordable housing Federal Representatives WA State Legislature Use the Local taxing authority power and apply for more Federal funding Create a set aside in the 9% tax credit program for rural counties Create a fund to fund infrastructure necessary for affordable housing Provide advanced services to homeless persons who currently have no physical address. 24th District Representatives WA State Legislature Remove the current requirement for a “permanent physical address” for those in need of social services. Support rural Urban Growth Areas and Limited Areas of More Intense Rural Development 24th District Representatives WA State Legislature Provide State funding for rural infrastructure (especially sewer) Allow flexibility and limited expansion of LAMIRDs in small rural counties Item 7d vi 35 Empower local gov’t with the power to act WA State Legislature Increase the councilmanic taxing authority of local governments Explore the impact of GMA density requirements in rural counties that have declared an affordable housing crisis. WA State Legislature Provide clear guidance on setting rural densities to accommodate workforce and affordable housing Summary: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ~Edmund Burke Aside from the natural beauty and charm of Jefferson County, the greatest asset of the community is the people who call it home. Because homelessness affects more than just the individual experiencing it, we recognize that we all have a part to play in making homelessness a rare and singular experience for our neighbors. This five-year plan will serve as our road map, giving us the tools needed to individualize our approach to those experiencing homelessness. By quickly identifying and engaging all people experiencing homelessness, prioritizing homeless housing for people with the highest needs and operating an effective and efficient homeless crisis response system that swiftly moves people into stable and permanent housing while providing services; we can move closer to ending homelessness in Jefferson County. It is also our intention that this document not only address how to help people who are experiencing homelessness but to create measures that prevent homelessness from occurring in the first place. To do so we must be sure that our limited resources are used to support interventions that deliver good outcomes at the lowest cost possible per person served. Having a streamlined process for coordinated entry, options for housing people based on their individual need, fully engaging all stakeholders, and the ability to respond quickly will ensure that fewer of our neighbors are left out in the cold. Item 7d vi 36 Appendix A: Glossary of Terms Definitions below are offered to assist in understanding some of the terms used in the Plan. Most of these terms refer to complex ideas; the definitions below should be considered a brief starting point for understanding. Additional information about each is available from online resources and local service providers. Adults: Persons age 18 and older (however in many cases those age 18-24 are still viewed as youth) Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being. These experiences range from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse to parental divorce or the incarceration of a parent or guardian. Affordable Housing: This term is used to describe housing, rental or owner-occupied, that is affordable no matter what one's income is. The federal government considers housing costs at or below 30% of one's income to be affordable. At-Risk of Homelessness: People who are living in sub-standard, unstable or unsafe housing. This includes people who are "couch surfing," which means they are staying with family or friends, living in trailers, doubled or tripled up in small apartments or living in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Basic Shelter: Basic shelters tend to have limited hours and provide services focused on basic needs and respite from being outdoors, like mats on the floor and a restroom. A person successfully exits a shelter program when they have left the shelter to move to a permanent home. Behavioral Health Advisory Committee (BHAC): Administers the funds coming to Jefferson County resulting from the Washington State legislation sponsored by Senator Hargrove that authorized Counties to impose a one-tenth-of-one-percent local sales tax to fund new mental health, chemical dependency, (collectively known as behavioral health) and therapeutic court services. Item 7d vi 37 Child – Persons under age 18 Chronically Homeless Person: - A person who: A. Is homeless and lives in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter; and B. Has been homeless and living or residing in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter continuously for at least 1 year or on at least four separate occasions in the last 3 years where the combined length of time homeless in those occasions is at least 12 months; and C. Has a disability Continuum of Care (CoC): Continuum of Care is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Program to promote community-wide commitment and support to end homelessness. Community Outreach Association Shelter Team (COAST): COAST is a group of local churches and other community partners that support the emergency shelter. Coordinated Entry System (CES): The purpose of a Coordinated Entry System (CES) is to provide the quickest access to the most appropriate housing to every household experiencing or at-risk of homelessness through a standardized assessment and referral process. Day and Hygiene Centers: Day and Hygiene Centers provide a place to rest during the day and a place to tend to basic needs like using the restroom, showering and doing laundry Diversion: Diversion services offer people experiencing homelessness one-time financial assistance or services to bypass shelter and move directly to housing. Diversion is offered to people who are homeless but have not yet or have just entered the shelter system. These programs offer financial assistance and/or case management to find creative solutions to the difficulties a person faces. Diversion can help people reunite with family, mediate with a landlord, or pay rent for a short time. Diversion services are available from outreach programs, shelters and Coordinated Entry for All (CEA) Regional Access Points. A person successfully exits a diversion program when they use one-time assistance to bypass the shelter and move directly to housing. Dynamic Prioritization: A process that uses prioritization criteria (i.e., assessment result, unsheltered status, length of time homeless) to identify the most vulnerable (preferably through a case conferencing process) based on the number of anticipated housing placements across all resources that will occur in the next XX days. Item 7d vi 38 Dept. of Social & Health Services (DSHS): State Department responsible for the health, support and safety of every person in Washington. Dept. of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF): State Department responsible for the support of Children, Youth & Families in Washington. Enhanced Shelter: Enhanced shelters have extended or 24/7-hour service and provide many services such as meals, hygiene services, storage, and staffing to support leaving shelter for permanent housing. A person successfully exits a shelter program when they have left the shelter to move to a permanent home. Functional zero: A population group is said to reach “Functional Zero” when the number of people in that group at a given POINT IN TIME (PIT) is no greater than the monthly rate of those served for that group. # in Subgroup is less than (<) the monthly rate = # of the subgroup served per month /# of Months Functional Zero in reference to Homeless Veterans Populations with a community: Functional zero, used in this context, is reached when the number of veterans who are homeless, whether sheltered or unsheltered, is no greater than the monthly housing placement rate for veterans. Hardest to House or Hardest to Serve: Refers to people with more complex needs and multiple challenges when it comes to housing, such as mental illness, addiction, other conditions or disabilities, justice-system histories, etc. Harm-reduction: Harm reduction is an approach for substance use treatment that involves a set of practical techniques that are openly negotiated with clients around what is most likely to be achieved. The focus is on reducing the negative consequences and risky behaviors of substance use; it neither condones nor condemns any behavior. Homelessness: The experience of an individual or family who is not able to acquire and maintain permanent, safe, affordable, and decent housing. People counted as homeless may be sleeping outdoors, in cars, garages or sheds, or other places not meant for human habitation; in temporary facilities like emergency shelters or transitional housing; in hotels or motels due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations; or may be sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason. Homeless Management Information System (HMIS): Is a shared database designed to record and store client-level information on the characteristics and service needs of homeless persons. Item 7d vi 39 Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP): This program includes Tenant Based vouchers (awarded and attached to the individual and mobile to wherever that person moves) and Project Based Vouchers (attached to the specific unit and remain with the unit regardless of who lives in it - so long as income qualified). Housing Cost-burdened: According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), people are housing cost-burdened when they spend over 30% of their income on housing. Severely Housing Cost-burdened: According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), people who spend over 50% of their income on housing are said to be severely housing cost-burdened. Housing First: Housing First is a homeless assistance paradigm that prioritizes providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, thus ending their homelessness and serving as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life. Housing First does not require people experiencing homelessness to address the all of their problems including behavioral health problems, or to graduate through a series of services programs before they can access housing. This approach is guided by the belief that people need basic necessities like food and a place to live before attending to anything less critical, such as getting a job, budgeting properly, or attending to substance use issues. Low Barrier Housing: Housing where a minimum number of conditions are placed on residents to enable serving individuals with a higher level of challenges to attaining and maintaining housing. Typically, this includes reducing barriers that might otherwise exclude or screen out tenants such as requirements for ID or documentation, having little or no income, having poor or lack of rental history, having poor credit or financial history, having involvement with the criminal justice system, having active or a history of alcohol and/or substance use, having active or a history of mental health issues, having a history of victimization, or other behaviors that are perceived as indicating a lack of “housing readiness.” Low-barrier facilities typically follow a harm reduction philosophy. Motivational Interviewing: Motivational interviewing is a directive, client-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. Compared with nondirective counseling, it is more focused, and goal directed. Night-by-Night Shelter or Drop-In Shelter: Emergency housing that provides a short-term stay at no cost. Beds are not reserved for multiple days but are made available on an individual night basis. Item 7d vi 40 Office of Homeless Youth (OHY): The Office of Homeless Youth Other Permanent Housing (OPH): provides housing with or without services that is specifically for formerly homeless people but that does not require people to have a disability Outreach & Engagement: Outreach & Engagement programs include both street outreach to people living unsheltered and housing case management. Outreach workers connect unsheltered people to resources within the homeless services system and housing case managers work with people prioritized by Coordinated Entry for All (CEA) for housing to help them to prepare to move into permanent housing. A person successfully exits an outreach program when she has used outreach services to find and move to a permanent home. Parenting Youth: Are people under age 25 who are the parents or legal guardians of one or more children (under age 18) who are present with or sleeping in the same place as that youth parent, where there is no person over age 24 in the household. Parenting Youth Household: Is a household with at least one parenting youth and the child or children for whom the parenting youth is the parent or legal guardian. Permanent Supportive Housing: Permanent subsidized housing that serves individuals or households in need of ongoing supportive services and assistance such as people with mental health issues, substance abuse disorders, physical disabilities, or more than one of these. Permitted Village/Encampment: Permitted villages offer supported outdoor, temporary accommodations for people who are living unsheltered in conditions that threaten their health and safety. Villages may offer tents or tiny house like living structures, community kitchens, hygiene services and case management to clients that have lived outside for extended periods of time or for whom traditional shelter may not be a good fit. A person successfully exits a village when he/she/they leave(s) the village to move to permanent housing. Point in Time Count (PIT): The Point in Time Count (PIT) is required by the Department of Commerce and HUD in order to receive homeless grant funds. The information from the count is compiled and submitted to WA State and is used locally for evaluation and planning purposes. The PIT surveys sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on the fourth Thursday in January during a specific 24-hour period in all Washington State counties. As a rural county, Jefferson County has an entire week during which to conduct the count, but census workers refer to that specific date as the Point In Time being assessed. Jefferson County has conducted an annual Point in Time Count of the homeless since 2005. Prevention Services: Prevention services are used to assist people who are currently housed but face an imminent risk of becoming homeless. Prevention programs help people remain in their homes, with the use of onetime financial assistance or case management. A person successfully exits a prevention program when he remains in housing and doesn’t become homeless. Item 7d vi 41 Progressive Engagement: A strategy to enable service delivery systems to effectively target resources. Progressive Engagement refers to a strategy of starting with a small amount of assistance and then adding more assistance as needed. Project Based Vouchers: Vouchers attached to the specific unit and remain with the unit regardless of who lives in it - so long as income qualified. Project Entries: Entries reported to the Dept of Commerce through the CES. Rapid Rehousing (RRH): Rapid Rehousing assists individuals who have been evicted or recently lost their housing to quickly return to permanent housing. Rapid Rehousing offers rental assistance and supportive services for up to 1 year. A person successfully exits a rapid rehousing program when he is living in permanent housing without a subsidy. Residential Emergency Shelter: Emergency housing that provides a short-term stay at no cost. Beds are reserved for residents until they exit the program. In the past, shelter stays were limited to 90 days, but recent guidance from the Washington State Department of Commerce indicates that shelter stays do not need to be time limited. Shelter stays typically include housing case management and connections with resources with the goal of securing appropriate permanent housing. Safe Haven (SH): provides temporary shelter and services to hard-to-serve individuals. Subsidized: Housing that receives funding from the government or community organization. Tenants who live in subsidized housing pay rent that is less than market value, and typically is no more than 30% of their income. Supportive Services: Services, other than providing physical housing and housing tenancy supports, which assist an individual or household to remove barriers to acquiring and maintaining housing. Supportive services can include mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, behavioral therapy, or other types of supports. Transitional Housing: Subsidized housing for up to 2 years with rent typically set at no more than 30% of client’s income. Case management services are included to prepare individuals to obtain housing and live self-sufficiently. Transitory Housing: Permitted forms of Temporary Alternative Housing for 180 days with a possible 180 day extension such as: a designated safe park for people living in vehicles; permitting people to live in an RV on residential property; permitting people to live in tents on a residential property; permitting the use of garages or sheds as temporary housing; or the establishment of temporary shelters in existing structures or in portable tiny houses on public land. (Jefferson County Housing Emergency Resolution 17-35) Item 7d vi 42 Trauma-informed Care: Trauma-informed care is a strengths based framework that is grounded in an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma, that emphasizes physical, psychological, and emotional safety for both providers and survivors, and that creates opportunities for survivors of trauma to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment. The Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA): The program provides eligible low-income families with financial assistance to obtain affordable housing. It helps families lease privately owned rental units from participating landlords. Tenant Based Vouchers: Vouchers awarded and attached to the individual and mobile to wherever that person moves. Unaccompanied Youth: – Unaccompanied youth are persons under age 25 who are not accompanied by a parent or guardian and are not a parent presenting with or sleeping in the same place as his/her child(ren). Unaccompanied youth are single youth, youth couples, and groups of youth presenting together as a household. Unsheltered Entries: People who are living without safe shelter or are fleeing violence. People who are living in places not meant for human habitation, such as: cars, parks, sidewalks, tents, RV’s without established utility connections, abandoned buildings, on the street, in garages and sheds. Veteran–This population category of the PIT includes adults who have served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States. This does not include inactive military reserves or the National Guard unless the person was called up to active duty. Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH): Voucher Program is a program designed to help homeless veterans locate affordable, safe, decent and sanitary rental housing with the landlord of their choosing. Victim Service Provider – A private nonprofit organization whose primary mission is to provide services to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. This term includes rape crisis centers, battered women’s shelters, domestic violence transitional housing programs, and other programs. Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP): Programs that develop and execute a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness. Youth: – Persons under age 25. HUD collects and reports youth data based on persons under 18 and persons between ages 18 and 24. Item 7d vi 43 Appendix B: Federal and State Funding Sources for Homelessness _______________________________________________________________________ CHG (Consolidated Homeless Grant) The purpose of the CHG program is to provide assistance and to rapidly re-house persons who are experiencing homelessness. This program is intended to target individuals and families who would be homeless but for this assistance. EFH (Ending Family Homelessness) For households who are homeless or at risk of home lessness that are enrolled in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. HARP’S This grant is for Chronically Homeless with Substance Abuse and or other Disability. It is a three-month program with a small rental assistance component . HEN (Housing and Essential Needs) This grant replaces the DSHS cash assistance for disabilities lifeline clients. This grant can help with a small portion of rent for clients that qualify along with some essential needs support. HF (Home Fund Housing Assistance) Offers limited funding for households who are At Risk of losing their housing due to Pay or Vacate or Eviction Notice from their landlord. This fund can also assist households with limited move-in costs. PSH (Permanent Senior Housing) This program is intended to target individuals 55+ who would be homeless but for this assistance. SSVF (Supportive Services for Veteran Families) The goal with this grant is to help locate housing with the tenant using outside landlords to gain housing and to also help the families retain and keep their housing . Section 8 Housing This HUD program provides eligible low-income families with financial assistance to obtain affordable housing. Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) This HUD program provides eligible low-income families with financial assistance to obtain affordable housing. It helps families lease privately owned rental units from participating landlords. Item 7d vi 44 Appendix C: Funding Sources for Housing & Homelessness _______________________________________________________________________ 2060 FUNDS – An act relating to funds for operating and maintenance of low-income housing projects and for innovative housing demonstration projects. Brief Description: Providing funds for housing projects. 2163 FUNDS - Local Filing Fee Revenue used for homeless housing & affordable housing. Mental Health Tax Funds - 1/10th of 1% Sales and Use Tax for MH/SUD/Therapeutic Courts does go to housing. Annual amount 2018 = $72,000 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) are apartments with reduced rents for housing. Housing Trust Fund- (HTF) dollars support a wide range of projects serving a diverse array of low- income populations. Projects can serve people with incomes up to 80% of Area Median Income, but most projects funded to date serve households with special needs or incomes below 30% of Area Median Income. TIF - Tax Increment Financing (TIF) provides the opportunity to leverage limited public financing of public infrastructure (roads, sewers and utilities) and site preparation in order to attract private investment. It encourages the development of projects that are in the public interest PILOT- (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) enables a City to allow a business, landowner or developer to substitute the annual real estate taxes due on a property with a negotiated payment for a limited time period. • Example Calculation: Payment is 10% of shelter rent (rents paid by residents) Historic Tax Credits -The Federal Historic Tax Credit (HTC) program was enacted in 1976 to encourage the preservation and rehabilitation of historically significant buildings. Investments in the HTC program helps to restore our nation’s architectural heritage and bring new residential and commercial activity into these communities. New Market Tax Credits- Legislated in 2000 as a catalyst to encourage the investment of private capital in designated low-income communities, the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program fosters the construction and rehabilitation of real estate and the expansion of operating businesses in order to create jobs, generate economic activity. Opportunity Zones - An Opportunity Zone is an economically distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. Capital Magnet Fund- Through the Capital Magnet Fund, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI) provides competitively awarded grants to CDFIs and qualified non-profit housing organizations. These awards can be used to finance affordable housing activities, as well as related economic development activities and community service facilities. Federal Home Loan Bank - Since 1990, the FHL Banks have awarded more than $5.8 billion which have assisted in the purchase, construction or rehabilitation of more than 865,000 units of affordable housing. Item 7d vi 45 Appendix D: Works Cited ________________________________________________________________________ City of Port Townsend/ Jefferson County. (2018). Inter Local Agreement. City of Port Townsend: Jefferson County. Hovee, E. (2015). Housing Inventory and Needs Assessment. Seattle: E.D. Hovee & Company, LLC. National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2015). Report on Homelessness 2015. Washington DC: National Alliance to End Homelessness. National Low Income Housing Coalition. (2019). Graphic on Rents Needed in America. Retrieved from National Low Income Housing Coalition: https://nlihc.org OSPI. (2018). Homeless Students Data 2018. Olympia: Office of Superintedent of Public School. RCW 43.185C.050. (2018). A five-year homeless housing plan. Retrieved from https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx Social Security Administration. (2019). Quickfacts Snapshot. Washington DC, Washington, Jefferson: US Government. U.S. Census Quick Facts. (2013-2017). quickfacts/fact/table/jeffersoncountywashington. Retrieved from QUICKFACTS: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/jeffersoncountywashington/PST045218 U.S. Dept of Commerce. (2019, July). Guideline for the Consolidated Homeless Grant. Retrieved from https://deptofcommerce.app.box.com/s/sddzidhjln9zvb2zao5fes3rpwbc399o U.S. Transgender Survey. (2017). 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey Washington State Report. US Census. American Community Survey. (2013-2017). U.S. Census Bureau; Jefferson County WA (2013-2017). Washington DC, WA, Jefferson: US Government. Retrieved from American Community Survey. US Dept of Commerce. (2019). Annual Homeless Assessment report to Congress. Washington DC: US Dept. of Commerce. Voices for Veterans. (2019). Website Information. Retrieved from Voices for Veterans: http://www.voicesforveterans.org/ Washington State Dept. of Commerce. (2018). Golden Report. Olympia: Washington Dept of Commerce. Washington State Dept. of Commerce. (2019). POINT IN TIME COUNT . WA Dept. Commerce. Item 7d vi 46 Appendix D: Source Information ________________________________________________________________________ _ HB 1570: House bill which extended the collection of recorded documents fees 60% of which are locally used to combat homelessness. HB 1406: Authorizes the governing body of a county or city to impose a local sales tax, credited against the state sales tax, for affordable or supportive housing Washington. State Dept. of Commerce. Homeless Assistance.2019 Point in Time Report. Jefferson County. Retrieved from https://www.commerce.wa.gov/serving-communities/homelessness/annual-point-time- count/ Washington. OSPI. REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE UPDATE: Homeless Students Data 2018.Jefferson County. Retrieved from https://www.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/public/homelessed/pubdocs/2018- 12homelessstudentedoutcomes.pdf National Alliance to End Homelessness Report 2015: Retrieved from https://endhomelessness.org/resource/annual-report-2015/ The 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) Retrieved from https://www.wpr.org/sites/default/files/2018-ahar-part-1-compressed.pdf 2015-Dec. Housing Inventory and Needs Assessment by E.D. Hovee Retrieved from http://weblink.cityofpt.us/WebLink/DocView.aspx?dbid=0&id=139915&page=1&cr=1 2005 HAPN Plan Created by Jefferson County, WA Retrieved from http://weblink.cityofpt.us/WebLink/DocView.aspx?dbid=0&id=157202&page=1&cr=1 2005 -2015 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness in Jefferson County, WA Item 7d vi 47 U.S. Census Bureau; Jefferson County WA (2013-2017) Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/jeffersoncountywashington# U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey American Fact Finder. Jefferson County, WA 2013-2017. Retrieved from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml Office of Homeless Youth Prevention & Protection Programs 2016 Report Retrieved from http://www.commerce.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/hau-ohy-report-2016-update.pdf 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey Washington State Report May 2017 Retrieved from http://www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTSWAStateReport%281017 %29.pdf Voices for Veterans, General information Retrieved from http://www.voicesforveterans.org/ US Dept. of Agriculture Economic Research Service. Percentage of Pop. in Poverty 2017. Retrieved from https://data.ers.usda.gov/reports.aspx?ID=17826 Department of Commerce Consolidated Housing Grant (CHG) sections 2.1.1, 8.4.2 and 8.4.4 http://www.commerce.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/hau-chg-guidelines-2017- 2019_Version-2.Revised-7.10.17.pdf National Low Income Housing Coalition Graphics 2018 (used in accordance with website guidelines) Retrieved from https://nlihc.org/housing-needs-by-state/washington Item 7d vi CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1754 Chapter 223, Laws of 2020 66th Legislature 2020 Regular Session RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS--HOSTING OF THE HOMELESS EFFECTIVE DATE: June 11, 2020 Passed by the House March 7, 2020 Yeas 97 Nays 0 LAURIE JINKINS Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate March 3, 2020 Yeas 42 Nays 7 CYRUS HABIB President of the Senate CERTIFICATE I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1754 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. BERNARD DEAN Chief Clerk Approved March 31, 2020 10:45 AM FILED March 31, 2020 JAY INSLEE Governor of the State of Washington Secretary of State State of Washington Item 7d vii AN ACT Relating to the hosting of the homeless by religious1 organizations; amending RCW 36.01.290, 35.21.915, and 35A.21.360; and2 creating a new section.3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature makes the following5 findings:6 (a) Residents in temporary settings hosted by religious7 organizations are a particularly vulnerable population that do not8 have access to the same services as citizens with more stable9 housing.10 (b) Residents in these settings, including outdoor uses such as11 outdoor encampments, indoor overnight shelters, temporary small12 houses on-site, and homeless-occupied vehicle resident safe parking,13 can be at increased risk of exploitation, theft, unsanitary living14 conditions, and physical harm.15 (c) Furthermore, the legislature finds and declares that hosted16 outdoor encampments, indoor overnight shelters, temporary small17 houses on-site, and homeless-occupied vehicle resident safe parking18 serve as pathways for individuals experiencing homelessness to19 receive services and achieve financial stability, health, and20 permanent housing.21 ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1754 AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE Passed Legislature - 2020 Regular Session State of Washington 66th Legislature 2019 Regular Session By House Housing, Community Development & Veterans (originally sponsored by Representatives Santos, Jinkins, and Pollet) READ FIRST TIME 02/21/19. p. 1 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii (2) The legislature intends that local municipalities have the1 discretion to protect the health and safety of both residents in2 temporary settings that are hosted by religious organizations and the3 surrounding community. The legislature encourages local jurisdictions4 and religious organizations to work together collaboratively to5 protect the health and safety of residents and the surrounding6 community while allowing religious organizations to fulfill their7 mission to serve the homeless. The legislature further intends to8 monitor the implementation of this act and continue to refine it to9 achieve these goals.10 Sec. 2. RCW 36.01.290 and 2010 c 175 s 2 are each amended to11 read as follows:12 (1) A religious organization may host ((temporary encampments13 for)) the homeless on property owned or controlled by the religious14 organization whether within buildings located on the property or15 elsewhere on the property outside of buildings.16 (2) Except as provided in subsection (7) of this section, a17 county may not enact an ordinance or regulation or take any other18 action that:19 (a) Imposes conditions other than those necessary to protect20 public health and safety and that do not substantially burden the21 decisions or actions of a religious organization regarding the22 location of housing or shelter, such as an outdoor encampment, indoor23 overnight shelter, temporary small house on-site, or vehicle resident24 safe parking, for homeless persons on property owned or controlled by25 the religious organization;26 (b) Requires a religious organization to obtain insurance27 pertaining to the liability of a municipality with respect to28 homeless persons housed on property owned by a religious organization29 or otherwise requires the religious organization to indemnify the30 municipality against such liability; ((or))31 (c) Imposes permit fees in excess of the actual costs associated32 with the review and approval of ((the required)) permit applications.33 A county has discretion to reduce or waive permit fees for a34 religious organization that is hosting the homeless;35 (d) Specifically limits a religious organization's availability36 to host an outdoor encampment on its property or property controlled37 by the religious organization to fewer than six months during any38 calendar year. However, a county may enact an ordinance or regulation39 p. 2 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii that requires a separation of time of no more than three months1 between subsequent or established outdoor encampments at a particular2 site;3 (e) Specifically limits a religious organization's outdoor4 encampment hosting term to fewer than four consecutive months;5 (f) Limits the number of simultaneous religious organization6 outdoor encampment hostings within the same municipality during any7 given period of time. Simultaneous and adjacent hostings of outdoor8 encampments by religious organizations may be limited if located9 within one thousand feet of another outdoor encampment concurrently10 hosted by a religious organization;11 (g) Limits a religious organization's availability to host safe12 parking efforts at its on-site parking lot, including limitations on13 any other congregationally sponsored uses and the parking available14 to support such uses during the hosting, except for limitations that15 are in accord with the following criteria that would govern if16 enacted by local ordinance or memorandum of understanding between the17 host religious organization and the jurisdiction:18 (i) No less than one space may be devoted to safe parking per ten19 on-site parking spaces;20 (ii) Restroom access must be provided either within the buildings21 on the property or through use of portable facilities, with the22 provision for proper disposal of waste if recreational vehicles are23 hosted; and24 (iii) Religious organizations providing spaces for safe parking25 must continue to abide by any existing on-site parking minimum26 requirement so that the provision of safe parking spaces does not27 reduce the total number of available parking spaces below the minimum28 number of spaces required by the county, but a county may enter into29 a memorandum of understanding with a religious organization that30 reduces the minimum number of on-site parking spaces required;31 (h) Limits a religious organization's availability to host an32 indoor overnight shelter in spaces with at least two accessible exits33 due to lack of sprinklers or other fire-related concerns, except34 that:35 (i) If a county fire official finds that fire-related concerns36 associated with an indoor overnight shelter pose an imminent danger37 to persons within the shelter, the county may take action to limit38 the religious organization's availability to host the indoor39 overnight shelter; and40 p. 3 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii (ii) A county may require a host religious organization to enter1 into a memorandum of understanding for fire safety that includes2 local fire district inspections, an outline for appropriate emergency3 procedures, a determination of the most viable means to evacuate4 occupants from inside the host site with appropriate illuminated exit5 signage, panic bar exit doors, and a completed fire watch agreement6 indicating:7 (A) Posted safe means of egress;8 (B) Operable smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors as9 necessary, and fire extinguishers;10 (C) A plan for monitors who spend the night awake and are11 familiar with emergency protocols, who have suitable communication12 devices, and who know how to contact the local fire department; or13 (i) Limits a religious organization's ability to host temporary14 small houses on land owned or controlled by the religious15 organization, except for recommendations that are in accord with the16 following criteria:17 (i) A renewable one-year duration agreed to by the host religious18 organization and local jurisdiction via a memorandum of19 understanding;20 (ii) Maintaining a maximum unit square footage of one hundred21 twenty square feet, with units set at least six feet apart;22 (iii) Electricity and heat, if provided, must be inspected by the23 local jurisdiction;24 (iv) Space heaters, if provided, must be approved by the local25 fire authority;26 (v) Doors and windows must be included and be lockable, with a27 recommendation that the managing agency and host religious28 organization also possess keys;29 (vi) Each unit must have a fire extinguisher;30 (vii) Adequate restrooms must be provided, including restrooms31 solely for families if present, along with handwashing and potable32 running water to be available if not provided within the individual33 units, including accommodating black water;34 (viii) A recommendation for the host religious organization to35 partner with regional homeless service providers to develop pathways36 to permanent housing.37 (3)(a) A county may enact an ordinance or regulation or take any38 other action that requires a host religious organization and a39 distinct managing agency using the religious organization's property,40 p. 4 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii owned or controlled by the religious organization, for hostings to1 include outdoor encampments, temporary small houses on-site, indoor2 overnight shelters, or vehicle resident safe parking to enter into a3 memorandum of understanding to protect the public health and safety4 of both the residents of the particular hosting and the residents of5 the county.6 (b) At a minimum, the agreement must include information7 regarding: The right of a resident in an outdoor encampment, vehicle8 resident safe parking, temporary small house on-site, or indoor9 overnight shelter to seek public health and safety assistance, the10 resident's ability to access social services on-site, and the11 resident's ability to directly interact with the host religious12 organization, including the ability to express any concerns regarding13 the managing agency to the religious organization; a written code of14 conduct agreed to by the managing agency, if any, host religious15 organization, and all volunteers working with residents of the16 outdoor encampment, temporary small house on-site, indoor overnight17 shelter, or vehicle resident safe parking; and when a publicly funded18 managing agency exists, the ability for the host religious19 organization to interact with residents of the outdoor encampment,20 indoor overnight shelter, temporary small house on-site, or vehicle21 resident safe parking using a release of information.22 (4) If required to do so by the county, any host religious23 organization performing any hosting of an outdoor encampment, vehicle24 resident safe parking, or indoor overnight shelter, or the host25 religious organization's managing agency, must ensure that the county26 or local law enforcement agency has completed sex offender checks of27 all adult residents and guests. The host religious organization28 retains the authority to allow such offenders to remain on the29 property. A host religious organization or host religious30 organization's managing agency performing any hosting of vehicle31 resident safe parking must inform vehicle residents how to comply32 with laws regarding the legal status of vehicles and drivers, and33 provide a written code of conduct consistent with area standards.34 (5) Any host religious organization performing any hosting of an35 outdoor encampment, vehicle resident safe parking, temporary small36 house on-site, or indoor overnight shelter, with a publicly funded37 managing agency, must work with the county to utilize Washington's38 homeless client management information system, as provided for in RCW39 43.185C.180. When the religious organization does not partner with a40 p. 5 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii managing agency, the religious organization is encouraged to partner1 with a local homeless services provider using the Washington homeless2 client managing information system. Any managing agency receiving any3 funding from local continuum of care programs must utilize the4 homeless client management information system. Temporary, overnight,5 extreme weather shelter provided in religious organization buildings6 does not need to meet this requirement.7 (6) For the purposes of this section((,)):8 (a) "Managing agency" means an organization such as a religious9 organization or other organized entity that has the capacity to10 organize and manage a homeless outdoor encampment, temporary small11 houses on-site, indoor overnight shelter, and a vehicle resident safe12 parking program.13 (b) "Outdoor encampment" means any temporary tent or structure14 encampment, or both.15 (c) "Religious organization" means the federally protected16 practice of a recognized religious assembly, school, or institution17 that owns or controls real property.18 (d) "Temporary" means not affixed to land permanently and not19 using underground utilities.20 (((4))) (7)(a) Subsection (2) of this section does not affect a21 county policy, ordinance, memorandum of understanding, or applicable22 consent decree that regulates religious organizations' hosting of the23 homeless if such policies, ordinances, memoranda of understanding, or24 consent decrees:25 (i) Exist prior to the effective date of this section;26 (ii) Do not categorically prohibit the hosting of the homeless by27 religious organizations; and28 (iii) Have not been previously ruled by a court to violate the29 religious land use and institutionalized persons act, 42 U.S.C. Sec.30 2000cc.31 (b) If such policies, ordinances, memoranda of understanding, and32 consent decrees are amended after the effective date of this section,33 those amendments are not affected by subsection (2) of this section34 if those amendments satisfy (a)(ii) and (iii) of this subsection.35 (8) An appointed or elected public official, public employee, or36 public agency as defined in RCW 4.24.470 is immune from civil37 liability for (a) damages arising from the permitting decisions for a38 temporary encampment for the homeless as provided in this section and39 (b) any conduct or unlawful activity that may occur as a result of40 p. 6 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii the temporary encampment for the homeless as provided in this1 section.2 (9) A religious organization hosting outdoor encampments, vehicle3 resident safe parking, or indoor overnight shelters for the homeless4 that receives funds from any government agency may not refuse to host5 any resident or prospective resident because of age, sex, marital6 status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin,7 honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of8 any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained9 dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, as these10 terms are defined in RCW 49.60.040.11 (10)(a) Prior to the opening of an outdoor encampment, indoor12 overnight shelter, temporary small house on-site, or vehicle resident13 safe parking, a religious organization hosting the homeless on14 property owned or controlled by the religious organization must host15 a meeting open to the public for the purpose of providing a forum for16 discussion of related neighborhood concerns, unless the use is in17 response to a declared emergency. The religious organization must18 provide written notice of the meeting to the county legislative19 authority at least one week if possible but no later than ninety-six20 hours prior to the meeting. The notice must specify the time, place,21 and purpose of the meeting.22 (b) A county must provide community notice of the meeting23 described in (a) of this subsection by taking at least two of the24 following actions at any time prior to the time of the meeting:25 (i) Delivering to each local newspaper of general circulation and26 local radio or television station that has on file with the governing27 body a written request to be notified of special meetings;28 (ii) Posting on the county's web site. A county is not required29 to post a special meeting notice on its web site if it: (A) Does not30 have a web site; (B) employs fewer than ten full-time equivalent31 employees; or (C) does not employ personnel whose duty, as defined by32 a job description or existing contract, is to maintain or update the33 web site;34 (iii) Prominently displaying, on signage at least two feet in35 height and two feet in width, one or more meeting notices that can be36 placed on or adjacent to the main arterials in proximity to the37 location of the meeting; or38 (iv) Prominently displaying the notice at the meeting site.39 p. 7 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii Sec. 3. RCW 35.21.915 and 2010 c 175 s 3 are each amended to1 read as follows:2 (1) A religious organization may host ((temporary encampments3 for)) the homeless on property owned or controlled by the religious4 organization whether within buildings located on the property or5 elsewhere on the property outside of buildings.6 (2) Except as provided in subsection (7) of this section, a city7 or town may not enact an ordinance or regulation or take any other8 action that:9 (a) Imposes conditions other than those necessary to protect10 public health and safety and that do not substantially burden the11 decisions or actions of a religious organization regarding the12 location of housing or shelter, such as an outdoor encampment, indoor13 overnight shelter, temporary small house on-site, or vehicle resident14 safe parking, for homeless persons on property owned or controlled by15 the religious organization;16 (b) Requires a religious organization to obtain insurance17 pertaining to the liability of a municipality with respect to18 homeless persons housed on property owned by a religious organization19 or otherwise requires the religious organization to indemnify the20 municipality against such liability; ((or))21 (c) Imposes permit fees in excess of the actual costs associated22 with the review and approval of ((the required)) permit applications.23 A city or town has discretion to reduce or waive permit fees for a24 religious organization that is hosting the homeless;25 (d) Specifically limits a religious organization's availability26 to host an outdoor encampment on its property or property controlled27 by the religious organization to fewer than six months during any28 calendar year. However, a city or town may enact an ordinance or29 regulation that requires a separation of time of no more than three30 months between subsequent or established outdoor encampments at a31 particular site;32 (e) Specifically limits a religious organization's outdoor33 encampment hosting term to fewer than four consecutive months;34 (f) Limits the number of simultaneous religious organization35 outdoor encampment hostings within the same municipality during any36 given period of time. Simultaneous and adjacent hostings of outdoor37 encampments by religious organizations may be limited if located38 within one thousand feet of another outdoor encampment concurrently39 hosted by a religious organization;40 p. 8 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii (g) Limits a religious organization's availability to host safe1 parking efforts at its on-site parking lot, including limitations on2 any other congregationally sponsored uses and the parking available3 to support such uses during the hosting, except for limitations that4 are in accord with the following criteria that would govern if5 enacted by local ordinance or memorandum of understanding between the6 host religious organization and the jurisdiction:7 (i) No less than one space may be devoted to safe parking per ten8 on-site parking spaces;9 (ii) Restroom access must be provided either within the buildings10 on the property or through use of portable facilities, with the11 provision for proper disposal of waste if recreational vehicles are12 hosted; and13 (iii) Religious organizations providing spaces for safe parking14 must continue to abide by any existing on-site parking minimum15 requirement so that the provision of safe parking spaces does not16 reduce the total number of available parking spaces below the minimum17 number of spaces required by the city or town, but a city or town may18 enter into a memorandum of understanding with a religious19 organization that reduces the minimum number of on-site parking20 spaces required;21 (h) Limits a religious organization's availability to host an22 indoor overnight shelter in spaces with at least two accessible exits23 due to lack of sprinklers or other fire-related concerns, except24 that:25 (i) If a city or town fire official finds that fire-related26 concerns associated with an indoor overnight shelter pose an imminent27 danger to persons within the shelter, the city or town may take28 action to limit the religious organization's availability to host the29 indoor overnight shelter; and30 (ii) A city or town may require a host religious organization to31 enter into a memorandum of understanding for fire safety that32 includes local fire district inspections, an outline for appropriate33 emergency procedures, a determination of the most viable means to34 evacuate occupants from inside the host site with appropriate35 illuminated exit signage, panic bar exit doors, and a completed fire36 watch agreement indicating:37 (A) Posted safe means of egress;38 (B) Operable smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors as39 necessary, and fire extinguishers;40 p. 9 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii (C) A plan for monitors who spend the night awake and are1 familiar with emergency protocols, who have suitable communication2 devices, and who know how to contact the local fire department; or3 (i) Limits a religious organization's ability to host temporary4 small houses on land owned or controlled by the religious5 organization, except for recommendations that are in accord with the6 following criteria:7 (i) A renewable one-year duration agreed to by the host religious8 organization and local jurisdiction via a memorandum of9 understanding;10 (ii) Maintaining a maximum unit square footage of one hundred11 twenty square feet, with units set at least six feet apart;12 (iii) Electricity and heat, if provided, must be inspected by the13 local jurisdiction;14 (iv) Space heaters, if provided, must be approved by the local15 fire authority;16 (v) Doors and windows must be included and be lockable, with a17 recommendation that the managing agency and host religious18 organization also possess keys;19 (vi) Each unit must have a fire extinguisher;20 (vii) Adequate restrooms must be provided, including restrooms21 solely for families if present, along with handwashing and potable22 running water to be available if not provided within the individual23 units, including accommodating black water;24 (viii) A recommendation for the host religious organization to25 partner with regional homeless service providers to develop pathways26 to permanent housing.27 (3)(a) A city or town may enact an ordinance or regulation or28 take any other action that requires a host religious organization and29 a distinct managing agency using the religious organization's30 property, owned or controlled by the religious organization, for31 hostings to include outdoor encampments, temporary small houses on-32 site, indoor overnight shelters, or vehicle resident safe parking to33 enter into a memorandum of understanding to protect the public health34 and safety of both the residents of the particular hosting and the35 residents of the city or town.36 (b) At a minimum, the agreement must include information37 regarding: The right of a resident in an outdoor encampment, vehicle38 resident safe parking, temporary small house on-site, or indoor39 overnight shelter to seek public health and safety assistance, the40 p. 10 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii resident's ability to access social services on-site, and the1 resident's ability to directly interact with the host religious2 organization, including the ability to express any concerns regarding3 the managing agency to the religious organization; a written code of4 conduct agreed to by the managing agency, if any, host religious5 organization, and all volunteers working with residents of the6 outdoor encampment, temporary small house on-site, indoor overnight7 shelter, or vehicle resident safe parking; and when a publicly funded8 managing agency exists, the ability for the host religious9 organization to interact with residents of the outdoor encampment,10 indoor overnight shelter, temporary small house on-site, or vehicle11 resident safe parking using a release of information.12 (4) If required to do so by a city or town, any host religious13 organization performing any hosting of an outdoor encampment, vehicle14 resident safe parking, or indoor overnight shelter, or the host15 religious organization's managing agency, must ensure that the city16 or town or local law enforcement agency has completed sex offender17 checks of all adult residents and guests. The host religious18 organization retains the authority to allow such offenders to remain19 on the property. A host religious organization or host religious20 organization's managing agency performing any hosting of vehicle21 resident safe parking must inform vehicle residents how to comply22 with laws regarding the legal status of vehicles and drivers, and23 provide a written code of conduct consistent with area standards.24 (5) Any host religious organization performing any hosting of an25 outdoor encampment, vehicle resident safe parking, temporary small26 house on-site, or indoor overnight shelter, with a publicly funded27 managing agency, must work with the city or town to utilize28 Washington's homeless client management information system, as29 provided for in RCW 43.185C.180. When the religious organization does30 not partner with a managing agency, the religious organization is31 encouraged to partner with a local homeless services provider using32 the Washington homeless client managing information system. Any33 managing agency receiving any funding from local continuum of care34 programs must utilize the homeless client management information35 system. Temporary, overnight, extreme weather shelter provided in36 religious organization buildings does not need to meet this37 requirement.38 (6) For the purposes of this section((,)):39 p. 11 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii (a) "Managing agency" means an organization such as a religious1 organization or other organized entity that has the capacity to2 organize and manage a homeless outdoor encampment, temporary small3 houses on-site, indoor overnight shelter, and a vehicle resident safe4 parking program.5 (b) "Outdoor encampment" means any temporary tent or structure6 encampment, or both.7 (c) "Religious organization" means the federally protected8 practice of a recognized religious assembly, school, or institution9 that owns or controls real property.10 (d) "Temporary" means not affixed to land permanently and not11 using underground utilities.12 (((4))) (7)(a) Subsection (2) of this section does not affect a13 city or town policy, ordinance, memorandum of understanding, or14 applicable consent decree that regulates religious organizations'15 hosting of the homeless if such policies, ordinances, memoranda of16 understanding, or consent decrees:17 (i) Exist prior to the effective date of this section;18 (ii) Do not categorically prohibit the hosting of the homeless by19 religious organizations; and20 (iii) Have not been previously ruled by a court to violate the21 religious land use and institutionalized persons act, 42 U.S.C. Sec.22 2000cc.23 (b) If such policies, ordinances, memoranda of understanding, and24 consent decrees are amended after the effective date of this section,25 those amendments are not affected by subsection (2) of this section26 if those amendments satisfy (a)(ii) and (iii) of this subsection.27 (8) An appointed or elected public official, public employee, or28 public agency as defined in RCW 4.24.470 is immune from civil29 liability for (a) damages arising from the permitting decisions for a30 temporary encampment for the homeless as provided in this section and31 (b) any conduct or unlawful activity that may occur as a result of32 the temporary encampment for the homeless as provided in this33 section.34 (9) A religious organization hosting outdoor encampments, vehicle35 resident safe parking, or indoor overnight shelters for the homeless36 that receives funds from any government agency may not refuse to host37 any resident or prospective resident because of age, sex, marital38 status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin,39 honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of40 p. 12 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained1 dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, as these2 terms are defined in RCW 49.60.040.3 (10)(a) Prior to the opening of an outdoor encampment, indoor4 overnight shelter, temporary small house on-site, or vehicle resident5 safe parking, a religious organization hosting the homeless on6 property owned or controlled by the religious organization must host7 a meeting open to the public for the purpose of providing a forum for8 discussion of related neighborhood concerns, unless the use is in9 response to a declared emergency. The religious organization must10 provide written notice of the meeting to the city or town legislative11 authority at least one week if possible but no later than ninety-six12 hours prior to the meeting. The notice must specify the time, place,13 and purpose of the meeting.14 (b) A city or town must provide community notice of the meeting15 described in (a) of this subsection by taking at least two of the16 following actions at any time prior to the time of the meeting:17 (i) Delivering to each local newspaper of general circulation and18 local radio or television station that has on file with the governing19 body a written request to be notified of special meetings;20 (ii) Posting on the city or town's web site. A city or town is21 not required to post a special meeting notice on its web site if it:22 (A) Does not have a web site; (B) employs fewer than ten full-time23 equivalent employees; or (C) does not employ personnel whose duty, as24 defined by a job description or existing contract, is to maintain or25 update the web site;26 (iii) Prominently displaying, on signage at least two feet in27 height and two feet in width, one or more meeting notices that can be28 placed on or adjacent to the main arterials in proximity to the29 location of the meeting; or30 (iv) Prominently displaying the notice at the meeting site.31 Sec. 4. RCW 35A.21.360 and 2010 c 175 s 4 are each amended to32 read as follows:33 (1) A religious organization may host ((temporary encampments34 for)) the homeless on property owned or controlled by the religious35 organization whether within buildings located on the property or36 elsewhere on the property outside of buildings.37 p. 13 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii (2) Except as provided in subsection (7) of this section, a code1 city may not enact an ordinance or regulation or take any other2 action that:3 (a) Imposes conditions other than those necessary to protect4 public health and safety and that do not substantially burden the5 decisions or actions of a religious organization regarding the6 location of housing or shelter, such as an outdoor encampment, indoor7 overnight shelter, temporary small house on-site, or vehicle resident8 safe parking, for homeless persons on property owned or controlled by9 the religious organization;10 (b) Requires a religious organization to obtain insurance11 pertaining to the liability of a municipality with respect to12 homeless persons housed on property owned by a religious organization13 or otherwise requires the religious organization to indemnify the14 municipality against such liability; ((or))15 (c) Imposes permit fees in excess of the actual costs associated16 with the review and approval of ((the required)) permit applications.17 A code city has discretion to reduce or waive permit fees for a18 religious organization that is hosting the homeless;19 (d) Specifically limits a religious organization's availability20 to host an outdoor encampment on its property or property controlled21 by the religious organization to fewer than six months during any22 calendar year. However, a code city may enact an ordinance or23 regulation that requires a separation of time of no more than three24 months between subsequent or established outdoor encampments at a25 particular site;26 (e) Specifically limits a religious organization's outdoor27 encampment hosting term to fewer than four consecutive months;28 (f) Limits the number of simultaneous religious organization29 outdoor encampment hostings within the same municipality during any30 given period of time. Simultaneous and adjacent hostings of outdoor31 encampments by religious organizations may be limited if located32 within one thousand feet of another outdoor encampment concurrently33 hosted by a religious organization;34 (g) Limits a religious organization's availability to host safe35 parking efforts at its on-site parking lot, including limitations on36 any other congregationally sponsored uses and the parking available37 to support such uses during the hosting, except for limitations that38 are in accord with the following criteria that would govern if39 p. 14 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii enacted by local ordinance or memorandum of understanding between the1 host religious organization and the jurisdiction:2 (i) No less than one space may be devoted to safe parking per ten3 on-site parking spaces;4 (ii) Restroom access must be provided either within the buildings5 on the property or through use of portable facilities, with the6 provision for proper disposal of waste if recreational vehicles are7 hosted; and8 (iii) Religious organizations providing spaces for safe parking9 must continue to abide by any existing on-site parking minimum10 requirement so that the provision of safe parking spaces does not11 reduce the total number of available parking spaces below the minimum12 number of spaces required by the code city, but a code city may enter13 into a memorandum of understanding with a religious organization that14 reduces the minimum number of on-site parking spaces required;15 (h) Limits a religious organization's availability to host an16 indoor overnight shelter in spaces with at least two accessible exits17 due to lack of sprinklers or other fire-related concerns, except18 that:19 (i) If a code city fire official finds that fire-related concerns20 associated with an indoor overnight shelter pose an imminent danger21 to persons within the shelter, the code city may take action to limit22 the religious organization's availability to host the indoor23 overnight shelter; and24 (ii) A code city may require a host religious organization to25 enter into a memorandum of understanding for fire safety that26 includes local fire district inspections, an outline for appropriate27 emergency procedures, a determination of the most viable means to28 evacuate occupants from inside the host site with appropriate29 illuminated exit signage, panic bar exit doors, and a completed fire30 watch agreement indicating:31 (A) Posted safe means of egress;32 (B) Operable smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors as33 necessary, and fire extinguishers;34 (C) A plan for monitors who spend the night awake and are35 familiar with emergency protocols, who have suitable communication36 devices, and who know how to contact the local fire department; or37 (i) Limits a religious organization's ability to host temporary38 small houses on land owned or controlled by the religious39 p. 15 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii organization, except for recommendations that are in accord with the1 following criteria:2 (i) A renewable one-year duration agreed to by the host religious3 organization and local jurisdiction via a memorandum of4 understanding;5 (ii) Maintaining a maximum unit square footage of one hundred6 twenty square feet, with units set at least six feet apart;7 (iii) Electricity and heat, if provided, must be inspected by the8 local jurisdiction;9 (iv) Space heaters, if provided, must be approved by the local10 fire authority;11 (v) Doors and windows must be included and be lockable, with a12 recommendation that the managing agency and host religious13 organization also possess keys;14 (vi) Each unit must have a fire extinguisher;15 (vii) Adequate restrooms must be provided, including restrooms16 solely for families if present, along with handwashing and potable17 running water to be available if not provided within the individual18 units, including accommodating black water;19 (viii) A recommendation for the host religious organization to20 partner with regional homeless service providers to develop pathways21 to permanent housing.22 (3)(a) A code city may enact an ordinance or regulation or take23 any other action that requires a host religious organization and a24 distinct managing agency using the religious organization's property,25 owned or controlled by the religious organization, for hostings to26 include outdoor encampments, temporary small houses on-site, indoor27 overnight shelters, or vehicle resident safe parking to enter into a28 memorandum of understanding to protect the public health and safety29 of both the residents of the particular hosting and the residents of30 the code city.31 (b) At a minimum, the agreement must include information32 regarding: The right of a resident in an outdoor encampment, vehicle33 resident safe parking, temporary small house on-site, or indoor34 overnight shelter to seek public health and safety assistance, the35 resident's ability to access social services on-site, and the36 resident's ability to directly interact with the host religious37 organization, including the ability to express any concerns regarding38 the managing agency to the religious organization; a written code of39 conduct agreed to by the managing agency, if any, host religious40 p. 16 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii organization, and all volunteers working with residents of the1 outdoor encampment, temporary small house on-site, indoor overnight2 shelter, or vehicle resident safe parking; and when a publicly funded3 managing agency exists, the ability for the host religious4 organization to interact with residents of the outdoor encampment,5 indoor overnight shelter, temporary small house on-site, or vehicle6 resident safe parking using a release of information.7 (4) If required to do so by a code city, any host religious8 organization performing any hosting of an outdoor encampment, vehicle9 resident safe parking, or indoor overnight shelter, or the host10 religious organization's managing agency, must ensure that the code11 city or local law enforcement agency has completed sex offender12 checks of all adult residents and guests. The host religious13 organization retains the authority to allow such offenders to remain14 on the property. A host religious organization or host religious15 organization's managing agency performing any hosting of vehicle16 resident safe parking must inform vehicle residents how to comply17 with laws regarding the legal status of vehicles and drivers, and18 provide a written code of conduct consistent with area standards.19 (5) Any host religious organization performing any hosting of an20 outdoor encampment, vehicle resident safe parking, temporary small21 house on-site, or indoor overnight shelter, with a publicly funded22 managing agency, must work with the code city to utilize Washington's23 homeless client management information system, as provided for in RCW24 43.185C.180. When the religious organization does not partner with a25 managing agency, the religious organization is encouraged to partner26 with a local homeless services provider using the Washington homeless27 client managing information system. Any managing agency receiving any28 funding from local continuum of care programs must utilize the29 homeless client management information system. Temporary, overnight,30 extreme weather shelter provided in religious organization buildings31 does not need to meet this requirement.32 (6) For the purposes of this section((,)):33 (a) "Managing agency" means an organization such as a religious34 organization or other organized entity that has the capacity to35 organize and manage a homeless outdoor encampment, temporary small36 houses on-site, indoor overnight shelter, and a vehicle resident safe37 parking program.38 (b) "Outdoor encampment" means any temporary tent or structure39 encampment, or both.40 p. 17 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii (c) "Religious organization" means the federally protected1 practice of a recognized religious assembly, school, or institution2 that owns or controls real property.3 (d) "Temporary" means not affixed to land permanently and not4 using underground utilities.5 (((4))) (7)(a) Subsection (2) of this section does not affect a6 code city policy, ordinance, memorandum of understanding, or7 applicable consent decree that regulates religious organizations'8 hosting of the homeless if such policies, ordinances, memoranda of9 understanding, or consent decrees:10 (i) Exist prior to the effective date of this section;11 (ii) Do not categorically prohibit the hosting of the homeless by12 religious organizations; and13 (iii) Have not been previously ruled by a court to violate the14 religious land use and institutionalized persons act, 42 U.S.C. Sec.15 2000cc.16 (b) If such policies, ordinances, memoranda of understanding, and17 consent decrees are amended after the effective date of this section,18 those amendments are not affected by subsection (2) of this section19 if those amendments satisfy (a)(ii) and (iii) of this subsection.20 (8) An appointed or elected public official, public employee, or21 public agency as defined in RCW 4.24.470 is immune from civil22 liability for (a) damages arising from the permitting decisions for a23 temporary encampment for the homeless as provided in this section and24 (b) any conduct or unlawful activity that may occur as a result of25 the temporary encampment for the homeless as provided in this26 section.27 (9) A religious organization hosting outdoor encampments, vehicle28 resident safe parking, or indoor overnight shelters for the homeless29 that receives funds from any government agency may not refuse to host30 any resident or prospective resident because of age, sex, marital31 status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin,32 honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of33 any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained34 dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, as these35 terms are defined in RCW 49.60.040.36 (10)(a) Prior to the opening of an outdoor encampment, indoor37 overnight shelter, temporary small house on-site, or vehicle resident38 safe parking, a religious organization hosting the homeless on39 property owned or controlled by the religious organization must host40 p. 18 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii a meeting open to the public for the purpose of providing a forum for1 discussion of related neighborhood concerns, unless the use is in2 response to a declared emergency. The religious organization must3 provide written notice of the meeting to the code city legislative4 authority at least one week if possible but no later than ninety-six5 hours prior to the meeting. The notice must specify the time, place,6 and purpose of the meeting.7 (b) A code city must provide community notice of the meeting8 described in (a) of this subsection by taking at least two of the9 following actions at any time prior to the time of the meeting:10 (i) Delivering to each local newspaper of general circulation and11 local radio or television station that has on file with the governing12 body a written request to be notified of special meetings;13 (ii) Posting on the code city's web site. A code city is not14 required to post a special meeting notice on its web site if it: (A)15 Does not have a web site; (B) employs fewer than ten full-time16 equivalent employees; or (C) does not employ personnel whose duty, as17 defined by a job description or existing contract, is to maintain or18 update the web site;19 (iii) Prominently displaying, on signage at least two feet in20 height and two feet in width, one or more meeting notices that can be21 placed on or adjacent to the main arterials in proximity to the22 location of the meeting; or23 (iv) Prominently displaying the notice at the meeting site.24 Passed by the House March 7, 2020. Passed by the Senate March 3, 2020. Approved by the Governor March 31, 2020. Filed in Office of Secretary of State March 31, 2020. --- END --- p. 19 ESHB 1754.SL Item 7d vii 1 JEFFERSON COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AGENDA TO: Jefferson County Planning Commissioners FROM: Bryan Benjamin, Assistant Planner, Department of Community Development VIA: David Wayne Johnson, Planning Manager, Department of Community Development DATE: October 15, 2021 SUBJECT: Research Findings from an Initial Review of Short-term Transient Rental Performance and Use-Specific Standards per JCC 18.20.210(3). RECOMMENDATION: Review and provide input on preliminary research regarding Ordinance Number 8-06 § 1 and JCC 18.20.210(3) prepared by the Department of Community Development. STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The DCD Director received preliminary findings of the Department’s first review of Ordinance 8-06 § 1 since adoption in 2006. The ordinance details performance and use specific standards for Hospitality Establishments in the County, including Bed and Breakfast Inns and Transient Rental accommodations. This review focused on transient rental accommodations, as outlined in the BoCC approved FY2021-2022 Long-Range Work Program. Review of JCC 18.20.210(3) assessed whether the County’s transient rental regulations provide adequate alignment with Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan goals and policies for Affordable Housing (Goals HS-G-1 and HS-G-2, and Exhibit 3-7 Housing Action Plan). ANALYSIS: Initial review of Ordinance 8-06 § 1 shows recent and significant proliferation in the number of transient rental permit applications received by DCD. In the last three years (2019, 2020, and 2021) the total number of transient rental permit applications received by the department totaled 45 permit applications compared to a total of 9 between 2006-2018. In addition to the rapid increase in permit applications, transient rental permit activity showed an increase in the number of cases associated with complaints of unpermitted vacation rental activities and the presence of an Additional Dwelling Units (ADU) on the property—three (3) complaints in the last three years compared to zero (0) between 2006-2018, and eleven (11) applications associated with ADUs in the last three years compared to one (1) between 2006-2018. The trend of increasing transient rental permit applications, especially the increase in the percent share of transient rental permit applications associated with ADUs (approximately 11% between 2006-2018 and approximately 24% between 2019-2021), demonstrates potential conflicts with the goals and policies of the County’s Comprehensive Plan. For example, Goal HS-G-2 and Housing Policy HS-P-2.2 both encourage support for innovative land use practices and housing types to create a variety of housing choices throughout Item 8a 2 the County, including construction of ADUs. However, the results of DCD’s preliminary assessment of JCC 18.20.210(3) and associated permitting activity shows that transient rental permit applications associated with ADUs have increased by 13% over the last three years, which indicates a loss of ADUs and/or primary residences from the County’s long-term rental market; each transient rental approved is a potential long-term rental lost to the long-term market. Support for innovative approaches to creating a variety of housing choices in the County includes recognition of patterns of development and use—like the recent proliferation of transient rental permit applications and approvals—that may impact the efficacy of innovative land use and housing approaches in delivering an increased number of housing choices in our communities. Contrary to the increased association recent transient rental permits exhibit to ADUs, preliminary research does not indicate increased association of transient rental permit applications with new construction (one application of forty five (45) was for a newly constructed residence but was canceled), meaning home owners do not appear to be permitting transient rental uses on their properties in order to finance new development. Thus, initial research shows potential losses to long term housing stock and does not support a possible benefit of transient rental usew to the County’s housing stock, which is to encourage housing development within the County by allowing developers and property owners to see rapid returns on investment for newly built housing. The Comprehensive Plan’s Exhibit 3-7: Housing Action Plan tasks the County with removing potential barriers to housing, including an evaluation of “…short-term rentals using available local and state data sources [to] [d]etermine if a registration program and limits on numbers, zones, or locations are appropriate to help ensure a sufficient housing supply for year-round residents.” (pg. 3-19) While DCD’s analysis is in preliminary stages, initial findings strongly suggest that the character of transient rental uses in the County is changing and may be creating unintended consequences on the year-round rental housing supply available to the County’s current and future residents. In order to effectively implement the Comprehensive Plan’s Housing goals and policies and meet the expectations of the County’s Housing Action Plan, DCD requests the planning commission’s and the public’s input and support for its continuing efforts in evaluating the impact of short-term rentals in our communities. In order to evaluate short-term rental impacts, DCD will need to engage in public and stakeholder outreach as well as investigation of unpermitted transient rental uses in the County to help fill gaps in available data. Further, DCD seeks initial input on how the County’s regulations of short-term rentals can be shaped to encourage overall benefit to the county’s housing supply as new provisions for JCC 18.20.210(3) enter the scoping, development, and pre-drafting phases. FISCAL IMPACT/COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS: The anticipated cost of this review is approximately: • Project Scoping and Preliminary Research: 20 hours of staff time; • Development and Pre-draft Ordinance: 25 to 35 hours of staff time; • Public Outreach and Participation: 15 to 20 hours of staff time; • Draft Regulations: 25 to 30 hours of staff time. Item 8a Year MLA Number ZON Number Associated Cases Notes Status 2006 MLA06-00685 ZON2006-00062 BLD2005-00111 Only one residence on site.Finaled 2007 MLA07-00236 ZON2007-00036 BLD1998-00049 Addition made to SFR under BLD2009-00376.Approved 2008 No short term rental permits issued in 2008. 2009 No short term rental permits issued in 2009. 2010 No short term rental permits issued in 2010. 2011 MLA11-00202 ZON2011-00024 BLD2000-00633 Only one residence on site. PRE2008-00041 discussed ADU, no record of ADU permitted.Approved 2011 MLA11-00019 ZON2011-00004 BLD1992-00397 BLD2002-00678 BLD2002-00712 BLD92-397 is an SFR, with a bedroom decomission under BLD02-712. ADU constructed under BLD02-678.Approved 2012 No short term rental permits issued in 2012. 2013 No short term rental permits issued in 2013. 2014 MLA14-00014 ZON2014-00005 BLD1987-00244 BLD2008-00138 BLD87-244 for mobile home installation. BLD08-138 for new single family residence, 1br 1bath.Approved 2015 No short term rental permits issued in 2015. 2016 No short term rental permits issued in 2016. 2017 MLA17-00017 ZON2017-00026 BLD2003-00210 SEP2003-00263 SEP1971-00101 SFR permit case # is not recorded in TM. BLD03-210 is a bedroom addition for SFR, with SEP03-263 serving the SFR. SEP71-101 serves a guest cabin.Approved 2017 MLA17-00027 ZON2017-00009 BLD1988-00209 BLD2000-00566 One single family residence on site--addition made via BLD00- 556.Withdrawn 2018 MLA18-00032 ZON2018-00006 BLD2010-00205 BLD10-205 replacement of cabin with SFR.Approved 2018 MLA18-00100 ZON2018-00037 SEP2019-00256 Fire/Life/Safety inspection completed Jan, 2020--issues needed to be addressed.Cancelled 2019 MLA19-00029 ZON2019-00003 BLD1993-00422 BLD1994-00120 BLD93-422 is 2br SFR, BLD94-120 is ADU.Approved 2019 MLA19-00138 ZON2019-00063 BLD1989-00102 Only one single family residence on site.Approved 2019 MLA19-00081 ZON2019-00040 BLD2000-00266 Only one single family residence on site.Approved Item 8b 2019 MLA19-00130 ZON2019-00060 BLD1977-00061 BLD2003-00188 BLD77-61 is SFR, BLD03-188 is ADU. Short term rental is with ADU, SFR is also (long term) rental.Approved 2019 MLA19-00025 ZON2019-00008 BLD1998-00424 BLD1999-00170 BLD98-424 is ADU, BLD99-170 is SFR. Short term rental for the ADU.Approved 2019 MLA19-00070 ZON2019-00034 BLD2014-00311 Only one single family residence on site.Approved 2019 MLA19-00114 ZON2019-00052 BLD2009-00088 Only one single family residence on site.Approved 2019 MLA19-00031 ZON2019-00010 BLD1977-00104 Only one single family residence on site.Withdrawn 2019 MLA19-00092 ZON2019-00044 SEP2011-00025 ZON2009-00130 Only one single family residence on site. BLD permit # unknown, not recorded in TM.Approved 2019 MLA19-00030 ZON2019-00009 BLD2011-00090 BLD2020-00527 BLD11-90 is SFR, BLD20-527 is ADU. Application for ADU.Cancelled 2019 MLA19-00090 ZON2019-00027 BLD1992-00204 Only one residence on site.Approved 2019 MLA19-00035 ZON2019-00015 BLD2013-00332 Only one residence on site.Approved 2019 MLA19-00044 ZON2019-00018 BLD2001-00266 BLD2015-00161 BLD01-266 is SFR, BLD15-161 is ADU. Short term rental app is with ADU. BWOP, structural problems.Withdrawn 2019 MLA19-00095 ZON2019-00037 BLD2001-00658 Only one residence on site.Approved 2020 MLA20-00084 ZON2020-00036 BLD1993-00056 One residence on site. Short term rental application states whole house is to be rented.Approved 2020 MLA20-00103 ZON2020-00044 BLD2020-00264 BnB and short term rental project.Pending 2020 MLA21-00009 ZON2020-00072 BLD1997-00717 Only one residence on site.Approved 2020 MLA20-00114 ZON2020-00050 BLD2005-00332 Only one residence on site.Withdrawn 2020 MLA20-00006 ZON2020-00005 BLD1990-00033 BLD90-33 is SFR, with unpermitted cabins built on property. BWOP started, new OSS proposed. Application withdrawn.Withdrawn 2020 MLA20-00003 ZON2020-00003 BLD1992-00698 Not routed to planner as of 9/27/21. COM14-91 and COM15- 148 for operation of vacation rental without permit.Withdrawn 2020 MLA20-00001 ZON2020-00001 BLD2005-00495 BLD05-495 is an ADU and to be used as the short term rental.Approved 2020 MLA20-00088 ZON2020-00039 N/A Tidemark does not detail BLD case # for SFR used as short term rental.Approved 2020 MLA20-00138 ZON2020-0065 BLD2018-00523 Only one residence on site.Approved 2020 MLA20-00015 ZON2020-0009 BLD1989-00331 Only one residence on site.Approved 2020 MLA20-00151 ZON2020-00062 BLD1993-00471 Only one residence on site.Approved 2020 MLA20-00016 ZON2020-00011 SEP1974-00035 Only one residence on site.Approved Item 8b 2020 MLA20-00042 ZON2020-00019 BLD2018-00363 BLD2018-00364 BLD18-363 is SFR, BLD18-364 is ADU. Short term rental Application restricts use to the SFR.Approved 2020 MLA20-00097 ZON2020-00042 BLD1976-00029 COM2020-00119 One residence on site. Complaint case COM20-119 for use as vacation rental without a permit.Pending 2020 MLA20-00067 ZON2020-00028 BLD1980-00137 Transient rental for ADU, BLD permit # not specified in TM. BLD89-137 for SFR. Possible ADU w/ garage under BLD1998-00247.Approved 2020 MLA20-00090 ZON2020-00041 N/A Unpermitted septic on site-- transient rental cannot be approved with existing OSS.Pending 2020 MLA20-00089 ZON2020-00040 BLD1992-00224 COM2020-00120 One residence on site. Complaint case COM20-120 for use as vacation rental without a permit.Approved 2020 MLA20-00108 ZON2020-00046 BLD1977-00147 One residence on site. Permit denied due to zoning conflict with MPR-SF-4.Denied 2020 MLA20-00010 ZON2020-00073 BLD1989-00012 One residence on site. Addition under BLD89-12, no permit recorded in TM for initial building permit.Approved 2020 MLA20-00008 ZON2020-00004 BLD2008-00054 BLD2008-00055 Short term rental permit for SFR under BLD08-54 and satellite bedroom under BLD08-55.Approved 2021 MLA21-00014 ZON2021-00010 SEP1980-00109 One residence on site. No BLD permit # in TM, SEP80-109 associated.Approved 2021 MLA21-00096 ZON2021-00061 BLD1990-00164 One residence on site. Has not been routed as of 9/27/21 Pending 2021 MLA21-00042 ZON2021-00024 BLD2005-00495 Transfer of short term rental status from ADU to SFR.Approved 2021 MLA21-00088 ZON2021-00053 BLD1993-00307 BLD2004-00209 BLD93-307 is SFR, BLD04-209 is ADU. Permit not routed as of 9/27.Pending 2021 MLA21-00086 ZON2021-00050 BLD2014-00474 Only one residence on site.Cancelled 2021 MLA21-00021 ZON2021-00014 BLD2000-00717 Only one residence on site.Withdrawn 2021 MLA21-00074 ZON2021-00045 SEP1975-00427 One residence on site. No BLD permit # in TM, SEP75-427 associated.Pending 2021 MLA21-00055 ZON2021-00031 SEP2010-00004 Residence above boat house. BLD permit # not in TM, SEP10-04 associated. Did not pass inspection.Pending 2021 MLA21-00060 ZON2021-00036 BLD2008-00015 BLD2007-00392 BLD08-15 is SFR, BLD07-392 is ADU.Pending Item 8b 2021 MLA21-00087 ZON2021-00054 SEP1977-00087 One residence on site. No BLD permit # in TM, SEP1977-00087 associated.Pending 2021 MLA21-00022 ZON2021-00015 SEP2007-00161-164 Historic home with several legal nonconforming cabins. Transient rental for all three cabins. Septic issue has paused case.Pending Item 8b