Page 13 - Pierce County Lawyer - January February 2025

The Code does not distinguish between small and large rental
properties. One argument against the Initiative was that it
would drive small landlords from the market, reducing the
number of available rentals. It is not known if this occurred
after Measure 1 passed. Landlords with multiple units are in a
better position to absorb the costs of the city ordinances and
ride out months with a non-paying tenant. Landlords with
fewer units or houses may be forced out of the rental market,
selling the rental properties, thus removing these rental
properties from the rental market.
Seattle has a Winter Eviction Moratorium in effect from
December 1 to March 1, similar to Tacoma’s moratorium. A
Seattle Times editorial, dated November 22, 2024 argued that
the protections for low income tenants are not adequately
monitored. The authors of the editorial are Sharon Lee, the
Executive of the Low Income Housing Institute and Emily
Thompson, a partner at GMD Development that specialized
in the development and preservation of affordable housing.
They argue that “affordable housing providers simply cannot
sustain operations without adequate rent collection.” They ask
that the moratorium be suspended and rewritten so that the
moratorium does not apply to those who can pay rent and
provides assistance to those who cannot pay rent.
Employment anti-discrimination laws make enforcement
distinctions between large and small employers. Such a tier
structure may be possible in a revision of this Code. A study
has been proposed to evaluate the impact of Measure 1 with
an aim of suggesting changes after receiving input from tenant
advocates, public housing officials, developers, and landlords
– small and large. Once an initiative goes into effect, it cannot
be altered for two (2) years; therefore, there is time to work on
possible revisions. Creating a code that balances the rights of
tenants and landlords is needed and the proposed study may
offer many necessary changes to the current Code.
Tacoma’s Anti-Displacement Strategy has two main flaws: (1) it
does not acknowledge the unique problems of the unemployed
or underemployed disabled persons; and (2) it does not
address the needs of the homeless, which is a primary reason
for the Code. This is a bit like Dante’s Inferno and skipping the
last three circles of torment.
Tacoma currently has four overnight shelters that operate
year-round for adults and families experiencing homelessness.
Together they can accept up to 312 adults and 163 families a
day. A staggering 100 to 150 individuals and 100 families a day
seeking shelter are turned away because the shelters are already
full. Those individuals and families often end up sleeping in
cars or in open spaces…between November 1 and March
31, shelters for people experiencing homelessness in Tacoma
expand services during inclement weather. The number of
people the shelters are able to serve increases from 481 beds to
677 on nights that meet inclement weather criteria. (From the
Tacoma Shelters and Resources website.)
B Y J O H N C A I N
Tacoma has several shelters available for
individuals and families experiencing homelessness:
1. Catholic Community Services
– adult men and women
2. Tacoma Rescue Mission
– adult men
3. Adam’s Street Family
Campus
– families; adult women
4. The Salvation Army
– families; adult women
5. Comprehensive Life Resources – young adult shelter
The estimates vary on the number of homeless but there is
no doubt there are far more homeless than shelter beds. A
basic hardship of homelessness is the danger of leaving your
belongings behind, unattended, as you look for work or a hot
meal.
In Germany, municipalities are legally obliged to provide
emergency support to people experiencing homelessness,
including short-term shelter. Other European countries
impose similar obligations on municipalities. Shelter is a basic
human right. The U.N. Special Report on adequate housing has
said about homelessness “perhaps the most visible and most
severe symptom is the lack of respect for the right to adequate
housing.” (U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights and U.N. Habitat, 2009, p. 21)
In October 2022, Tacoma banned camping and storing
personal belongings in certain areas, including within ten
(10) blocks of temporary shelters and within 200 feet of
rivers, creeks, streams, waterways, and shorelines. The aim
was to force people into shelters. It is a crime to be homeless
in Tacoma. A person can be fined up to $250 and imprisoned
for up to thirty (30) days. Large rocks have been deposited
on the grass strips on Yakima Avenue as well as other streets
to discourage homeless encampments. Encampments exist
elsewhere and police sweep them from time to time, causing
many to lose what few possessions they have. Having no
place to go, some homeless have returned to Yakima Avenue,
camping on the sidewalks or smaller rocks.
Geneva, Switzerland was flooded with Protestant refugees
from Catholic France in 1546. Available land was scarce. At
John Calvin’s direction, additional stories were built on existing
buildings to house refugees. They are still in use and a practical
reminder of John Calvin’s hospitality to the unsheltered
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