District 4 councilors react to shelter rollout
Clark and Zimmerman appear to be keeping their thoughts to themselves
While Mayor Keith Wilson takes the heat for forcing homeless shelters into neighborhoods that don’t want them, District 4 City Councilors are hanging back, saying as little as possible about the shelter rollout.
Councilor Mitch Green has taken a cautious stand, while Olivia Clark and Eric Zimmerman have said nothing despite repeated efforts by the NW Examiner to elicit comment.
“I am not inclined to be a roadblock to the mayor’s plan during this fiscal year,” Green wrote in an email to the Examiner. “But I’ve been clear that my support in the budgeting process is contingent upon outcomes and as well as faithful execution of the mayor’s commitments to outreach and enhanced services where shelters are located.
“I want the mayor to succeed, so I’m going to give him the space to operate,” Green concluded.
Green was the only one of the three to attend a June 25 digital forum on the shelters sponsored by the Northwest District Association and attended by 375 households. He did not speak.
Later, he reflected:
“I have heard the concerns about shelters in our District 4 neighborhoods from residents who oppose and welcome them. We even share similar views that overnight congregate shelters are a poor substitute for real housing solutions.
“My staff and I have heard from and talked to people who would rather have shelters than people sleeping outside as we all work together to prevent homelessness while also building long-term housing.”
At 4:25, we received this response from Councilor Clark:
I appreciate your coverage of the communities in District 4 impacted by the shelter planned for NW Northrup and the privately funded women’s shelter on NW Lovejoy.
I continue to meet with residents in both the Pearl District and the Northwest District. The level of concern and anxiety is very high. Both neighborhoods have faced numerous challenges since COVID and are trying desperately to recover.
The Pearl District, in particular, has been hit very hard with commercial vacancies. Members of this community are especially disappointed since they have invested more than $2 million since 2023 in supporting the Northwest Community Conservancy. This organization has helped more than 2,000 people find shelters and other services, as well as provide much-needed additional security. Members of the Stadium neighborhood and Couch Park area have also committed significant resources to support the issues surrounding homelessness. I dedicated $100,000 of my office budget for a pilot project by the Public Environment Management Office to address issues around the Interstate 405 corridor.
I have discussed these concerns with Mayor Wilson several times to make sure that he is listening to feedback from the community. As you know, the Mayor made a campaign promise to open 1,500 overnight shelter beds and end sleeping and camping on our streets, and homelessness remains a top concern across the city. The Mayor’s plan comes with risks, and we all need to be aware that success will take a collaborative effort between the City and the community. He has assured me that resources will be dedicated to minimize impacts by creating a 1,000-foot engagement area around the proposed shelters. Regular garbage pickup, graffiti and hazardous material removal, and enhanced public safety will be deployed.
My constituents, both residents and local businesses, are skeptical they will receive the support needed based on prior efforts. The weekly Problem Solver meetings should help the immediate area around the shelter, but the community is very concerned about the potential impact on safety and security across the broader neighborhood. Several business owners have also expressed concern as they continue to manage a very difficult economic climate. I urge the Mayor to continue to meet with them to share his comprehensive plan for these shelters, and provide incentives to encourage them to continue to invest in our communities. The overall health of these neighborhoods depends upon a thriving business environment, as well as residents feeling safe and secure.
I think Mitch Green is being disingenuous in his comments, where he seems to imply that more people in NW/Pearl are "for" the shelter, than the reality. Those of us in the center of this crisis believe that it's more like 95% against the shelter, and 5% for. Again, the councilor seems to be favoring a model of service -- that has failed miserably -- for 200 homeless individuals (actively suffering from continued drug abuse, mental illness and more), while throwing the livability and safety of 15,000 working families and the elderly, under the bus. Mitch and others are desperately hoping that "enhanced resources" will mitigate the damage of the shelters, but there is NO REASON AT ALL to believe that can happen! Why? The closest similar shelter, managed by TPI under the City's oversight, is the River District Navigation Center on NW Naito. In the past year, and in all the previous years, that shelter has been the site of non-stop drug use, drug dealing, loitering, camping, assaults on persons, and prostitution. That shelter has HALF the size (just 90 guests) of the proposed shelter on NW Northrup. If the city can't manage to mitigate the effects of that shelter, how in the world could we expect that they can mitigate the effects of a shelter with more than twice the capacity in an even denser part of the district?