Washington city's homeless camp site plan put on hold by judge's ruling

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City clearing homeless site to make room for new encampment

Officials in Olympia, Washington clear homeless camp to build a city-sanctioned encampment.

A planned city-sanctioned camp meant to handle the ballooning homeless population spreading through the streets of Washington's capital city is now on hold, after a judge stopped its opening Monday.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge James Dixon granted the motion for a temporary restraining order, saying he wanted to hear more evidence before issuing a permanent ruling on the camp in Olympia after a lawsuit was filed by nearby businesses, The Olympian reported.

“This is not a final hearing on the merits," Dixon said in court. "It would be incorrect for any person to assume — let alone conclude — that this court has or will make a ruling that the city does not have a right or an obligation to continue [opening] the mitigation site."

Before the judge's order came down, city officials had moved roughly 100 people into 73 tents at the site before being told to stop, the paper reported.

The city tried to open the camp after declaring a public health emergency last summer. An estimated 300 tents were scattered between three different sites in downtown Olympia. The camp was supposed to open in a city-owned parking lot.

An estimated 300 tents are scattered between three different sites in downtown Olympia. (Q13 News)

“As we’ve seen tents go from 30 to 300 a couple weeks ago, the city has decided we really want to do something to mitigate this issue,” Olympia’s Homeless Response Coordinator Colin DeForrest told Q13 News ahead of the camp's expected opening.

City officials hoped the new camp would help transition people to a safer environment. The new encampment, called a mitigation site, has a fenced perimeter and room for about 100 tents.

The camp was not a perfect solution, but it was a start "to really mitigate the human suffering and the health concerns that are down here,” DeForrest said.

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But the plan faced backlash from a group of business owners downtown, who filed a lawsuit seeking the restraining order to stop the opening.

A planned city-sanctioned homeless encampment in Washington state has faced immediate backlash from a group of downtown business owners. (Q13 News)

“The camps are public health catastrophes and are already taxing public safety resources with aide calls, assaults and illegal activities” including opiate abuse, prostitution and violent crime, according to the plaintiffs’ complaint obtained by The Olympian.

The four plaintiffs in the lawsuit, who were listed as John Does in court documents, said they worried about their safety.

Another hearing on the case is set for Dec. 21, when the judge has asked to hear from the city on its communication with the business owners involved in the lawsuit, in addition to other arguments. The judge may also order the plaintiffs to identify themselves, according to The Olympian.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.