Latest news with #RyanMello
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tiny home village for homeless headed to Pierce County following zoning change
The plan to build a tiny-home village for the homeless in Spanaway can move forward following the Pierce County Council's vote to amend zoning codes that were obstructing the project. Director of the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), Sharon Lee, told The News Tribune the village at 415 208th St. E. will have 40 to 50 homes. She said the homes will be 8 feet by 12 feet, insulated, with heat, air conditioning and furnishings. A hygiene trailer, community kitchen, community space, laundry room and case-management offices will be on site. There will be a fully fenced perimeter, security check-in office and 24/7 staffing, according to Lee. LIHI operates several tiny home villages in the Puget Sound region, including two in Tacoma. Lee said the Spanaway Village will be built in the same model as the tiny home village LIHI recently opened in Tacoma. LIHI has owned the land where the village will be for some time, but county code prohibiting temporary housing shelters from being built and operated in unincorporated Pierce County for more than 90 days was an obstacle. Last summer, now-Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello spearheaded an effort as the chair of the County Council to amend county code to allow for the Spanaway tiny home village and others like it to be established outside of Tacoma. Mello and his Democrat colleagues supported the effort to change the code in two separate ordinances that were opposed by Republicans on the council. Former Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier, a Republican, blocked the efforts with two separate vetoes, calling the proposed change 'unacceptable.' At the time, Dammeier told The News Tribune the zoning change would circumvent community involvement and would allow tent encampments of up to 60 people to move into residential neighborhoods with 'zero notice.' In June, the council passed an ordinance amending county zoning code and allowing temporary housing projects to exist for longer than 90 days. The ordinance passed along party lines by a vote of four to three and took effect at the beginning of July. While the effort by council Democrats to amend county zoning last summer was largely intended to allow a $2.5 million stability site for the unhoused to be established outside of Tacoma, that project seems to have fallen through. The effort was part of a recognition that Tacoma is host to the majority of homeless shelters in the county. Tacoma's deputy city manager Sonja Hallum previously told The News Tribune the city has about 80% of the region's shelter beds. 'In terms of current impact, the property in Spanaway is the only active project that was previously held up due to county code limitations,' Pierce County Human Service spokesperson Kari Moore told The News Tribune when asked about what projects the ordinance would impact. 'This change removes a major barrier and allows the project to move forward.' Moore said the county contributed just under $2.6 million towards the tiny home village project. According to LIHI, the property where the village will be built cost $1.55 million, the village will cost to set up $1.5 million, and $1.2 million annually to operate. Lee told The News Tribune LIHI anticipates opening the village by spring 2026. 'Having a temporary designation is critical and allows us to avoid costly and unnecessary permanent development requirements,' she wrote in an email. 'Our goal is to have occupancy by Spring 2026 but it depends on how quick the new permitting process is.' Lee said LIHI will work with Pierce County to refer residents to the Spanaway Village. LIHI's tiny home villages serve as temporary housing for those experiencing homelessness to get back on their feet while looking for permanent housing. According to LIHI, more than half of tiny home residents stay in villages for less than six months before transitioning.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge pauses Trump's grant requirements. Impact on Pierce County unclear
Pierce County and other local governments got a legal victory over the Trump administration this week, but the future of millions in grant funding for housing and homeless programs remain unclear. Lawyers representing Pierce County and other local governments recently were granted a two-week pause on the grant conditions ordered by the Trump administration, but the future of some of Pierce County's grant-funded programs is cloudy. On May 2, a coalition of eight local governments, including King County and Pierce County, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against the Trump administration's U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration. Officials from Pierce County's Human Services Department, which administers federal grant funding for housing and homeless programs, said it objected to the administration's guidelines related to immigration, 'gender ideology,' and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello described the administration's requirements that grant funding not be used to promote 'gender ideology' or DEI or support undocumented immigrants as 'coercive' and pushing an 'extreme political agenda.' On May 7, lawyers representing the local governmentsasked a federal judge for a temporary restraining order to pause the new grant requirements. During the hearing, U.S. District Judge Barbara J. Rothstein acknowledged that the terms tied to grant funding from the previous presidential administration directly conflicted with some of the new requirements recently ordered by the Trump administration. For example, guidelines for grant contracts which were previously allocated money for this year under the Biden administration specifically required that program recipients address the needs of LGBTQ+ families. Just weeks beforese contracts were about to be signed, new guidelines were ordered by the Trump administration which include requirements to 'ensure grant funds do not promote gender ideology.' 'Do you think it is possible for plaintiff to meet both sets of conditions?' Rothstein asked attorneys representing the federal government. 'I think as posed that way, your honor, it would be difficult,' attorney Brian Kipnis answered. Rothstein made the decision to grant the plaintiffs a two-week pause on the grant conditions, in part to allow certain governments such as King County and San Francisco a chance to meet the deadlines tied to the dispersal of the grant funding. 'If we don't sign the agreement within 40 days, the government can say, 'Sorry, that's the reason you don't get your grant money,'' argued attorney Paul Lawrence, representing the local governments. 'Defendants have put Plaintiffs in the position of having to choose between accepting conditions that they believe are unconstitutional, and risking the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grant funding, including funding that they have already budgeted and are committed to spending,' Rothstein wrote in her decision. Pierce County's homelessness response relies heavily on federal funding from HUD. Last year HUD announced Pierce County would receive more than $4.9 million to renew or continue 10 different housing and homeless programs through 2025. Pierce County Human Services spokesperson Kari Moore told The News Tribune the grant award ensures housing and support services for 'hundreds of very vulnerable people.' Moore said the next step is filing a preliminary injunction asking the court to enter another temporary pause on the conditions until the judge makes a final decision. When asked if the legal proceedings would delay housing programs and homeless services, Moore said the county was still in the process of drafting service contracts and would await the final court decision. 'Our primary goal is to have no lapse in services for clients being served, but we're still working through the details,' Moore told The News Tribune. As of May 8, Human Services has not received its funding award for programs from HUD.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pierce County exec, sheriff at odds over working with immigration authorities
A Pierce County Council resolution to be voted on Tuesday affirming the county's position on limiting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities reveals a brewing feud between the Democratic-majority council and the county's conservative sheriff. The resolution would commit the county to fully complying with the Keep Washington Working Act, a bipartisan state law passed in 2019 that determined a person's immigration status isn't a matter for police action. The law was intended to give immigrants and refugees confidence that going to work or calling police for help in an emergency wouldn't land them in the custody of federal immigration enforcement. The council's resolution also expresses support for a directive from County Executive Ryan Mello describing how county departments should interact with federal immigration officials. 'Residents must feel confident they can safely seek county services and assistance from all county departments,' Mello wrote in the directive. Issued in March, the directive instructs county employees not to interfere with federal investigations but also to request to see a warrant if a federal official asks to inspect a non-public area of a county building. It asks employees to report interactions with federal law enforcement officers to a department representative. Sheriff Keith Swank has said he thinks the Keep Washington Working Act is not constitutional, and, in a phone call with The News Tribune, he described feeling caught between federal directives to enforce immigration detainers and state law that forbids it. An immigration detainer is a request from federal immigration authorities to keep a person detained so federal authorities can take custody of them. Since Swank began his term as sheriff on Jan. 1, he said, the Sheriff's Office hasn't received any detainers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said the office had arrested a person for a violent crime this year who Swank said is an 'illegal alien.' Earlier this month, Swank traveled to Washington, D.C., with other sheriffs from across Washington, including Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner, who is in a legal battle with state Attorney General Nick Brown over allegedly helping federal authorities with immigration enforcement. Swank said he went to Washington, D.C., to give moral support to Wagner and to bring what he sees as a conflict between state and federal law to the attention of the federal government. While in the capital, Swank and the other sheriffs met with representatives from the Department of Justice, including a brief meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi. 'We need to get this resolved, and ultimately … my whole purpose of going there and still doing this stuff is to bring attention to the matter because I want to have it in front of the U.S. Supreme Court so they can rule once and for all what's what,' Swank said. An equity note on the County Council's proposed resolution states that its intended to ensure all residents feel confident in their ability to seek county services and assistance without fear, noting that recent executive orders from President Donald Trump sow fear and concern among immigrants and refugees that they'll be targeted by federal law enforcement. Bernal Baca is executive director of Mi Centro, a decades-old nonprofit in Tacoma that provides services to the Latino community. Baca provided a public comment on the resolution, calling it a 'crucial step' from the local government to ensure residents don't have to worry about being tricked when they renew their driver's license, show up for an appointment or other activities to live normal lives. 'Much of what President Trump has stated about his intentions is concerning, but what the administration has done so far to subvert due process and intimidate honest, hardworking, and god-fearing Americans is deplorable,' Baca said. Swank doesn't agree with the argument that limiting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities has the effect state law claims it does. He called it a fallacy. 'If people are in America legally, they have nothing to worry about calling 911,' Swank said. 'If they're here illegally and they call 911 because they're a victim of a crime, we're not going to be running their name to see if we can deport them. That doesn't happen.' 'We'll have our hands full in the meantime with violent criminals, citizens and noncitizens,' Swank added. The County Council's resolution affirms that county property, personnel, funds and equipment can't be used to support federal immigration enforcement activities unless legally required. Swank described the resolution as a 'broad overreach,' saying he doesn't think the County Council has the authority to impose those restrictions on his office. He also is displeased with the council for not asking for his input on the resolution. 'They do the budget, but they don't have control over how I run the Sheriff's Office,' Swank said. 'But I believe many people think that they should have that control or that they do. So that's kind of a little bit of the rub right there, too.'
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pierce County one of a few selected for national housing program. What will it do?
Pierce County recently announced it is one of a few counties in the nation selected to be a part of a national program to increase housing supply. The county says after the 12-week program it will have 'implementation-ready plans' to create much-needed housing in the region. 'Pierce County is excited to be just one of six counties selected to participate in this national program,' said County Executive Ryan Mello. 'The scale of our housing shortage requires us to do things differently. We're bringing folks together from multiple departments to tackle housing affordability and speed the pace of development, particularly among our high-density transit corridors.' The program is the second national cohort of Counties for Housing Solutions (C4HS), from the National Association of Counties (NACo), designed to increase housing supply in urban counties. Moore said the county will not receive any funding through the program, but would receive consulting services through a third party. The initiative is funded through a grant from the Gates Foundation. NACo launched C4HS to help counties implement recommendations from NACo's 2023 Housing Task Force, convened with the goal of addressing America's housing crisis. According to the county, the goal is implementing strategies to increase housing supply, bring down rents and create a pathway to upward economic mobility for American families. Over a 12-week period, representatives from the Pierce County Council, Human Services and Facilities Management departments will work to develop underutilized, county-owned land for affordable housing. The plan begins with identifying available land and evaluating sites. Next comes community engagement and partnering with potential developers. The process will also include identifying financing to support the planned housing development. Human Services Spokesperson Kari Moore told The News Tribune the program will use a cohort of seven teams selected to work together to increase affordable housing supply and build capacity to assess affordable housing opportunities on publicly owned land. The teams will meet weekly. 'It comes with access to partners at Smart Growth America and offers a technical assistance sprint with a suite of implementation-ready plans to address site selection, zoning, financing, affordability requirements, community engagement and developer procurement,' she said. Smart Growth America is a non-profit coalition of housing advocates. Moore said the program will help facilitate collaborative development of plans the county can use to increase its housing stock, and will provide the best practices and solutions that have proven successful for other counties. 'This will help us build skills to bring more tools to our marketplace on housing solutions that benefit everyone,' she told The News Tribune. Pierce County's Housing Action Strategy estimates the region will need 110,000 new units in Pierce County by 2044 to meet the housing needs of residents. 'To fully meet the housing needs of current and future residents, the county needs to produce, on average, over 2,300 units per year of housing affordable at or below 50% of area median income through the year 2044,' the county's Housing Action Strategy published in 2022 found. 'Over half of these units are needed for households at 30% of AMI or below.' According to Pierce County, the region's area median income is around $98,200 per household.
