On April 4, the Sammamish Planning Commission began deliberations regarding requirements and coding for temporary homeless encampments.

Throughout the process, the city will take multiple considerations into account, such as neighboring cities regulations regarding homeless encampments, public comment and safety concerns.

The city’s draft on homeless encampment use permits includes general conditions, such as a homeless encampment may only be hosted by a religious organization, and must be located on real property owned or controlled by the religious organization. The city defined religious organization as a “federally protected practice of a recognized religious assembly, school, or institution that owns or controls real property.”

The draft also states that:

• No homeless encampment shall operate within the city of Sammamish for more than 90 consecutive days, with an additional five days to accommodate moving onto or off a site, upon approval.
• No more than one homeless encampment may be located in the city at any time.
• An applicant shall submit a complete application for a Homeless Encampment Use Permit at least 30 days before occupancy.
• Homeless encampments will be limited to a maximum number of people, not to exceed 100 persons, depending on the conditions of the proposed site. After maximum occupancy is reached, any individual who arrives at the homeless encampment after sundown, and meets all screening criteria, will be allowed to stay for one night and then not permitted entry until a vacancy is available.
• A six-foot-high sight obscuring fence, vegetative screen or other visual obstruction shall be provided between a homeless encampment and any abutting residential property.
• Possession or use of illegal drugs is not permitted. No alcohol, weapons, violence and open flames are permitted. All knives over three and a half inches must be turned in to the managing agency for safekeeping. No trespassing onto private property in the surrounding neighborhood is permitted. No convicted sex offender shall reside in the homeless encampment.
• During the application process, the applicant must conduct a neighborhood meeting to inform nearby residents and the public about the proposed homeless encampment prior to submitting an application. The applicant must provide notice of the meeting by mail, first class and postage prepaid, to all owners of real property within 500 feet of the lot(s) containing the proposed encampment at least 45 days prior to the neighborhood meeting.

These are just some of the conditions and regulations regarding homeless encampments in Sammamish. For the full list and complete text, visit http://bit.ly/NIQGhs. To view public comments, a comparison table, and other documents related to homeless encampments, visit http://bit.ly/1hBP7JI.

The Planning Commission’s tentative schedule through this process is as follows:

May 13: Planning Commission plans to officially hand-off its recommendations on the draft Homeless Encampment Use Permit code and ordinance to the City Council.

May 20: City Council Regular Meeting: Council will have its first reading and hold a public hearing.

June 3: City Council Regular Meeting: Council will have its second reading and hold deliberations.

The Planning Commission said that these dates are subject to change, but will represent the schedule until further notice.

“The city’s goal is to produce code that will treat all parties fairly and comply with the law,” said Sammamish Communications Manager Tim Larson. “It’s not an easy issue, but the Planning Commission has stayed on schedule and there’s a lot of hope that the end result this summer will be perceived as balanced and positive.”