Tribal Sovereignty Saves a Homeless Shelter (For Now)

Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. This week, we cover the battle between tribal government sovereignty and local land use law, the shortcomings of common antieviction policies, and a potential boom in modular housing construction.

Another Warming Center Goes to Court to Ensure It Can Open

Yet another homeless shelter has had to go to court to protect its ability to shelter people from the elements.

Last Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Mary K. Dimke issued a temporary restraining order preventing the city of Toppenish, Washington, from limiting the hours of operations of a cold weather shelter operated by the Yakama Nation tribal government in the town.

“We are thankful that the Court’s decision allows us to continue providing heat and shelter for our unhoused Yakama Members, as well as anyone else who needs shelter services in our Yakama Reservation Community,” Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman Gerald Lewis said in a statement to the Yakima Herald-Republic.

The Yakama Nation’s plan to open a 50-bed shelter in a building owned by a local Toppenish nonprofit had been in the works since September.

The initial plan had been to open the shelter on November 20 and operate it 24 hours a day during the cold winter months, giving the homeless a place to sleep, get a meal, and wash their clothes.

In the months leading up to that open date, the Yakama Nation had met multiple times with city officials to outline their plans and address any of the city’s concerns. According to court documents, the city didn’t formally support or oppose the new shelter.

But a few days prior to the shelter’s opening, Toppenish’s city manager sent the nation a letter saying that city regulations prevented the warming center from operating for more than six hours a day.

In a response letter, the Yakama Nation told the city that its rights under an 1855 treaty with the federal government prevented the city from regulating its shelter. With temperatures dropping below freezing, the Yakama Nation went ahead with its planned 24-hour operations.

When the city continued to try to restrict the shelter’s operations, the Yakama Nation sued in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Washington, demanding preliminary and permanent injunctions preventing Toppenish from regulating its shelter.

Limiting the shelter’s operations to just six hours a day “directly threaten the health and safety of enrolled Yakama Members, and therefore threaten the political integrity, health, and welfare of the Yakama Nation,” reads the lawsuit.

The city had been given until last Tuesday to respond to the nation’s lawsuit. When it didn’t, Judge Dimke issued a temporary restraining order that would allow the shelter to open for 24 hours.

In her decision, Dimke cited the below-freezing winter temperatures as evidence of irreparable harm that would result if the shelter weren’t allowed to open all day. She demurred on granting more permanent injunctive relief until the city responded to the nation’s lawsuit.

Local land use regulations often frustrate homeless shelters’ ability to serve people in need

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Article from Reason.com

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