Asotin County: Housing is in a crisis stage

ASOTIN — The number of people living on the streets in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley is growing, and there’s not enough housing for low-income residents, an Asotin County official said Monday.

“We have people with jobs who are living in their cars because they can’t afford a place to live,” Commissioner Chuck Whitman said. “Affordable housing is a crisis here.”

According to the latest data compiled by a task force, an estimated 70 to 100 people have no shelter, Whitman said, and approximately 300 families are living with other people, in vehicles or hotels.

Concerns about homeless encampments near Red Wolf Bridge in Clarkston have prompted calls to the board and the Asotin County Sheriff’s Office, said Commissioner Brian Shinn. The property is owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation, and the county’s options are limited.

“We do have a problem down there,” Shinn said.

However, the encampment had dwindled by Monday afternoon. WSDOT officials reportedly visited the area last week and were supposed to post signs. That may have prompted some campers and RVs to move to other locations.

When it comes to affordable housing, Whitman and Shinn both mentioned a recent city decision that could stall a proposal to add units in the port of Clarkston area.

Last week, the Clarkston City Council extended an emergency interim ordinance that put an additional six-month halt to any attempts to build low-income housing near Walmart. Catholic Charities and Horizon Housing Alliance had previously indicated plans to construct 72 units and provide services on a privately owned 6-acre site close to the store.

At the time, city officials said they’re not opposed to affordable housing but the commercial prospects of the property, and zoning laws in the port area are not designed for apartment complexes. The site is not close to schools or in a residential neighborhood, councilors said.

“I think (the ordinance extension) is designed to prevent Catholic Charities from building down there,” Shinn said, during his weekly report on meetings. Shinn regularly attends Clarkston City Council sessions.

A spokesperson for Catholic Charities told the Lewiston Tribune, the non-profit group will provide an update on its plans this week.

In other county business, the board voted 3-0 on a resolution in support of Yakima County’s opposition to the Horse Heaven Wind Farm Project proposed for an unincorporated area of neighboring Benton County.

Asotin County is “gravely concerned about the precedent being set by the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council for siting wind farms in areas of cultural significance, long-term commercial significant agricultural lands and areas of high fire risk, despite a clear request for denial by elected officials, tribes and the public, according to the resolution.

“This is a matter of the rights of the counties,” Whitman said. “County rights are being stepped on by the state.”

Commissioner Chris Seubert said elected county officials want the state to knock it off. “Hopefully, this puts a little more bite in it.”

Shinn said the west side of the state continually makes decisions that negatively affect eastern Washington counties, often in the name of clean energy.

“We’re not against green, clean energy,” Seubert said, “but don’t shove it down our throats.”

A longtime advocate for veterans, Commissioner Whitman added another accolade to the list this week. He has been appointed to the Governor’s Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee.

Whitman was previously appointed to the National Association of Counties Veterans and Military Services Committee and is a participant with U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ eastern Washington veterans’ group.

Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com.