Clarkston gives OK to affordable housing units near Walmart

An affordable housing project in the port area got the green light Monday night at the Clarkston City Council meeting.

Horizon Housing Alliance and Catholic Charities can now proceed with plans to build 72 apartments west of Walmart. A memorandum of agreement with the city was approved by the council with a 7-0 vote.

The project had been stalled since April when an interim zoning ordinance was passed. The ordinance was repealed this week to clear the path for the next steps in the process.

Most of the meeting centered around the homeless issue. Several residents asked city officials to reconsider allowing portable toilets and dumpsters at the camp near Walmart.

Nick Hasselstrom, of Cross Tied Ministries, described the conditions as inhumane and degrading. “I’m here to beg for bathrooms for the homeless,” he said.

Two women at the camp “messed their pants” in 3-degree weather last week when they couldn’t get to a restroom in time, Hasselstrom said. The humane thing to do is try to help these people, he said.

Another person said a large warming tent is available, but the city hasn’t allowed volunteers to set it up. “When we call, don’t give us the runaround,” she said. “We can’t ignore the problem. We need to work together.”

One resident wondered if the city was using the insurance carrier and liability issue as an excuse to dodge providing services. Many people have offered to help and pay for dumpsters or portable restrooms at the site, she said.

“If you’re not going to help, you’re part of the problem,” another woman told city officials.

Most of the speakers have connections to nonprofit organizations that have been assisting the homeless in Clarkston. The camp has grown to about 70 people since it was set up on a small patch of city right of way off 10th Street, near Port Drive.

City officials have said it’s a temporary arrangement until a better plan is developed. Providing services at the camp was not recommended by the city’s insurance carrier.

Councilor David Vinton said he’s opposed to using any taxpayer dollars at the homeless encampment. It’s a waste of money and would make the problem worse, he said.  

Vinton said he visited Camp Hope in Spokane, and it “looked like hell.” It was a drug haven and awful, he said.  

“I do not support giving more utilities to the camp,” Vinton said. “You may think I’m a jerk, but I’ve been called worse.”

Councilor Skate Pierce said the city is trying to stay within the law, and Clarkston isn’t getting any help from Nez Perce County, Asotin County or the city of Lewiston.

“This is not just a Clarkston problem,” Pierce said. “We need more help from the other governments in the area. They’ve really left us out to dry.”

Councilor Robin Albers thanked all of the people who addressed the council. Having a community effort to work on a solution is not a bad idea, she said.

In other city business, the council approved Mayor Monika Lawrence’s appointment of a new public works director. Ed Coffland, the public works director of Haines, Alaska, has accepted the job. The previous director, Kevin Poole, resigned in December.

Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com.