Many Lewiston residents who commented at a City Council work session Monday said they like the idea of helping the local homeless population get off the street, but not if it means housing displaced individuals near residential neighborhoods, public parks, the levee or businesses such as restaurants.

Union Gospel Mission, an organization operating several homeless shelters and recovery centers in Spokane, Coeur d’Alene and Seattle, approached the Lewiston City Council on Monday to ask that regulations governing homeless shelters in the city be amended, specifically a rule that caps shelters at 50 residents.

The proposal put forth a new definition: Bridge Shelter Housing, a model of temporary housing with programs aimed at bringing the homeless quickly off the streets. It would be permitted only in certain districts of Lewiston, including large portions of downtown; the waterfront, including Snake River Avenue; North Lewiston; and the 21st Street corridor.

But some public commenters, of the roughly 60 people attending the council’s work session, argued UGM’s plans would enable homeless people, rather than lift them out of poverty. One woman said she’s afraid of another shelter in the area after the ROC Rescue Mission in North Lewiston closed its doors permanently in 2019.

“It’s nothing against the Union Gospel — there’s no denying it’s a problem here,” the commenter said. “We were afraid. We had fires. We had two seniors whom they tried to push into their home. We had needles. We watched bounty hunters come into the neighborhood. We watched people defecate 25 feet from the porta potty.”

Phil Altmeyer, CEO of the Spokane-based ministry, said its facility will be high-barrier, rather than low-barrier, meaning those admitted can’t come in and out when they please or use drugs and alcohol.

“Not all homeless shelters are the same,” Altmeyer said. “We’re not the answer for homelessness. We’re going to take care of the people that want help.”

According to Altmeyer, the city of Lewiston has yet to address the issue of homelessness in its community. UGM issued a news release two weeks ago noting the 2020 counts of homeless people in the Region 2 area that comprises north central Idaho tallied 268 homeless persons. Of those, 213 were unsheltered. Asotin County adds another 150 people to the region’s unsheltered count, bringing the minimum number to 363, according to the news release.

The City Council passed a six-month moratorium on the construction of homeless shelters in 2017, its first attempt at regulation, after the now-closed ROC Rescue Mission announced plans for men’s and women’s shelters in North Lewiston.

While some argued a 100-person limit for shelters may be more reasonable than the current 50-person limit, UGM wants to do away with the capacity limit altogether.

“I don’t want to put this fear out that we’re going to have 200 people — that’s unrealistic,” Altmeyer said. “But 50 is not too realistic of an investment for us to come build all this shelter and say, ‘Only 50 people.’ I don’t know if it makes sense.”

Some city officials appeared in favor of upping capacity, even if the location must be moved. Councilor Bob Blakey spoke in favor of UGM, and said he was “impressed” after touring its Spokane location.

“Those people are not going to be a threat,” Blakey said. “I think there’s room to accommodate everybody.”

Others were more skeptical.

“If we need to come back together and make modifications, so be it,” a man said, referring to the current city ordinance. “But to not have a cap on the number of beds definitely bothers me. I sure don’t want this to end up being a mega homeless shelter.”

According to Michelle King, who runs the LC Valley Youth Resource Center, people don’t want to admit Lewiston has a homeless problem. Her center can only admit individuals younger than 18, but she said the problem in the community is much larger.

King went to high school in Lewiston and later graduated from Lewis-Clark State College. She said she knows what it’s like to live in a homeless shelter, because she’s done it herself.

“The local need is bigger than people know,” she said. “On any given night, there are 30 high school students looking for a place to sleep. If you do not understand that displaced people are members of our community, you are misinformed.”

After many public comments in favor and opposed to the shelter, councilors decided to table any decision-making for another day.

“The ball is in their (City Council’s) court,” Altmeyer said. “We’re not setting up a feeding program here. We’re setting up a program that helps change lives.”

Palermo may be contacted at apalermo@lmtribune.com. Follow her on Twitter @apalermotweets.