Options for proposed homeless shelter will be discussed today

What happens next with the LC Valley Adult Resource Center is not clear after the Lewiston City Council opted to delay its decision on the 35-bed homeless shelter.

The council was scheduled to vote on a reasoned statement of relevant criteria and standards at its regular meeting Monday.

The written document outlined the council’s thinking behind reversing a Planning and Zoning Commission approval of a conditional use permit that would have allowed the shelter to move forward.

Home and business owners near the proposed site at 1332 G St. have testified they are worried about vandalism and vagrancy increasing in the area if the plans proceed.

Council President Hannah Liedkie suggested tabling the matter until the council’s July 25 meeting.

Liedkie said city staff members are meeting today with representatives of Intermountain Fair Housing and the LC Valley Adult Resource Center, the organizer of the shelter.

Those two groups wrote a letter to the city at the end of June. It stated the opportunity to acquire the proposed site at 1332 G St. had passed and that the council’s decision essentially created a situation where no site in Lewiston would meet the city’s criteria for low-barrier homeless shelters.

They suggested in the letter that the city’s community center be used to serve the purpose of the low-barrier homeless shelter — giving a place for homeless people to be at night as long as they met minimal criteria such as not posing a threat to themselves or others.

The postponement of council action has her support, Liedkie said, because it will “hopefully” be a part of exploring the correct options.

“When an issue is of this magnitude and long-term effects could be detrimental or could be outstanding for the city, I think we need … due diligence in ensuring that we are moving forward in a long-term solution,” she said.

In other business, the council had a first reading on an ordinance governing mobile food vendors that follows an increase in businesses license applications for them in recent years, according to a city staff memorandum.

Such businesses have to adhere to Idaho Public Health rules and the city is attempting to clarify its regulations surrounding them, according to the memorandum.

“Due to their unique regulatory requirements, it was determined that establishing code provisions specifically for mobile food vendors would allow staff to better regulate these licenses,” the memo stated. “The regulations … should … be flexible to accommodate their individual circumstances.”

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.