The Dalles Houseless Shelters to Remain Open Until September
Keith Bright, a houseless individual in The Dalles poses in front of The Dalles Shelters.
The Dalles Houseless Shelters will not be shutting down operation on March 31st thanks to some hard digging into Municipal code by The City of The Dalles in partnership with Mid Columbia Community Action Council.
The City of The Dalles has decided that the temporary shelter site operated by MCCAC is within the public right-of-way,* and the City has granted MCCAC a temporary license to use the right-of-way to continue operating a temporary shelter site effective April 1st.
“The City’s land use development ordinance does not apply to public rights-of-way; therefore the City will be able to allow the Pallet shelters to remain in place past the March 31st deadline,” said The Dalles Mayor, Rich Mays who chairs the City’s Houseless Committee. “I am gratified the City staff figured out a way for this to happen because the Pallet shelter program has thus far been an unqualified success.”
The new license retains the 18 shelters (36 person) limit and holds MCCAC responsible for all costs associated with its use and operation of the site, including costs associated with the servicing, maintenance, and provision of security systems, portable toilets and sanitary facilities, waste disposal and garbage collection services, electrical power, and water and sewer services. MCCAC’s license to use the site will expire after the City amends its Land Use Development Ordinance to allow shelter on certain private lands, state law authorizes the siting of shelters on certain private lands, or in any other impacting event that occurs by September 30, 2021.
The news comes as a relief to the 36 houseless individuals who are currently housed in the shelters. It was originally understood that City zoning restrictions would only allow the MCACC shelters to operate under a temporary emergency rezone until March 31st. The new license prevents the potentially months-long gap in services that could have occurred while the City continues the process of amending its Land Use Development Ordinance (LUDO) to permit permanent and temporary shelters to operate on private property within the City’s planning jurisdiction and seeks state approval for the amendment.
“We’re working hard to make our community a better place,” said Jonathan Kara, The Dalles City Attorney. “We’re working on amending the LUDO every day.”
“This is amazing, this is more than I ever dreamed of. I think the public is behind it now, so things feel better,” said Darcy Long-Curtis, Shelters Operation Manager. “We thought we were shutting down and then reopening, and we thought we would be putting many people up in hotels as a result.”
(Nine medically fragile people in the shelters were originally going to be put into hotels temporarily until shelter services could resume on site.)
“This is a great opportunity, especially with the ($3 million) grant Kenny was able to secure. This is a good long-term investment of our dollars instead of just burning through them with hotels. It’s really good for our community long-term,” said Long-Curtis.
However, MCCAC’s license to use the site expires after the City amends its LUDO to allow shelter on certain private lands, state law authorizes the siting of shelters on certain private lands, or in any event by September 30, 2021. MCCACC Executive Director Kenny LaPoint thinks that the passage of House Bill 2006 could be the next stepping stone in shifting to longer-term houseless solutions in The Dalles. HB 2006 would define "emergency shelter” and would require local governments to allow siting of qualifying emergency shelters by qualifying entities notwithstanding land use laws and regulations.
MCACC Executive Director, Kenny LaPoint pictured speaking from the podium.
“HB 2006 reestablishes the shelter siting flexibility that was originally allowed (for a 90-day window) in 2020 by House Bill 4001,” said Lapoint in a March 15th statement to The Dalles City Council. “HB 2006 seems to have significant support across the state and among many other communities who have been put in a position very similar to ours.”
Lapoint says that if HB 2006 passes the house and senate in May it would go into effect immediately upon signing. “Should this happen I would strongly urge the Council to open discussions to extend MCCAC’s use of the Dalles Pallet Shelter site to year-round, as funding allows,” said Lapoint.
Lapoint confirmed that MCACC could use their recently secured $3 million in funding “to support regional efforts to address houselessness and address the coronavirus pandemic” to continue operating the shelters year-round if HB 2006 passes.
The move to re-license the shelters seems to herald a shift from addressing houselessness in The Dalles with a winter seasonal approach to a longer-term approach that focuses on stabilizing and transitioning houseless individuals into jobs, schooling, and housing, although the seasons do continue to play a role in the shelter's priorities.
“In the wintertime, the goal was to prioritize medically fragile people who could get sick from the cold and basically to keep people from getting frostbite and now that it’s warmer we can increase our focus on housing transitioning services: helping people get identification, get housing vouchers, and get access to services to help them transition into housing,” said Long-Curtis.
The move to a long-term approach to addressing houselessness in The Dalles has received widespread support from the community and has already yielded tangible results in the lives of many houseless individuals. To date The Dalles houseless shelters have had 7 shelter guests transition into permanent housing and assisted 5 guests with obtaining steady employment. In addition, MCACC has reported that 4 guests have been stabilized and are currently attending post-secondary education; and 2 current guests have received Housing Choice Vouchers from the Mid-Columbia Housing Authority and are searching for a permanent place to call home.
*City “right-of-way”, is a policy that (in very basic terms) functions similarly to an easement. The City exercises complete regulatory control over all public rights-of-way within City limits (TDMC 2.24.020).
Pictured: The Dalles Shelters, located on Bargeway Road. On-site management operates out of the trailer pictured on the left.
More Housing News:
MCCAC Awarded $3 Million to Address Houselessness
A Day in the Life: Houseless in The Dalles
Priced Out: TD Housing Hard to Come By
TD Home Prices Shoot Up as Housing Stock Dries Up
TD Council Triples the Number of Houseless Shelters in Split Decisions
TD Shelter Village Taking Shape Fast
