Lewis County has moved to dismiss a lawsuit it filed against the City of Chehalis over a stalled plan to open a night-by-night homeless shelter in the city.
Filed in Thurston County Superior Court on April 23, the lawsuit alleged the city “intentionally interfered” with the opening of the night-by-night shelter “for an improper purpose, delay and by improper means.”
Following a brief executive session Tuesday morning, Lewis County Commissioner Lindsey Pollock said she anticipated additional cooperation in permitting the project.
“In light of the anticipated cooperation with the City of Chehalis on the permanent night-by-night shelter, I move that we dismiss the … lawsuit,” Pollock said Tuesday.
Both Pollock and Commissioner Scott Brummer voted to dismiss the lawsuit. Commissioner Sean Swope was not present at Tuesday’s meeting.
Issues over permitting date back more than two years, with three officials serving as Chehalis city manager during the delay.
Stacy Denham, who took over as city manager on Saturday, said in an interview Tuesday that he had communicated with Lewis County Manager Ryan Barrett regarding the shelter.
“We’re looking at new ways to get things started,” Denham said.
The lawsuit was filed more than two years after county officials first identified a site to open the new shelter and months after the county missed self-identified goals to open the shelter.
After delays prevented the shelter from opening in mid-September as scheduled, officials expressed optimism the shelter would open by the end of the year.
Night-by-night shelters are a form of emergency housing that open each afternoon and close in the mornings. They offer food, showers and a place to sleep.
The plan to open a night-by-night shelter initially included opening an interim shelter at 2015 NE Kresky Ave., the former Washington State Employees Credit Union, as a permanent shelter at 2025 NE Kresky Ave. was completed. However, the county determined the use of 2025 NE Kresky Ave. as a final shelter location to be “prohibitively expensive.”
According to the suit, Lewis County initially filed a request to change the use of the property from a commercial building to a year-round indoor emergency shelter on May 5, 2022. While Chehalis acknowledged the application, the city took “no other action” until June 2023, according to the lawsuit.
In May 2023, the city first informed county officials that a conditional use permit would be required for the application, according to the lawsuit.
“The county viewed the conditional use permit requirement as contrary to Washington land use law and attempted to negotiate with the city through email and meetings with city personnel to include the city planner, city manager, mayor and city attorney,” the suit stated
The county applied for a conditional-use permit “under protest” and “simultaneously applied for a code interpretation” on July 17, according to the lawsuit.
