Proposed Lacey overnight lot to ID, fingerprint homeless

A South Sound city that recently approved a camping ban that prevents the homeless from setting up shop on city streets is facing a dilemma.

They legally need to provide a place for the homeless to go.

"This is home,” said Jack Potter.

Potter lives in a 23-foot travel trailer parked behind Lacey City Hall.

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“I'm considered lucky,. I'm considered rich out here because of this,” he said.

Potter’s been parked in the lot for months.

He runs Veterans Christian Charity and lives alongside nearly two dozen other members of the homeless community.

"NIBY is very popular here: not in my backyard. The homeless are here. You can't tell them you don't want them here. They're here,” he said.

Much like many areas in Washington, Lacey Police Chief Ken Semko said the city has a homeless crisis.

In June, the City Council passed a no camping ordinance, which bans people from setting up tents and RVs in public places. By law, they need somewhere to go.

"The recent Boise decision has mandated that anybody sleeping out in public that is homeless needs to have an alternate place to go,” said Semko.

City officials want to open an overnight lot. It would be available from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

"This is something to provide a spot for somebody to rest for the night, a safe and secure spot they can count on,” said Rick Walk, community economic development director.

The space would be fenced off with restrooms and security. There would be rules: no crime, drinking, drugs or weapons.

People who want to stay at the site would be ID'd. If someone doesn’t have an ID, they’d go to the Lacey Police Department to be fingerprinted.

“We want to make sure that the people inside those locations sponsored by the city are safe,” said Semko. "It provides us the information of who they are, and we can ensure it's not a criminal trying to hide inside the homeless population or in a campsite that's been sponsored by the city."

Semko said IDs and fingerprints would also be used to help the homeless connect to city services.

"We have homeless people who say, ‘I don't want an ID card, I don't want a Social Security number.’ Fine, go live in the hills. If you want to live in society, be part of society, and being part of society is having an ID,” said Potter.

Potter likes where he lives and wants a legal place to park his RV.

"Compared to others on the streets, this is heaven,” he said.

Lacey hasn’t decided where the overnight lot will go.

A public hearing to discuss the issue is scheduled for Aug. 6 at 7:05 p.m. at the Lacey City Hall Council Chambers.

Cox Media Group