(The Center Square) – The Spokane City Council held its second community roundtable on Tuesday over several delayed homelessness ordinances after the first meeting ended without discussing them.
Council President Betsy Wilkerson and Councilmember Zack Zappone centered the meeting on a few aspects of the measures after dozens of stakeholders left confused last time. While the intention is to gather input on the shelved legislation, the first meeting focused on existing laws.
Since mid-July, the council has stalled at least five related pieces of legislation, all but one proposed by Republicans, which Tuesday’s meeting focused on. Nicknamed the “Homeless Bill of Rights,” the ordinance would make “housing status” a protected class.
During the roundtable, stakeholders completed a survey that asked about taking up the “Homeless Bill of Rights” at the state and local levels. According to the results provided by the city, of the 24 responses, 13 noted they did not support making “housing status” a protected class for Spokane, with 12 against pushing for it at the state level.