KIRKLAND, Wash. — Some Kirkland residents are taking legal action over what was already a somewhat controversial plan to turn La Quinta Inn & Suites into permanent supportive housing for those experiencing homelessness.
The project has been organized over recent months through a partnership between the city and King County for its Health Through Housing program, a plan to acquire hotels and other housing properties to quickly stand up permanent housing for those living unsheltered.
A group of parents, under the name Keep Kids Safe, filed a lawsuit in Snohomish County against Kirkland and King County “challenging the lack of public process and transparency” in the proposed facility.
“This lawsuit is about King County and the City of Kirkland violating their own rules and processes and hiding things from citizens,” said Mark Lamb, the attorney for Keep Kids Safe, in a statement.
In early March, members of the Kirkland City Council voiced their concern over how the county was handling the project and passed Resolution 5522 in response.
The city stated that the resolution set the “terms and conditions necessary to maintain support of the La Quinta Inn as a King County Health Through Housing site,” which the city said was drafted based on community input.
Within the resolution were five main conditions, including that the city be able to review and approve the county’s selection process for the facility’s operator and that there be a community relations plan developed to address possible impacts on nearby schools, businesses and residences.
Before the council passed the resolution, Kirkland City Manager Kirk Triplett sought to address "numerous questions" about the then-proposal in a Facebook post in early February. He said that the city and county would initiate a community engagement process that would involve “key stakeholders” near the site.
However, the lawsuit claims that there was no public meeting held prior to the purchase of the property.
While the lawsuit is directed at the process through which the county and city finalized the housing project, another key complaint from parents is that the site is a short distance away from numerous schools, including Eastside Preparatory School just one street over from the hotel.
“We are absolutely supportive of finding solutions for the homeless crisis but feel the risks of locating so close to all of these schools and a daycare need to be carefully considered in an open public process by both King County and the City of Kirkland prior to approval," parent Susie Kupferman said. "That did not happen.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Executive Dow Constantine said the county is aware of the lawsuit and is reviewing it but offered no additional comments.
The Kirkland property is the 10th Health Through Housing site the county has purchased, bringing the program's housing unit total to nearly 1,000.
When the purchase was announced on March 3, the county said it planned to improve the building and develop a “Good Neighbor Agreement” with the city and surrounding community.
The building would feature 24/7 onsite support staff and serve those who are experiencing chronic homelessness in the county.