SPANAWAY, Wash. — Pierce County is taking a new approach to addressing homelessness.
This past Tuesday, the Council voted to approve funding and a zoning ordinance for a micro-home village just west of Spanaway during its Tuesday meeting.
According to the county’s proposal, 285 micro homes will be built on an 86-acre site.
Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier says the plan is based off a model used in Austin, Texas, and says in addition to homes and gardens, the village would have on-site services for mental health and substance abuse, along with micro-enterprises so people could work.
The goal is to have construction completed by fall 2028.
Dammeier says the goal is to make sure people can access the resources they need, and provide a path back into society.
“It is about community, bringing people who were trapped in chronic homelessness, bringing them into community, getting them the services and support they need, but it’s also about working and paying rent and being a part of that community, and that’s what makes it really transformational,” Dammeier said.
However, some residents who live just a short distance away have reservations about the project, with potentially lower property values and higher crime rates being chief concerns.
“The good thing is, they’re getting support and some help, and then another bad side of it is, maybe it could get out of hand,” said Otis Jackson, who lives in the neighborhood across the street from the village site.
Walter Kelly also lives across the street from the site and says he’d probably move if the village was built.
But Dammeier is calling on community members to give the project a chance and hopes that the village’s success can be an example for future projects.
“I’m confident that six months after it’s open, a lot of the community who has concerns today will think much differently about it,” he said. “We have to make sure it’s successful because we have to use success to build future success. There may be an opportunity in the future to expand this model, not on that site, but in another site. But that’s really going depend on it being successful, and the community around it seeing, it’s not what they feared and it may be adding to their community.”
Right now, the goal is to have construction completed by fall 2028. Those who would like to know more about the project and get updates can find more information on Pierce County’s website.