Ozzie's plans for Camp Hope, kudos for tax credits; and local political mapmaking

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich is standing behind his plans to remove the Camp Hope homeless encampment in East Central Spokane by mid-October. The county prosecutor's office, Knezovich says, is working on a warrant of abatement for the camp that should be completed in about 20 days. Some conservatives, including two on the Spokane City Council, have voiced support for the sheriff's plan, but many progressives have raised concerns about the moral, legal and logistical implications of forcibly displacing more than 600 homeless people in a city without adequate shelter space. State agencies have said they also want to see the campers moved but need more time to make sure each camper is placed in safe and secure housing — a process that could take months. The sheriff — who has not been to Camp Hope himself — says he would be fine holding off on the sweep if state agencies pledged to move every camper within a month. But two months? No way, Knezovich says. (NATE SANFORD)

LOW INCOME LAURELS

Downtown Spokane's Ridpath building won national recognition last week for its use of a federal program that encourages affordable housing in historic buildings. The former hotel, first opened in 1952, then closed in 2008, struggled for years under shady financiers and dubious plans, but opened in 2018 with 184 units of rent-controlled workforce housing developed using a variety of public funds, including housing tax credits. The apparent success of the project led the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition to award the Ridpath the 2022 Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award for historic preservation. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., praised the win. "In the face of a serious homelessness and housing affordability crisis, the Ridpath Club Apartments have provided relief to renters in Spokane who've struggled to make ends meet," she said in a statement. It's not perfect. The building has struggled to find commercial tenants for its ground floors, and residents have complained about safety. (NICHOLAS DESHAIS)

BORDER CONTROL

In last year's race for Spokane City Council, progressive Zack Zappone beat conservative Mike Lish by only 262 votes — a little more than a single percent. But if one of the city's Redistricting Board local gerrymandering proposals shown to the public last week goes through, Zappone's reelection could be a bit easier. By putting the deep blue Browne's Addition neighborhood into Zappone's northwestern District 3, the map is a boon to Democrats. That map would have boosted Gov. Jay Inslee's margin in 2020 in that district by 1.5 percentage points. So who designed that map? None other than Councilmember Zack Zappone. Pressed by the Inlander, Zappone swears he wasn't trying to give himself an advantage. Instead, he says he was merely trying to design a map that didn't split up existing neighborhood council districts. What do you think? Zappone's map — Map #2 — is one of four proposals on the city's website, awaiting public comment. Go to my.spokanecity.org/bcc/boards/city-council-districting-board for more information. (DANIEL WALTERS)