Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Olympia Site Plan Review Committee held a presubmission conference on a nonprofit’s proposal to potentially convert a vacant veterinary clinic into a homeless shelter at 902 Union Ave. SE.
RootedHearts Global Founder and Chief Executive Officer Lakeisha “Eden” Bassett told the review committee at a meeting on Wednesday, July 29, the project calls for a transitional housing facility that would accommodate approximately 10 to 15 residents experiencing homelessness.
According to Bassett, the facility would provide temporary housing and support services to help individuals transition toward independent living.
City Planner Casey Mauck said the proposed use is permitted under the site’s zoning designation, but would require a land use review permit because of the change in use from a veterinary clinic to transitional housing.
She said the city would evaluate the application based on compliance with existing regulations rather than public opinion.
“There is a public comment period. But just know that the approval criteria for a land use permit … it’s set in stone and it is based on whether the proposal (meets) regulations. It is not necessarily a popularity contest — if folks want the use there or not," Mauck said.
As part of the permitting process, the city and applicant may hold a project information meeting, usually through Zoom. The public can attend and ask questions about the project.
“We find that it’s a good way to tame some community concerns and get accurate information,” Mauck said. “They can get connected with the actual permit reviewers and the project applicant if they have any questions.”
Mauck said if the project involves only interior renovations and no significant changes to the building’s exterior, it may not require a formal architectural design review.
Olympia Engineering Plans Examiner Tiffani King outlined several infrastructure requirements that will need to be addressed before the project can move forward.
Among them are verification of the existing water system, installation or confirmation of a backflow preventive device, pressure reducing plumbing valves, a grease interceptor for the proposed kitchen, and an evaluation of sewer connection fees associated with the change in occupancy.
King said one of the project’s major costs would come from additional sewer connection fees from the proposed change in the building’s use.
The property is already connected to the city’s sewer system, but King said converting the former veterinary clinic into a transitional housing facility with residential occupancy, cooking facilities and staff would increase wastewater discharge.
The city calculates sewer charges using equivalent residential units, which are based on expected water consumption.
King said the estimate was based on calculations used for a similar homeless shelter developed as part of the Low Income Housing Institute's Martin Way project.
“We had kind of come to an agreement that for each resident in the shelter would be about an average daily use of 50 cubic feet of water per person, and that would include not just that one person, but also the staff on site and the cooking facilities,” King said.
After crediting the site’s previous veterinary clinic use, the preliminary calculation resulted in about $16,000 in additional sewer connection charges.
During the meeting, Olympia Housing Department Senior Program Specialist Christa Lenssen informed Bassett that the project may qualify for affordable housing incentives, including exemptions or reductions in impact fees of up to 80 percent, and general facility charges. She added that nonprofit property tax exemptions available through the state may be applicable.
According to the project narrative, RootedHearts Global plans to provide shelter, meals, case management, counseling, employment assistance, transportation resources, child care, and referrals for medical and dental services. The organization also plans to establish individualized recovery plans for each resident, with program participation ranging from six months to two years.
The proposal outlines a three-stage recovery program that begins with assessments and case management, followed by education and employment support, before transitioning residents into permanent housing.
RootedHearts Global is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals rebuild their lives. The organization serves communities within Thurston, Pierce and King counties.
4 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
JulesJames
Sounds like this is actual treatment and pathways to recovery and not just enabling drug abuse housing. Progress finally?
Tuesday, August 4 Report this
Snevets
Sounds like a good plan to go forward.
Wednesday, August 5 Report this
MJGord
The remark about the estimate of 50cu ft of water per person per day got me curious, that equals 370 gals pp/pday. I pulled one of our bills (Tumwater) and we (2 seniors,no pets) used in Dec was 26 gal/day., that's 14 times bigger.
My figure is dead of winter & means no yard watering,we take showers a little more than 1x wk. I know there are great lifestyle differences and there should be.
But instead Im wondering about who put that estimate out & how the size of it was picked?
Wednesday, August 5 Report this
MartyKenney
This sounds like an excellent facility, I'm so happy that we might see some actual progress in transitioning people off the streets.
I agree with MJGord, 50cu/ft per day is outrageous. The average residential use is somewhere around 60-100 gal/day.
50 cu/ft is 374 gallons... So the fact that Tiffani King is charging 3-4 times as much for sewer upgrades is frustrating. And its this sort of Bureaucracy that stops these sorts of projects in their tracks. I cant imagine the non-profit has an extra $14,000 for this sort of stuff.
A project that has the potential to make real progress on the main issue our city is facing, and the Beaurocrats cant make accommodations??
It just feels like the Beaurocrats don't have capacity for critical thinking, they just have tunnel vision for their own rules. It makes me so mad.
Thursday, August 6 Report this