The property chosen for the proposed Federal Way day shelter may not be adequately zoned for the 2,000-square-foot space that would help the homeless access a hot meal, shower, the Internet and more.

Located at 33505 13th Place S. in Federal Way, members of the Federal Way Day Shelter Coalition chose the location because of its close proximity to services such as the Multi-Service Center, King County Public Health and Valley Cities counseling, which is less than a mile away.

Telecare Corporation has also proposed a mental health facility across from the day shelter’s chosen location, making the area a hub for homeless and mental health services if approved by the city.

But some business owners in the area object to that hub.

Attorney Kelly DeLaat-Maher with Smith Alling, PS sent a letter to the City Council in November listing several of her client’s concerns and her opinion that the proposed day shelter’s location is inconsistent with zoning codes.

“The property and the surrounding properties, including the properties owned and operated by our clients, are within the Office Park (OP) zone,” according to the letter. “My review of the city of Federal Way’s zoning code, specifically Chapter 19.235, indicates that a homeless shelter use is not contemplated or consistent with that zoning.”

DeLaat-Maher represents Matthew Jarvis, owner of Jarvis Financial Services, which is located at 33308 13th Place S., across the street from the day shelter’s proposed location.

Whether the day shelter is compliant or not with zoning, Jarvis admits his feelings about it are a classic “not in my backyard” case.

The woods around his business’s building attract trespassers, who utilize his business’s parking lot to access the woods, which results in loiterers and litter, he said.

“Our concern is that by opening a day shelter, they’re going to drive even more people here,” Jarvis said. “Obviously, nobody wants a homeless shelter next to their business, right?”

DeLaat-Maher wrote that surrounding business owners object to the implementation of the shelter in that area because it is “inconsistent with the surrounding business usages, including the operation of a daycare across the street,” referring to KinderCare located at 33504 13th Place S.

Jarvis said in one way, he and other business owners sound heartless and that they don’t care about the homeless, but he said they do.

“We just don’t want it to impact our livelihood,” he said.

Determining whether the day shelter will violate zoning code or not will be on Community Development Director Michael Morales’s shoulders.

Although the city has yet to receive the application for the day shelter, there will be some challenges in determining whether the day shelter qualifies in the office park zone or not.

“It’s really confusing because on one side it will be allowable and on the other it won’t,” Morales said referring to 13th Place South.

The day shelter could be compatible for other uses that are currently there, but if it is considered a social services office, then “it would not be allowed outright in that zone,” Morales said.

“And I’ve told them verbally they may have a challenge there, meaning it’s a longer process,” he said. “The property owner can request a change in the zoning code that would allow that use but it would take them a good six months to go through that process with the city.”

Morales stressed that he can’t rule out what hasn’t been submitted, so there’s still a lot of unknowns at this point.

“The other part of it that has a gap here is the classification of use under essential public facilities, while cities have to provide zoning for those facilities similar in the city, that use, every use under that category isn’t always allowed under that zone,” he said, clarifying essential public facilities include hospitals, government offices, social services and even child care facilities. “In that area you have Multi-Service Center, which is considered an office, King County Public Health is government and the proposed site for Telecare is hospital because it’s inpatient …”

The Office Park zoning doesn’t allow social services, specifically transitional housing, but because the day shelter won’t allow the homeless to spend the night, Morales questioned if that definition would apply.

Catholic Community Services, the organization that has agreed to be the tenant, could decide to relocate the space, Morales noted, as they haven’t yet signed a lease.

Catholic Community Services declined to comment.

Jackie Blair, a member of the Federal Way Day Shelter Coalition, said the coalition was aware that there would be some discrepancy in the zoning requirements because there is no zone that specifically says that they’ll accept a day shelter.

“We were told by the city that Brian Wilson would take care of it,” Blair said. “That was before the letter was received.”

Wilson, the city’s chief of staff, said he is working to provide assistance to bring “these important services to fruition.”

“That assistance includes directing community members to the right people within City Hall in order for their issues to be addressed or identifying steps towards solutions to problems,” he wrote in an email. “I have provided this level of assistance with the Day Shelter Coalition efforts.”

Blair said the zoning issue is a minor setback and she has no reason to believe it will holdup the day shelter very much.

“We just need to have it clarified a little bit more, but we certainly have the community behind us,” she said, adding that on top of the city’s $100,000 in funding, the coalition has raised $47,000 of the $55,0000 needed for the building’s renovation from their Bags of Hope campaign. “We’ve had a couple big donations of $5,000. One from Catholic Community Services and one from a family in Federal Way, a $4,000 donation from somebody who has volunteered at a library and has seen the situation and knows what we need. Valley Cities has donated a large amount, about $4,000, but all the rest of it is $5-$500 [individual donations].”

As much as Jarvis said he’d rather see the day shelter built somewhere else, he’d like there to be a balance if the shelter stays put.

“I think if we could get a no loitering ordinance and a no overnight parking ordinance, if we could get those two, we wouldn’t fight it any further,” he said, explaining that would be a city ordinance of some sort. “Our real concern is when the day shelter closes, where are those people going to go?”

Jarvis said he could simply leave Federal Way when his lease is up in a couple of years but if the city cares about its businesses, it would benefit the city to work together on this issue.