City of Great Falls Files Lawsuit Against Church Homeless Encampment
GREAT FALLS – The City of Great Falls said in a news release Tuesday, May 31, 2022 that over the past six months First United Methodist Church has expanded its homeless outreach ministry located at 610 2nd Avenue North .
Initially, the Church provided food and space for the homeless, and has now expanded into a tent and RV camp in violation of the City of Great Falls municipal code.
The city informed Pastor Jeff Wakeley that the church is required under the city’s zoning ordinance to obtain a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to operate any type of homeless shelter in first case.
The church has since submitted a CUP application which is currently being processed by City staff and will be presented to the Great Falls Zoning Commission in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the Church was also notified in early May that tent and RV camping is a separate violation of the city’s zoning code, which does not allow campgrounds in the zoning district where is the church.
MTN
The church did not respond to that notice by removing tents and camping arrangements as instructed, so the city has now filed a lawsuit in district court to enforce its zoning requirements.
The City has also begun the process of reviewing and responding to several citizen complaints regarding a “public nuisance” condition on the property under city code. This process may ultimately lead to a City Board hearing on the matter and a possible City Board order requesting that the nuisance conditions on the property be reduced.
City officials said they had hoped the First United Methodist Church would work with the Great Falls local Continuum of care and other existing service providers to help the homeless. Instead, First United have sought to extend their efforts saying City have not done enough to support a ‘low barrier’ shelter.
Wakely told MTN News in January“It’s not a problem you’re going to solve, it’s a problem you’re going to manage. The community must take responsibility for this. We are all part of the community, whether you are poor, homeless or otherwise. We are all part of what makes up the community, we are all neighbors.”