SPOKANE, Wash. — The confusion and frustration over the sudden closure of the Wall Street Apartments in downtown Spokane was evident during a city council briefing of the situation Thursday.
It seemed many council members were left with more questions than answers, including what's being done to help an untold number of former tenants who are now displaced.
"That's the heartbreak here," said council member Karen Stratton, calling the lack of information a black hole.
Stratton said she was told Wednesday that service providers were at the building at 225 S. Wall Street and that checks would be provided to 24 tenants Monday, but said she was unclear who was providing services or where the money for the checks was coming from.
Other questions from council to fire marshal Lance Dahl and code enforcement director Luis Garcia involved the timeline of deeming the building unsafe and how much notice was given to residents and service providers.
"Every day that that occupancy was allowed to remain in existence was another potential for a mass casualty. While we're sensitive to the conditions of the tenants, the presence of a potential mass casualty outweighs that," Garcia said, saying the situation had become an emergency, prompting notice of non-occupancy on August 31. Tenants were ordered out by September 12.
Garcia said they've been working with the landlord since summer 2022 to address numerous repeated safety violations. A notice of summary hearing dated August 31, 2023, says those violations included water and sewer leaks, accumulations of waste, and missing fire extinguishers or a fire alarm system.
One of the most egregious violations noted was doors being screwed shut.
"Egress doors being blocked or fastened shut," Garcia said.
"Why, if we knew there was potential for mass casualty, why were council members not told," council member Michael Cathcart asked.
"We knew nothing about this," Stratton agreed.
Garcia explained informing legislative bodies before a non-occupancy declaration is not part of the process under statute, but that could be changed if the council requested it; Cathcart said he'd make such a request.
Council president Lori Kinnear said she'd already asked that council be notified of any building official processes during executive sessions for any apartments that are going through something similar.
The building's owner and landlord Alaa Elkharwily says many claims, including that he screwed shut fire exits, are fabricated. He denies he was given many of the notices of violations.
"I was not notified with any notice, they held a summary hearing, allegedly," he said.
During Thursday's meeting, he said he had a solution for the council but was told there was no opportunity for public comment and was asked to leave.
Elkharwily says he opened the apartments in 2008 and hasn't had a problem until the pandemic, when he began having more issues with non-tenants coming into the building.
Eric Christian, who says he moved in four years ago and worked as security, said he was often asking people to leave, including drug users who weren't living there. He says doors were often left propped open and non-tenants would often loiter outside. His fourth floor apartment, he adds, was broken into, leaving him staying with a friend in a different unit. He says he technically wasn't paying rent while living in that apartment.
Now he's the one outside.
"This was supposed to be like our next year, summer," he said, pointing to a camper parked outside the apartments. "We got a lot of repairs to do on this. This is not what you're supposed to live in."
It's now the only option for Christian and three other friends, along with multiple dogs. He says he's been permitted to live in the camper outside the building while he waits for a disability check at the end of the month. Christian says he can't get assistance to find another place because of past felonies, along with a lack of documentation he was a legal tenant.
"To me, it's always been no and you're defeated," he said.
Answers were also hard to come by during city council's briefing. Council members Betsy Wilkerson and Jonathan Bingle repeatedly asked how many tenants were impacted and what could've been done to prevent their displacement. Other questions revolved around who would fund relocation efforts.
"We have people who've been displaced, I don't know who's helping them get into a safe living environment," Stratton said. "I don't know how that money, how they're going to be reimbursed for rent or how they're going to have money for rent."
Garcia says, under state law, the landlord is responsible for paying for tenant relocation, but if that's not possible the city can step in. He says they're still figuring out how many people were legal tenants, complicating determining relocation assistance.
As those questions grew more pointed, city attorney Lynden Smithson stepped up, saying there's pending litigation on the matter and council would have to go into executive session to get into specifics.
The news came as a shock to council.
"Why are we even discussing this if there's pending litigation," Cathcart asked.
"We did not know there was pending litigation," Kinnear and Stratton said.
"I believe we were served yesterday," Smithson answered.
Elkharwily filed the federal lawsuit Monday, claiming his due process and disability rights were violated.
"I feel deeply my rights have been violated, and I've been targeted by the city," he said.
He offered to have city council members come inspect the building themselves, saying he's willing to drop the lawsuit and work something out.