SPOKANE, Wash – A downtown Spokane salon owner is suing the city and Catholic Charities, saying the entities have not done enough to deter crime.
Linda Biel says she’s closing Urbanna Spa Natural Salon and Wine.
She says crime near her location is chasing away her customers who don’t feel safe.
Biel blames the city and the Catholic Charities for allowing low-barrier housing units to be built within a five block radius.
“These Catholic Charities shelters have created an over concentration of four hundred people, many of them suffering from addiction and mental health problems,” said salon owner Linda Biel.
Biel filed a tort claim last fall, showing her intent to sue, then filed the lawsuit in October. The lawsuit is now pending in Spokane County Superior Court.
The salon was previously located at 168 S. Division. Biel said she was forced to relocate because of the “rapidly escalated crime.”
She reopened 479 feet north, at 104 S. Division. She said crime increased with the opening of another Catholic Charities location.
In a previous statement regarding the lawsuit, Catholic Charities says the lawsuit “contains several misleading, inaccurate and baseless allegations.”
“We know that our apartments and wrap-around services are a true blessing for the low-income men, women, and children who have a safe and supportive place to sleep each night,” the statement said. “Rather than being a nuisance, our properties are a life raft for people to escape homelessness. Though we cannot comment given the ongoing litigation, we are confident that the litigation process will reveal that the spa, salon, and wine bar’s closure is not a result of any activity on Catholic Charities’ property and/or any conduct attributable to our residents, who are striving to improve their lives.”
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