Generally, when one edits the shelving location (items.location) of an item, Koha also updates the permanent shelving location (items.permanent_location) to match. However, some libraries prefer to make it possible to edit the location without updating the permanent location. This allows one to set an item to a temporary location that automatically clears at checkin using the UpdateItemLocationOnCheckin syspref. That setup currently relies upon editing frameworks to make permanent location an editable field. That setup has proven fragile, as shown in bug 27837, bug 28832, bug 30909, and bug 31187. I suggest adding a more specific mechanism for this workflow in hopes that it will remain more stable and usable. In the item edit and item batch mod screens, we could put a checkbox next to the field for shelving location. The checkbox is labeled "Update permanent shelving location" and is checked by default. If one un-checks it, that edit will only update shelving location, not permanent location. The checkbox could be hidden with CSS if one doesn't want to use this feature. Or, if folks prefer, we could create a system preference to show/hide it.
Apparently I posited a different solution on 30910, one I like better. Good job, other me.