Public records obtained by The Urbanist show strong pushback from a cadre of Capitol Hill landlords and business owners to siting a King County crisis care center on Broadway. That resistance nearly succeeded in derailing the project after bending the ear of former Mayor Bruce Harrell.
On Tuesday, King County Executive Girmay Zahilay unveiled his "Breaking the Cycle" Initiative tackling the housing and homelessness crisis, which could include a countywide affordable housing levy that could go before voters as early as 2027.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson rolled out new legislation intended to expedite production of emergency housing and homeless shelter at the Hope Factory in SoDo. She aims to produce 1,000 units in her first year.
Some library staff say that a new enforcement crackdown led by the Seattle Public Library’s new head of security is turning librarians into part-time cops, and they’re not happy about it. Justin Ward dives into how we ended up here.
On Tuesday, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson pledged to attack affordability on four different fronts: housing, childcare, food, and small business opportunities. It was her first State of the City speech since taking office seven weeks ago.
DESC opened 95 supportive housing units last week in Upper Fremont. Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson attended the ribbon-cutting celebration, noting the positive step toward addressing the homelessness crisis, but Trump cuts could slow the pace of similar project openings.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson rolled out two executive orders on Thursday morning, seeking to get major initiatives rolling: expanding emergency housing for homeless residents and bus lanes to speed up the Route 8 bus. Wilson has set a deadline of April 17 for a Denny Way bus lane implementation plan.
People experiencing homelessness face huge hurdles to owning dogs and other pets while navigating social services. But Caleb Sinéad Shapiro argues it doesn’t have to be this way.
To fill in the gaps in the continuum of care for unhoused neighbors, the Seattle region should deploy mobile tiny house villages, argues Taiwo Adeptun. Managed mobile villages of tiny homes can rotate between eligible locations, providing a rapidly deployable option to get homeless people inside.
Seattle Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson believes she’ll be judged primarily by how she can improve outcomes on homelessness and public safety. In an interview with The Urbanist, Wilson laid out what she aims to do to set a new course, striving for a more holistic and effective response.
An opioid treatment nurse shares why they support Katie Wilson for Seattle Mayor and trust her to address interlinked crises around housing, homelessness, and opiate addiction.
The 10 candidates running for seats in the Bellevue City Council discussed how they would tackle the city’s housing and affordability issues in an October 13th forum hosted by the Eastside Housing Equity Coalition. Here’s where the candidates stand.
The 100-unit housing project had been conceived in Kenmore, but was moved to Redmond after community opposition doomed its prospects. Affordable housing leaders see the way Redmond completed the hand-off as a model to be replicated elsewhere.
Seeking to fend off progressive challenger Katie Wilson, Mayor Bruce Harrell took a combative tone in the first debate of the general election season, recently aired by Seattle Channel’s City Inside Out. Harrell frequently attacked and spoke over his opponent, hoping to land a punch that could shake
Last week, the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) celebrated the grand opening of its new Downtown Behavioral Health Clinic. Included onsite is its Opioid Recovery & Care Access (ORCA) Center, which will provide a safe landing place for people to recover after an overdose.
Despite the fact that LIHI’s proposed affordable housing project has been advancing for nearly three years, public opposition has kicked up in recent weeks. The new campaign contends that such a prime Bainbridge Island site isn’t appropriate for affordable housing.
The pair of appeals focused on alleged impact from providing too few off-street parking stalls, but the Hearing Examiner upheld City’s decision to permit the project. Plymouth Housing’s long-planned project can now advance toward construction.
How the City of Tacoma uses planting strips along its streets tells a tale of haves and have-nots, and of our differing standards. The City has gone out of its way to exclude homeless people from this space with $163,000 worth of boulders.
King County is seeking to site a walk-in mental health crisis center in Capitol Hill, but a group of local business owners and residents are pushing back. Health care providers have backed the location, and Seattle Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck has emerged as a vocal proponent, while her colle
King County’s Health Through Housing program provides a road map for exiting homelessness, providing housing first to stabilize people, and it’s working. Newly unveiled 2024 data shows a high rate of success among participants.
In the middle of a homelessness crisis, Seattle is still allowing employers to reject qualified job applicants simply because they don’t have a permanent address. That’s discrimination, and the Seattle City Attorney should lead the way in banning the practice.
This fall voters will decide whether to give Bruce Harrell another term as Seattle Mayor. In the third article in a series, Ron Davis argues that Harrell’s current term has been a failure on the issue of homelessness.
Homeless encampment sweeps have tripled under Mayor Harrell, but shelter capacity has shrunk, and the number of people who are unsheltered remains stubbornly high.
Trump actions are set to deepen the homelessness crisis, while kids face ICE deportation without any legal defense. County and City of Seattle leaders are scrambling to respond.
Last month, actor and union representative Ry Armstrong jumped in the Seattle mayor’s race, arguing Bruce Harrell is dropping the ball on a plethora of issues. In their interview with The Urbanist, Armstrong explained what they’d do differently.
On Tuesday, progressive advocates rallied at Seattle City Hall to make a last-ditch defense to reverse a $330 million JumpStart cut that would deplete affordable housing funding. Tuesday was the last public hearing before Council finalizes the budget next week.
To prevent homelessness and improve housing stability, Seattle City Council should not cut funding for Tenant Services and Rental Assistance as Mayor Bruce Harrell proposes, and instead double it.
Emboldened by the Supreme Court’s sweep-friendly Grants Pass decision, the Seattle City Council is advancing stay out zones in hopes of criminalizing drug abuse, sex work, and homelessness out of existence. History suggests this will not work.
Seattle and other West Coast cities are pushing for the right to clear encampments without offering shelter. But the U.S. Supreme Court would need to overrule the Ninth Circuit ruling deeming this unconstitutional as cruel and unusual punishment.
Bellevue has moved one step closer towards having its first “safe parking” facility open for residents experiencing homelessness. The program will use city-owned property to provide bathrooms, showers, a kitchen, and case management services for unhoused residents living in their vehicles.
After Kenmore backed out of the project, the Redmond City Council approved moving forward with a land transfer that will allow Plymouth Housing to construct 100 units of permanent supportive housing on a city-owned downtown parcel.
Kenmore could be flushing $30 million in grants and the 100 affordable homes they were intended to fund. Following a marathon public hearing that ran until late Tuesday morning, the Kenmore City Council voted 6-1 this week to reject a development agreement that would allow Plymouth Housing to construct
All urban design and architecture is implemented with a particular goal in mind — often to shape people’s behavior in a particular direction. Hostile architecture, also known as unpleasant or exclusionary architecture, or defensive urban design, is a type of design which “uses elements of the built environment to guide
When Neal Lampi, longtime Real Change vendor and former staff member, was living in his vehicle, moving among spots ranging from industrial areas of SoDo to a stretch of road adjacent to Green Lake, it was for one reason: He couldn’t afford rent. Lampi was working at the time
Hamstrung by rising building costs, Seattle’s seven-year levy would fund 3,000 affordable homes. The Seattle Housing Levy is due for renewal this year, and Mayor Bruce Harrell unveiled a $970 million proposal on Thursday that would more than triple the size of the levy. Due to rising
On Saturday, the fences came down and the green space at the center of Ballard was reopened. Closed in December 2021 so the city could sweep a homeless encampment that persisted through the pandemic, the benches had been replaced, the skate bowl had been scrubbed, and the park had been
Earlier this month, a mixture of snow and freezing rain set a stark backdrop as 30 residents, including families with children, couples, singles, and people with pets, moved into their new heated and insulated homes at Riverton Tiny House Village in Tukwila. Since then, Riverton’s villagers have had to
The budget that Mayor Bruce Harrell signed on Thursday slimmed down two proposals that received a feted rollout at the beginning of the budget process in the face of a less-than-rosy economic picture: a larger city response to homeless encampments and the revitalization of long-shuttered City Hall
Even headed into a recession, the Unified Care Team budget for police-assisted homeless sweeps keeps growing. By the end of 2022, the City of Seattle will have spent $5.8 million on permanent housing for unhoused residents and $15 million just on encampment removal teams. While only a measly
Tensions flared between state agencies and Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin this month over a program to move people experiencing homelessness out of state-controlled right of ways after Franklin protested the placement of a handful of people in motels in Everett. The ensuing volley of recriminations became another public example
Governor Jay Inslee was in Seattle yesterday to tout his efforts to reduce homelessness across Washington State, which he said were bearing fruit. Inslee also pledged another state legislative push to reform zoning and speed up permitting in order boost housing creation and put downward pressure on housing prices, which
In mid-September Urbanist reporter Kevin Le wrote about the Tacoma City Council’s plan to create 10-block buffer zones around the city’s nine emergency homeless shelters in which encampments and the storing of belonging by unhoused people would be prohibited on public property. At the time of
Cops often earn triple the salaries of Seattle’s social service workers; pay inequity is undermining the city’s response to homelessness. Seattle’s response to homelessness hinges on workers earning about $40,000 per year. Is it any wonder then that hundreds of positions remain unfilled, turnover is high,
In this podcast episode, we discuss homelessness, health, and Seattle’s own significant history related to these topics with University of Washington Professor Josephine Ensign, author of Skid Road: On the Frontier of Health and Homelessness in an American City. Professor Ensign’s book will be the topic of discussion
Author Josephine Ensign will be available to answer questions on her narrative history of homelessness and safety-net healthcare in Seattle. Next month on Tuesday, October, 18th, at 6pm, The Urbanist will hold its first book club meeting. There are so many excellent books being published that address the topics
Back in May 2017, the City Council of Tacoma declared a public health emergency related to homeless encampments. The following month, the Council passed a resolution allowing for the creation of temporary shelters throughout the city to get people off the streets and protect them and communities from health risks
The cracks are showing in Mayor Harrell’s “One Seattle” brand as he pledged to unseat his enemies and withhold funding from the Regional Homelessness Authority unless they ramp up encampment sweeps. Conservative talk radio host Jason Rantz published revealing quotes from Mayor Bruce Harrell on Monday that blamed everyone
After a slower than expected rollout, the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) has used federally-funded emergency vouchers to house 786 previously-homeless households. According to a July press release, this represents 58% of the 1300 housing vouchers that were allocated across the three public housing authorities in Seattle,
Recently The Seattle Times published a eulogy for the shuttered Starbucks at Westlake Park by columnist Jon Talton. In the piece, Talton explains how his experience at the café once symbolized his love for Seattle, which like me, he arrived to as a transplant in 2007. When Talton describes how
Last Monday, Bellevue City Council unanimously advanced an ordinance to craft a city-sponsored safe parking program for homeless residents living in their vehicles. City staff have been directed to create an implementation plan for a one-year pilot program, including a legal analysis, key performance metrics, and a cost
In this podcast, reporter Ray Dubicki and I dive into the Harrell administration’s new homelessness data tracker. We assess how well it is fulfilling its purported role of increasing communication and transparency around this pressing and difficult issue with the, and we discuss some of the context around its
On Thursday, Mayor Bruce Harrell promised the imminent release of housing data dashboard that will show his administration is on course to meet a campaign pledge of producing 1,000 units of emergency housing and shelter beds in his first six months in office. Until the dashboard is out, The
On Wednesday evening, Bellevue’s seven-member Planning Commission advanced final recommendations for implementing portions of HB 1220 within the city. That bill, passed by the State Legislature in 2021 after a campaign led by Futurewise and backed by The Urbanist, includes several provisions meant to reduce historical housing inequities
The chamber and friends are focused on homeless sweeps and pinning blame on progressive councilmembers, rather than housing solutions. On Monday, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce released a poll and proceeded to spin the findings to promote their long-time agenda of increasing police spending and seeking to make
Marc Dones was our April Meetup guest and the conversation focused on the homelessness crisis. Dones (they/them pronouns) is tasked with solving the crisis as CEO of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) but with neither taxing authority nor land use control, they will need activate others with
A non-profit organization called “Keep Kids Safe” filed a lawsuit Thursday afternoon to block the opening of permanent supportive housing in Kirkland. This action comes nearly a month after King County announced the purchase of the La Quinta Inn and Suites as part of its Health Through Housing program.
Despite public perception, our region’s homelessness crisis affects our Eastside communities and is not just a Seattle problem. Supportive services, including permanent supportive housing and transitional housing, are part of a suite of proven solutions, but recent implementations on the Eastside have faced undue pushback from disgruntled residents. Providers
On Wednesday morning, the Seattle Police Department cleared the sidewalks opposite City Hall of homeless encampments, giving the 16 remaining campers two-hour notice. The surprise sweep ended a two-and-a-half-week standoff with advocates and mutual aid volunteers of the Stop The Sweeps coalition who successfully blocked
For our April 12th meetup, The Urbanist is thrilled to host Marc Dones, chief executive officer of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority — the organization tasking with unifying and scale up the region’s response to the homelessness crisis. King County estimated its homeless population was more than 40,000
With evening temperatures expected to descend into the 20s during the next few days, King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) is working in coordination with partners to open overnight severe weather shelters in Seattle and across the county. Daytime warming shelters will also be available in certain locations; however, in
Encampments along roadways are among the most visible signs of the homelessness crisis in Washington State. But does that mean that these encampments should be prioritized for outreach, services, and, eventually, removal? For Governor Jay Inslee and a cadre of prominent lawmakers and local leaders, the answer is yes, which
Among several other items, Monday’s Bellevue City Council meeting saw an update from King County Council Chair Claudia Balducci on regional issues, a quarterly review of the implementation of the City’s Environmental Stewardship Plan, and a unanimous vote to ratify King County’s Countywide Planning Priorities. Regional Update
Funding for an affordable housing project for domestic violence survivors moved forward with unanimous approval at Bellevue’s most recent city council meeting. The new facility, to be renovated and serviced by LifeWire, will provide 25 affordable housing units for women and children at risk of homelessness. Bellevue’s $1.
First a quick factoid to kick off this installment of housing notes. U.S. Census data shows that housing construction is on the rise across the country. In November 2021, 1.48 million housing units — both single-family and multifamily — started construction, the highest level since 1973. Even better, the
Today, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced a 30-day extension of Seattle’s eviction moratorium, which covers residences and small business and non-profit commercial tenants. The previous executive order under Mayor Jenny Durkan was set to expire on January 15th, which makes the new expiration date February 14th under Harrell’
Today is Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s final day in office and attention is turning to her legacy as she passes the baton to her ally and friend Bruce Harrell. Annual polls gauging the share of voters who think the city is on the wrong track registered new highs in
Freezing temperatures and snow are headed to Western Washington, where moss and drizzle are more common winter sights than snow drifts. During the week between Christmas and New Year’s, meteorologists predict we may see the coldest temperatures in a decade — with nighttime lows sinking into the 20s or even
This month, King County announced roughly 45,300 residents experienced homelessness at some point during 2019, while in 2020, the number dipped slightly to 40,800 people. The revised figures are from a new integrated reporting system that the County considers far more accurate than its predecessor. The statistics paint
Today, Governor Jay Inslee rolled out another big initiative, this one focused on housing and homelessness services. King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor-Elect Bruce Harrell, and Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards joined Inslee for a press conference at a Habitat for Humanity build site in Seattle. The strategy would
Budget Chair Teresa Mosqueda’s balancing package, released yesterday, would amend Mayor Jenny Durkan’s 2022 budget proposal to invest more in street safety, homelessness services, affordable housing, food security, and bridge maintenance. The balancing package would also cut $11 million from the Seattle Police Department (SPD), investing instead in
It’s City budget season and the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) is seeking to boost funding for tiny house villages that shelter people experiencing homelessness. LIHI, the sole operator of tiny houses villages in Seattle, is asking supporters to testify before City Council on Tuesday, October 12th, in favor
We can take a better approach than what was put forth in the failed “Compassion Seattle” City Charter Amendment. City Charter Amendment 29, posed by “Compassion Seattle” is dead, at least formally. Bruce Harrell seems intent on screaming “long live the Charter Amendment!” by making it into mayoral policy. In
CA 29 is over, but the debate over how to end homelessness is not A three-judge panel from the Washington State Court of Appeals has declined a stay request from the campaign for “Compassion Seattle” City Charter Amendment 29 (CA29) that would have blocked King County Superior Court Judge
Update (August 31, 2021): The Compassion Seattle campaign has filed an emergency motion with the Washington Court of Appeals and is seeking a stay of last week’s decision to remove Charter Amendment 29 (CA29) from the November ballot. According to their appeal, the group is seeking expedited process that
Seattle voters wait for a judicial decision that will determine if the controversial city charter amendment critics call an unfunded mandate masquerading as a homelessness solution will appear on the November ballot. In a recent mass email calling for donations, campaigners for the Compassion Seattle city charter amendment (CA29) asked
As the homelessness crisis deepens its impact across the U.S., Washington State designers are improving tiny house designs with the goal of bringing more people into shelter. The first time I stepped into a tiny house constructed for emergency shelter, I was struck by how thin the plywood walls
Recently, the Seattle City Council has passed a handful of bills around revenue tracking, the environment, affordable housing, and parking rates. Many of these ordinances come about from the issues presented by the ongoing pandemic, and preparation for a post-pandemic economy. Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE) projects are getting more
Don’t say we didn’t warn you. The Urbanist has been highlighting the blunders of the Durkan administration from the campaign to year one to her recent fall from grace over violating public records law while botching the City’s response to police brutality protests. Recent polling suggests Seattle
In a 6-3 vote yesterday, the King County Council approved a bill greatly expanding tenant rights in unincorporated King County. Sponsors Girmay Zahilay, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, and Dave Upthegrove introduced the legislation in March, but they ran into headwinds as the Rental Housing Association of Washington (RHA), which represents
In November 2018, Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, with the backing of housing advocates like us, succeeded in getting $500,000 added to the City budget to fund a racial equity analysis of the Seattle’s urban village growth strategy. That report was due in December 2019. That deadline came and went
Former Seattle City Council President Bruce Harrell held a mayoral campaign event Friday in front of a homeless camp on a playfield at Broadview-Thomson K-8 School in Bitter Lake. Harrell avoid the word “sweep” or “camp removal” but still argued the homeless people shouldn’t be camped there.
Last week, the “Seattle Rescue Plan” was announced by Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, Council President M. Lorena González, and Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda. This plan spends direct aid provided by the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which will provide Seattle with roughly $232 million in direct funding. Only half of
Conservatives keep saying Seattle is dying, but repetition hasn’t made it true. Despite the gloom and doomsday pronouncements, Seattle is very much alive and kicking. In fact, Seattle is the fastest growing big city in America — again — as Gene Balk noted in an FYI Guy column yesterday citing new
Recently on a cool May afternoon, a group of protestors gathered in Victor Steinbrueck Park brandishing signs that read “Sweeps Bring No Compassion” and “We Need RV Safe Spaces.” These protesters came together to announce the arrival of a new coalition called House Our Neighbors!. The coalition, which includes a
King County Executive Dow Constantine is seeking a fourth term. His campaign war chest is vast and slate of endorsements is impressive, but for the first time he faces a credible progressive challenger in State Senator Joe Nguyen (D-White Center). Constantine is touting his record and pointing to his
Author’s Note: I eventually changed my mind and moved from the ambivalent support you see below to firm opposition. Two reasons were paramount: 1. CA29’s use of “enhanced shelter” in the definition of “emergency housing” meant that the “units” built could be beds in big, congregate shelters. I
Los Angeles’ Skid Row was not an inevitability, it was a policy. Johnny Harris explains how this district of tragic poverty came to be.
Former Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess is back with a charter amendment setting a host of new mandates around homelessness, none of them funded by the measure. Asked how he responds to criticism this is an unfunded mandate, Burgess has pointed to a payroll tax he vigorously opposed as his
It was fitting for my first full day in the Pacific Northwest to start off with a cold and rainy January morning. As I left the Red Lion hotel in Downtown Bellevue to head to my job interview, I had my first chance to glimpse the city by the light
At month’s end, the eviction moratorium is scheduled to expire, which would put thousands of tenants at risk. A broad coalition spearheaded by the Transit Riders Union (TRU) is urging a nine-month extension of Seattle’s moratorium as soon as possible to ease worries for tenants. The Urbanist
“My constituents are mad. All of Seattle is mad, and to be honest, I’m mad too,” Councilmember Tammy Morales said in a statement Friday. “If the Mayor is worried about risk or logistical hurdles, I say taking a risk or jumping a hurdle is important if it saves even
After months of delay, King County’s Regional Homelessness Authority was supposed to get its Chief Executive Officer. There’s just one problem. The consensus pick, Regina Cannon, has turned down the job, Scott Greenstone reported in The Seattle Times yesterday. The reason Cannon declined the job isn’t yet
Bloomberg Quicktake highlights America’s growing homelessness struggles and ways that could lessen it.
In December, Councilmember Andrew Lewis introduced legislation that could make it cheaper, easier, and faster to build permanent supportive housing (PSH) in the City of Seattle. If all goes according to plan, PSH providers could trim about 15% from building costs. Permanent supportive housing helps combat the homelessness crisis with
KOMO anchor turned self-anointed homelessness guru Eric Johnson is seeking to recapture the magic of Seattle Is Dying in a new sequel released this month. While in the original Johnson proposes locking up homeless addicts in a prison island near Tacoma for forced substance abuse treatment, the villain in
Budget Chair Teresa Mosqueda unveiled the Seattle City Council’s rebalancing package for the 2021 budget this week and laid out $83 million in changes to Mayor Jenny Durkan’s budget proposal. The Seattle Council proposes $35 million in cuts to the Seattle Police Department (SPD), whose bloated budget reached
Bellevue, Renton, Issaquah, Maple Valley, North Bend, Covington, Snoqualmie, and Kent voted to opt out of King County’s homelessness measure by proposing their own city-based packages focused on higher income housing. Last month King County Executive Dow Constantine unveiled a plan to raise $400 million to create 2,
Racial equity and resilience were not prioritized highly enough pre-Covid. The Seattle Planning Commission wants to ensure the Covid recovery achieves positive results for marginalized communities. It is often said that a rising tide lifts all boats; however, the starkly unequal recovery that followed the Great Recession proved to
Data reveals a 5% increase in people living on the streets from 2019. In the earliest hours of the morning on January 24th, 2020, volunteers set out to conduct King County’s annual Point-in-Time count. For the first time in three years, it rained heavily as the volunteers
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda unveiled a big business tax proposal called “JumpStart Seattle” today that would raise $200 million per year from the wealthiest companies in the city. A handful of business, labor, and nonprofit leaders joined Mosqueda, who chairs the Budget Committee, during the announcement and voiced support. While the