Deeply Flawed Encampment Ordinance Sails Through to Full Council for Final Approval

[SHARE Shelters]

This afternoon Seattle City Council Persons Nick Licata, Sally Clark
and Tom Rasmussen - the three present members of the Seattle City
Council Housing and Human Services Committee - unanimously voted to
send to the full City Council AS IS the deeply flawed Draft Encampment
Ordinance #117288.

This action was taken with little discussion following united
testimony from 9 participants of SHARE/WHEEL's Tent City3, 3
participants of SHARE/WHEEL's Tent City4, two Nickelodeons, the Rev.
David Bloom, founding Executive Director of the Interfaith Task Force
on Homelessness (speaking for himself), Rev Pat Simpson representing
both her concerns and also the concerns of this District's United
Methodist Churches, of Michael Ramos of the Church Council of Greater
Seattle, and of several Bishops of other Denominations, Bill Ross of
St Joseph's Catholic Parish, and the written testimony of El Centro de
la Raza. All these testifiers urged the Committee to include secular
land in the ordinance, suggested the 'Hunter Amendment' might do this
well, and urged the Proposed Ordinance tabled until this was done.

NO ONE testified in favor of the Ordinance as written.

Following testimony City Staffers from the Council and DPD made brief
comments revealing their lack of knowledge of how encampments have
been treated by Seattle City Government, and how this Ordinance would
affect encampments - especially Tent City3 and Nickelsville - in the
future.

Councilman Licata said he would try to address the issue of fees
charged secular owners of land for applying for Permits to Host
Encampments when it came up in Councilperson Clark's Committee during
this year's budget process. The other two (more important) elements
of the "Hunter Amendment" - requiring the issuance of Encampment
Permits to secular property owners and requiring a clear and
reasonable standard for encampment permit conditions - were ignored.
Neither City Councilpeople nor City Staff tried to claim these two
elements could not have been introduced - they just didn't introduce
them.

Once again City Hall missed numerous opportunities to make it easier
for homeless people to work with secular property owners, and to help
homeless people at risk of illness and abuse stay together and safe.
Once again City Hall is passing a law whose effect is to make it
harder for organized homeless people to live with dignity and respect.

Why?

When you communicate with Seattle City Council People, please tell
them you expect better.