Marlon Meyer
Northwest Asia Weekly
The expanded homeless shelter near the Chinatown International District (CID) has not passed State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) scrutiny and is therefore illegal, according to three people with knowledge of the location and the procedures required. SEPA requires an assessment of community impacts, necessary mitigations, and an opportunity for the public to potentially overturn the project.
Two of them spoke to Northwest Asia Weekly on condition of anonymity to protect themselves from whistleblower retaliation. The third is a member of the CID Public Safety Committee.
According to the three, while the site is primarily a county project, it receives operating funding from the city of Seattle, whose permit is overseen by the city’s Department of Construction and Inspection (SDCI), meaning the city has countless way to prevent it from opening.
In an email, Bryan Stevens, SDCI’s director of media relations and licensing coordination, confirmed that New York City has oversight of the site.
“As the property is located within the Seattle city limits, any new proposals will be subject to local Seattle regulations and permitting requirements,” he wrote.
Stevens also acknowledged that the SEPA review is not yet complete.
He added: “The county is leading the SEPA review of the program, which we know is underway.”
Such conditions put power in the hands of the city.
“mayor [Bruce] Harrell and the city council have the power to stop this,” said a person familiar with the process.
According to public records, New York City plans to spend more than $12 million in its 2022-2023 budget to support new shelters at 1000-1050 Sixth Avenue South, 831 Seattle Avenue and 831 Airport Road South.
stopgap
Projected Shelter Expansion Map (Courtesy of King County)
The site’s purpose is not just a temporary measure to deal with the pandemic. Authorities are struggling to find a place for mass quarantines shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak arrived in Seattle. The first site is in North Bend, followed by the coastline. This is followed by a site on the Eastside and a proposed expansion of the shelter’s current site, bringing the total to four.
But when the pandemic was largely over, King County asked the city if it could pilot shelters in the city.
“It was always intended to be temporary; anything beyond that would require more public process,” said one of the people familiar with the proceedings.
A precedent for failure and struggle
The county’s history of failed and onerous attempts to place shelters in suburban Seattle shows how sloppy and illegal the county’s current efforts to expand and make temporary shelters near CIDs are, according to two people familiar with the matter. and process.
In Bellevue, the site selection for the men’s shelter took nearly a decade. It also requires rewriting the city’s code.
During the first phase of the pandemic, where congregated homeless shelters restricted movement, the county moved the entire population of the Downtown Emergency Services Center (DESC) shelter to the Red Lion Hotel Renton in downtown Renton.
Crime rates soared. A local man returned home to find a new Red Lion tenant in his home apparently taking his 2-year-old daughter. As community members observe that many of the Red Lion’s new residents are not taking any precautions, there are concerns that the spread of COVID-19 will increase.
According to Renton’s zoning, the Renton City Council passed an ordinance stating that the county’s decision to move residents of the downtown shelter into the Red Lion was unauthorized and illegal. The committee also noted that Renton is a highly diverse community that represents multiple communities of color.
“This experience in Renton shows that you can’t demolish a new shelter without any public process,” said one person with extensive knowledge of the process.
state of emergency ends
The King County Regional Homeless Authority describes the new homeless center as an “expanded” shelter, indicating it will add about 150 new beds to the existing site and provide space for RVs and mini homes. However, as with the placement of shelters in Renton, the original site was undertaken as the state, county and city of Seattle acted under emergency COVID-19 ordinances.
Gov. Jay Inslee lifted the state of emergency last month. Cities and counties have invalidated their emergency ordinances.
The city of Seattle “has not yet rescinded the order,” Stevens said.
However, now the county has announced that the expansion of the shelter is not related to COVID.
“What authority was that done?” a source asked.
partition problem
Some of the proposed expansion may not comply with New York City’s municipal regulations, said Gary Lee, a member of the CID Public Safety Committee.
The future expansion, as well as some proposed uses, appear to be in violation of the regulations, he said, because the city has stated that it needs to be modified before the zoning code can be implemented.
SDCI acknowledges the need to change partitions.
“The property is located in an industrial business area. Once the SEPA process is complete, the city council will need to pass land use law amendments to allow for expanded use,” Stevens said.
However, in response to another question, he clarified that zoning may allow for short-term camps.
“There are several different uses that describe services related to homeless shelters or transition support. Community centers and family support centers are some of those uses, but other categories of uses may apply,” he said. “Also, this area and other areas of Seattle may allow transitional camps under SMC Section 23.42.054 or 23.42.056.”
operational?
A second person with knowledge of the process and the scene said that while shelters have always been a county program, the city now has multiple ways to stop it.
Seattle City Council must approve funding. SDCI must approve licenses and zoning. The mayor votes on the Regional Homeless Authority.
“Just because it’s county funding doesn’t mean this expanded use doesn’t have to satisfy current city zoning,” said a person familiar with the process.
In addition, both said failure to enforce the required SEPA process could expose the county to lawsuits.
Both the Seattle City Council and King County Council are reviewing and debating budgets submitted to them by the county executive and mayor, respectively.
Mahlon can be contacted by info@nwasianweekly.com.
