ACLU asks judge to invalidate ‘Compassion Seattle’ proposed homelessness initiative

Homeless tent in Seattle. (J. Warne)

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced Wednesday that it had filed a lawsuit against a proposed amendment to the city charter aimed at improving the response to homelessness in Seattle.

ACLU: “Compassion Seattle is neither compassionate nor effective”

The proposed initiative is put forward by a group called Compassion Seattle, staffed by the Executive Director of the SoDo Business Improvement Area, Erin Goodman, former City Council President Tim Burgess, and former King County Executive Ron Sims, among others.

It would mandate an additional 2,000 emergency shelters or permanent housing units within a year by waiving building permit fees, treating applications for residential permits as first-in-line for expedited treatment, and reimbursing the payee for the city’s portion of sales tax paid on these facilities. It also represents the city’s obligation to “ensure that parks, playgrounds, sports fields, public spaces, as well as sidewalks and streets, remain open and free of storage”.

The initiative qualified to vote in the November general election in late July, with the ACLU now calling on a judge to invalidate it entirely and prevent it from appearing on future ballot papers.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the King County Superior Court, alleges that Compassion Seattle’s constitutional amendment is “beyond the limits” of what is allowed in Washington’s electoral initiative.

“CA-29 ignores established limits to the local initiative process,” said Breanne Schuster, Washington Staff Attorney’s ACLU, in a press release. “State law gives voters several opportunities to influence homelessness policies and practices, but the initiative process at the city level is not one of them. CA-29 violates both the local initiative laws of our state and the proper functioning of our democratic systems. “

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A recent poll published by the Northwest Progressive Institute found that 61% of the 617 Seattle voters polled supported the constitutional amendment. Another 23% were against it, while 16% remained uncertain.

The proposal has also been heavily criticized by groups who suggested that it has not identified a source of funding for the 2,000 proposed shelters, nor will that number be enough to accommodate the city’s estimated 4,000 people currently affected by homelessness. Opponents have also argued that given the limited time frame, it will ultimately not allow for the creation of a permanent shelter.

Supporters have seen it as a necessary means of “asking the city to take specific, measurable action” to tackle Seattle’s homelessness crisis.