Seattle group will get approval to assemble signatures for homelessness poll initiative

A homeless camp in Seattle. (KIRO 7)

A coalition trying to amend the Seattle charter to force city leaders to fight homelessness can now collect signatures for its electoral initiative.

The unlikely alliance hopes to force Seattle to take action against homelessness

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

The group’s proposed change to city law would require an additional 2,000 protective beds 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 a refund to the payee City’s share of sales tax paid on these facilities.

In addition, it places a requirement on the city “to ensure that parks, playgrounds, sports fields, public spaces, as well as sidewalks and streets, remain open and free of storage”.

Until that week, Compassion Seattle was waiting for approval from a King County Superior Court judge to begin collecting the necessary signatures to put the initiative on the ballot. That approval was issued on Tuesday and gave the campaign the opportunity to collect over 33,000 signatures by June 25. If they succeed, it will be put to the vote in the regular November election.

While Compassion Seattle has set its goals in terms of housing the city’s homeless population, opponents have claimed that this will only lead to an increase in camp visits. This includes criticism from a group called House Our Neighbors, who argued that the change does not provide enough time or money to build the adequate volume of housing needed to get people out of camps into shelter beds.

Poll shows homelessness crisis as a “major concern” in Seattle

“The Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Seattle Association have chosen incorrect, compassionate language to sell the same failed repeated evictions approach that has been going on in our city for years while denying the need for new resources to deal with the homeless crisis “So House Our Neighbors says on its website. “Their ‘solutions’ are not based on research or reality, and the proposed amendment to the Charter would codify the current failed practices that have exacerbated the crisis in our region.”

The group had also challenged the initiative in court, arguing that it was worded in a way that deceived voters. Ultimately, a King County judge approved the change with only minor changes to its wording, with signature gathering allowed to begin later that week.