West Seattle Weblog… | Metropolis guarantees to ‘tackle considerations’ about sidewalk-blocking residents on Delridge Approach

From Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog Editor

West Seattle does not have full-time homeless shelters. There is a city-approved warehouse for tiny houses that typically has a capacity of around 50 residents. Almost everyone else who is resident in West Seattle is in a tent, vehicle, or door.

Right now, a group of tent residents on a sidewalk in the South Delridge business district has been attracting increasing attention.

The area has grown steadily this spring. It starts on the east side of the building on the northwest corner of Delridge / Roxbury and now extends to the sidewalk outside the shops in the north half of the block, with more than a dozen tents in total covering most of the sidewalk to the curb.

The blockade of the sidewalk was discussed at various community meetings on both sides of the West Seattle / White Center line. Then, this week, one of the owners of the neighboring businesses, Abby Fisher of White central glass, said her long-standing reluctant view of the situation when a tent dweller lined up on the sidewalk in front of her shop. So on Thursday she sent this letter to the city agencies and also sent it to us:

I request that the homeless camps (tents, trash, belongings) be removed from the 9400 block of Delridge Way SW.

There are numerous companies negatively affected by the presence of this camp. I will speak to my business specifically.

I am the owner of White Center Glass and this business has been an anchor in the neighborhood since 1965. Walk-in or will call customers are an important part of our business. I lose revenue every day because my customers don’t feel safe wading through trash, human litter, and belongings to get to my door.

There have been numerous requests from other businesses in the neighborhood to do this with little to no response.

I have tremendous sympathy for people who are forced to live outside of what most would consider a “normal” circumstance. I can support efforts to care for people in need. I can tolerate inconvenience to my company and my employees. I will not allow the city’s lack of action to disrupt my ability to offer products and services to my customers, thereby providing permanent employment opportunities for my employees.

I am awaiting a response to my letter with an action plan on how to fix this.

We spoke to Fisher on the phone late yesterday. She said she received an answer from SDOT It was said that the camp blocking the sidewalk would be removed, but no date or time frame was given.

After we first received her letter on Thursday morning, we checked with the city Human Services Departmentwho previously played the leading role in combating homelessness in the city before learning today that potential camp relocations no longer matter. These must now be prioritized by the individual departments, depending on which public property it is. Therefore SDOT Fisher replied – because sidewalks are under his jurisdiction (aside from city rules that owners are otherwise responsible for maintaining sidewalks outside of their homes and businesses).

HSD spokesman Will Lemke told us, “HSD is aware of the concern and is working with outreach agencies to send outreach workers to the area and try to work with the people who are out of residence there. I don’t have any further information at this time, but we understand the real frustrations of the local community and business owners. “

At least one of the other business owners met with the city council Lisa Herboldwho responded to our query about the Roxhill / Delridge sidewalk residents today. She said she met on Wednesday night Macs Triangle Pub owner Mac McElroy (whose business is across from the Sidewalk Residents Delridge), the owner of the building next to the sidewalk warehouse, and agent for a resource program called CoLEAD. Herbold said she was told that outreach providers were already there and quoted her as saying:

“The problem we continue to face is, first of all, a lack of services, accommodation and options across the board, as well as a lack of transparency and access to the current options offered by the city. I have been told by several outreach workers that they tried to use the prioritization rating to get people into the Executive Inn and made lots of referrals for those in need of protection. However, they simply have not received any feedback from the city or seen the recommendations move to other priority areas. regardless of the requirements or vulnerabilities on this site. In the meantime, we will continue to work with people to build a relationship, provide them with the basic needs and resources we have that day, and talk to them about different ways to clear their territories clearly and safely for all and how we can support them There are still no places to go. ”

However, Herbold said that with CoLEAD involved, “I believe we are going to see some changes in this place.”

Finally late today we got the official response from SDOT through a spokesman Ethan Bergersonwho said the website was “identified for public relations”:

The Human Services Division and the Seattle Department of Transportation are working together to address concerns about the warehouse blocking the sidewalk on Delridge Way SW between SW Roxbury and 15th Ave SW.

This location is on a list (of) camps identified for range. HSD will reach out to the people living in the camp to provide resources and encourage them to take advantage of the protection options. The hope is that people will choose to take shelter or find another place to live. SDOT is currently waiting for an update from HSD on the status of these outreach efforts so that we can determine the next steps and we hope to learn more soon.

“Identified for Public Relations” appears to indicate the terms in this Human Resources document, provided by the staff of Councilor Herbold, which lists potential “strategies” for “high profile camps” and the conclusion that sites may need to be removed “if the site’s impact cannot be fixed through contact strategies alone.” While the city has reduced the number of warehouse moves, some happened three weeks ago in other parts of the city, such as Miller Park – next to a school.

Meanwhile, Fisher sent the town a second letter on Delridge Way today:

This letter is my second request to remove the homeless camps (tents, trash, belongings) from the 9400 block of Delridge Way SW.

I would like to draw your attention to FAS 17-01, in particular Section 3.0 Definitions, Point 3: 4:
“Disability” means people, tents, personal property, rubbish, debris or other items related to a warehouse that are: located in a city park or on a public sidewalk; impair the pedestrian or transport purposes of public rights of way; or disrupt areas necessary or essential to the intended use of any public property or facility. ”

The warehouses on the 9400 block of Delridge Way SW are clearly in violation of the Department of Finance and Administration rules above.

In an email dated May 6, 2021, a Department of Transportation official, Karen Sweeney, mentioned that this website was on a list for HSD range and tent distance. As of the date of this writing, I have not received an update on when to expect this.

I need a reply to my letter with a plan of action and a schedule of when this should be fixed.

We will contact her and the city again and again.