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Seattle fast-tracks homeless shelter expansion
The Seattle City Council passed an emergency ordinance Tuesday to quickly expand homeless shelter capacity, temporarily bypassing zoning laws.
SEATTLE - The Seattle City Council approved an emergency ordinance Tuesday aimed at rapidly expanding the city’s homeless shelter capacity, temporarily bypassing local zoning laws to help address a decade-long public health crisis.
Big picture view:
The measure is a key component of Mayor Katie Wilson’s broader initiative to add 1,000 new shelter beds across the city by the end of the year.
Zoning laws slashed for quick expansion
The newly passed ordinance temporarily alters city zoning regulations to allow existing tiny home villages and city-zoned encampments to increase their capacity by up to 50 people per site. Previously, these shelter sites were capped at 100 residents.
Additionally, the ordinance singles out Camp Second Chance, a shelter site located near White Center, allowing it to expand its capacity up to 250 people.
City officials estimate the zoning changes will create upwards of 530 new beds distributed across several Seattle neighborhoods, including the University District, Fremont, Madison, Rainier Beach, and downtown.
A companion bill passed alongside the ordinance allows the city to lease larger plots of land at market rate. By cutting through traditional administrative delays, officials say new shelter sites can now become operational in three to four months, down from the typical one-year timeline.
Urgency and oversight
City leaders defended the aggressive timeline, calling the expansion the most cost-effective strategy to transition vulnerable populations off the streets. Roughly 4,500 unhoused people are currently estimated to be sleeping in Seattle's parks and public right-of-ways.
What they're saying:
"I know all of us share a sense of urgency around addressing homelessness, and we also share a sense of making sure that we get this expansion right and I believe that we did a lot of work to move in that direction," said Councilmember Dionne Foster, the District 9 representative who sponsored the bill.
Before passing the final legislation, the council adopted an amendment regulating how close these expanded shelter communities can be located to local schools.
A decade-old emergency
The emergency ordinance will remain in effect for one year following Mayor Wilson’s signature. During this period, city officials plan to study the impacts of the expanded density and accelerated timelines.
The legislative push comes as Seattle’s homelessness crisis enters its second decade under an official state of emergency. The city first declared a civil emergency regarding homelessness on Nov. 2, 2015, designating it a public health crisis.
More than 10 years after that initial declaration, the emergency remains active, and the city's unhoused population has continued to grow.
The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle.
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