Councilmember Juarez + Director of Homelessness George Scarola both mentioned our letter and said all the points would be taken into consideration. Read letter here.
Site will be low barrier which includes people with pets, partners, excessive possessions and addiction. Public use of drugs in and around the site is not allowed. However, based on resident behavior, what happens behind closed doors will not be monitored. If residents maintain good behavior they will not be questioned about using in their own dwelling.
Site will provide a sharps container. Additionally, if you see any sharps on public property the city will remove within 24 hours per the new pilot program. Sharps Collection Pilot Program www.seattle.gov/util/sharps
Encampment will not include children. VP of new schools informed Director of Homelessness that there were two homeless families currently in the neighborhood. Director confirmed they would be provided housing within the week.
A school assistant superintendent took a ride around the area with George to evaluate potential risks to children going to school – her only concern was access needed to be exclusively on Aurora. This will be the case.
Encampment will have a one year lease with an option to extend for one year. Per code there has to be one year vacancy before another encampment can be permitted for the site. Encampment will open in March 2017.
Site owned and managed by LIHI who plans to redevelop the site into low income housing but it takes 3-4 years for permitting and construction.
ALUV asked that at least 50% of the residents be from the surrounding neighborhood. The City would not commit to this number because residents are selected on case-by-case basis. However, they would give priority to people already in the neighborhood.
Tiny homes will be 8’ x 12’ (96 SF) and will be insulated. Units less that 120 SF don’t need to go through an additional permitting process which adds 12+ months to the timeframe which doesn’t help provide housing for those in desperate need now. Site will acquire land use permit as required though.
There is water and power on site. LIHI is hoping to add heat to the homes as well. Site will try to have plumbed showers and toilets. Showers at Green Lake pool will be available for use as are the showers and laundry facilities provided at the the 3 Urban Rest Stops. https://urbanreststop.org/
Encampment residents will be provided two bus passes a day to go to work or appointments.
Site will be fully fenced with screening and accessed via Aurora Ave only, except for deliveries that would access from Nesbit to avoid blocking traffic on Aurora Avenue.
Trash pick-up will be provided weekly/daily, whatever is necessary.
Site operated by LIHI who will have two staff members on site 24 hours a day. There will also be a site coordinator and two social workers assigned to the Nesbit location. https://lihi.org/
SHARE Partners: camp residents who self govern and manage residents, run neighborhood cleanup crews, and provide additional eyes on the neighborhood. http://www.sharewheel.org/aboutus
Additional resources will be provided to Aurora Commons.
Community Advisory Committee: up to 7 members of the community. Committee will help to ensure that the encampment runs successfully and respects the surrounding neighborhood. Group is expected to meet monthly to address any concerns and to assess the success of the encampment.
SPD said they would allocate existing patrols to areas as needed. They did not expect any issues with an uptick in crime and had no major incidents at the Ballard encampment.
The Parks Department is in charge of public parks and they are the ones to go to for people camping in parks, cleanup that is needed, and general safety issues in the park.