Burien inches closer to camping ban after heated city council meeting

The City of Burien has moved one step closer to banning camping in public places following months of bureaucratic debate and city hall meetings — including last night, where dozens of residents relayed their concerns during public comment.

The city council plans to vote on a camping ban at its next regular meeting Sept. 25, and according to city officials last night, it appears the council has enough votes to pass it.

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If passed, the ban would be similar to the one currently in place in Bellevue, where camping in public places carries a misdemeanor charge unless local shelters are full.

Earlier this year, an encampment located near Burien’s city hall was moved to an open space about a block away and then moved again to Dottie Harper Park. Burien requested help from its county previously but was denied, according to KIRO 7, with the county citing the lack of a plan in place to safely house the people being moved. The county stated Burien is responsible for the unhoused within city limits as there is no obligation from the county to intervene, furthering council members’ frustrations over the homelessness crisis.

The situation in Burien became so tense over the summer that five members of the city’s planning commission abruptly resigned following the Burien City Council’s vote to remove City Planning Commissioner Charles Schaefer. The members of the city’s planning commission quit because the city was using Schaefer as a “scapegoat,” according to their statements.

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During Monday night’s council meeting, many people spoke in favor of the ban.

“I live across the street from the encampment on [Ambaum Boulevard], and it’s gotten so bad that I don’t feel comfortable leaving my wife and my son home alone without me,” resident Todd Baldwin said at last night’s meeting, according to KIRO 7. “So, I am commenting from home today. It is not compassionate to let this way of life continue in the way that it is, and it’s a horrible idea to have people living on an island in the middle of a busy street.”

“At this point, just something needs to be done,” another resident, Curtis Warick, said. “I’m sad ultimately that there has been this much inaction.”

The City of Burien has discussed many different solutions, including using a private group, The More We Love, to clear out encampments after multiple Burien business owners worked with the organization to help remove homeless from camps near their businesses.

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Other residents at the public comment said the council’s move could backfire, stating that forcing people into sobriety or treatment may not work for everyone and that criminalizing the homeless could make things worse.

“Homelessness is solvable, so instead of spending a lot of time on camping bans, let’s talk about the solutions to homelessness,” Barb Oliver, Director of Operations for Sound Foundations NW, said. “I will sit down with a cup of coffee with anybody that’s here and talk about that further.” Sound Foundations NW is an organization that builds transitional tiny homes for the homeless.

Burien City Councilmember Cydney Moore echoed Oliver’s sentiment, expressing her concern over a lack of available beds and complications on how police would know shelter occupancy at the time of arrest.

“This is not going to solve homelessness,” Moore said. “This is not going to make a single person housed that is currently unhoused on our street, and we don’t know for a fact if or when our police will be able to remove anybody because of winter shelter space availability.”

Some supporters of the ban still said housing the homeless should be a priority for the council.

The camping ban, Ordinance 818, will go into effect Nov. 1 if passed Sept. 25.