Stakeholders propose 15-point safety plan for Little Saigon

Residents and business owners in Little Saigon in the Chinatown-International District said they are fed up with persistent crime in their neighborhood. Open-air drug use, narcotics distribution,  violent crime, and the crisis of homelessness have long been problems.

Now, stakeholders have come up with a 15-point public safety action plan to save Little Saigon. They met with Seattle and King County elected officials to demand help implementing the plan.

Among other things, the plan asks for a greater police presence in the area, stricter enforcement of existing laws, more affordable housing, and a new community safety and services office in the community—putting services and the people who need them closer together.

“The people here who want help don’t know where to go. And the people that are giving help aren’t acting in a coordinated fashion. That is a no-brainer,” Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson said.

Officials meet with community members to discuss Little Saigon safety plan

Elected officials met with several dozen community members at Hoa Mai Park to discuss how to implement and pay for the plan. Many at the meeting say the very future of Little Saigon hangs in the balance.

“Despite efforts by the county and the city, you just continue to see really serious drug use, public street crime, and homelessness. It’s really a neighborhood under siege,” King County Council member Claudia Balducci said.

The goal is to return Little Saigon to a safer time. A more family-friendly time when residents and visitors could walk the streets freely and without fear.

Elected officials pledged to work with the group to fund the 15-point plan and find a way to pay for it, in a time of budget deficits and funding cuts.

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