Rantz: Seattle has officially given up on RV homelessness

The city of Seattle has just officially given up on addressing the rampant problem of derelict, dangerous RVs littering our neighborhoods, keeping people in squalor. It’s the exact kind of compassion that Seattle is known for — the kind that can kill you.

Mayor Jenny Durkan forwarded legislation to help better address the RVs you find all across the city. They’re occupied by people in need of serious help and her plan, however flawed, would have addressed it. But the City Council isn’t interested in action; they’re interested in the appearance of action.

Under Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, who announced her retirement months ago while being mostly disconnected from her job and neighborhoods she represents, reworked the legislation. She calls the problem a “public health issue” but she must have forgotten that part in her bill. Bagshaw completely took the teeth out of the legislation.

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The city isn’t allowed to remove an occupant from a broken down RV “if there is an explicit objection from the person allowed to occupy the motor vehicle that is deemed to be extensively damaged if such enforcement would increase the occupant’s vulnerability or exposure to unsafe living conditions.”

In other words, the homeless occupant can simply say “No, I don’t feel safe if I leave.”

When KOMO TV asked Bagshaw about this legislative problem so wide you can drive an RV through it, she spoke words that are technically complete sentences, but have no meaning.

“You know, I think that’s something that we’re always balancing. If we take a really harsh approach and pull people out without giving them another place to go, that is a 24/7 healthy place, we’re not going to be successful. We’re trying to do the best we can,” Bagshaw said.

Bagshaw doesn’t actually address the concern, other than saying it’s hard to balance the consequences of removing people from dangerous environments that are too dangerous to live in. She posits a scenario that doesn’t happen: she’s pretending the legislation would let you stay in your RV if there isn’t a shelter bed for you. But we already know, through the work of the Navigation Team, they don’t sweep most areas unless they have a bed to send you to. Under the legislation, that wouldn’t matter; you can just say no and then you get to stay.

This obviously leaves folks concerned. Not only is this living situation dangerous for the occupant, it can cause safety concerns for neighbors and businesses impacted. These RVs are at a higher likelihood to catch fire due to faulty wiring and can spread disease from human waste. Not to mention other trash that can’t be properly handled by the broken RV.

“Where is the protection for myself and my family who are on the streets sharing these streets with these people?” neighborhood activist and KTTH voice Erika Nagy told KOMO.

I have an answer: there is no protection for you. Unfortunately, the city doesn’t care about tax payers. They don’t even care about the homeless, content to let them live in squalor. The city has officially given up. It’s too hard and they don’t have the political willpower to go up against activists that scream bloody murder when you try to help the homeless get out of their dire situation.

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here.

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