Seattle group gets approval to gather signatures for homelessness ballot initiative

A coalition seeking to change Seattle’s charter to force city leaders to address homelessness can now move forward on gathering signatures for its ballot initiative.

Unlikely alliance hopes to force Seattle to take action on homelessness

The initiative is being pushed forward by a group known as Compassion Seattle, staffed by SoDo Business Improvement Area Executive Director Erin Goodman, former City Council President Tim Burgess, and former King County Executive Ron Sims, among others.

The group’s proposed amendment to the city charter would mandate an additional 2,000 shelter beds or permanent housing units within a one-year period by waiving building permit fees, treating housing permit applications as “first-in-line” for expedited treatment, and refunding to the payee the city’s portion of the sales tax paid for these facilities.

Additionally, it places a requirement on the city “to ensure that parks, playgrounds, sports fields, public spaces and sidewalks and streets remain open and clear of encampments.”

Up until this week, Compassion Seattle was awaiting approval from a King County Superior Court judge to begin gathering the requisite signatures to get the initiative on the ballot. That approval was granted Tuesday, giving the campaign until June 25 to gather over 33,000 signatures. If they succeed, it would then be put in front of voters as part of November’s regularly scheduled election.

While Compassion Seattle has framed its goals around housing the city’s homeless population, opponents have claimed that it will only lead to a proliferation of encampment sweeps. That includes criticism levied by a group called “House Our Neighbors,” which argues that the amendment doesn’t provide enough time or funds to build the adequate volume of housing needed to move people from encampments into shelter beds.

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“The Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Seattle Association have adopted phony compassionate language to sell the same failed approach of repeated displacement that has been carried out in our City for years, while denying that new resources are needed to address the homelessness crisis,” House Our Neighbors says on its website. “Their ‘solutions’ are not based on research or reality, and the proposed charter amendment would codify current failed practices that have worsened the crisis in our region.”

The group had also challenged the initiative in court, arguing that it was worded in a way that was deceptive to voters. Ultimately, a King County judge approved the amendment with only slight changes to its wording, with signature-gathering permitted to begin later this week.

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