King County safe injection ban will not be on November ballot

The citizen initiative to ban safe injection sites in King County, I-27, will not be on the November ballot after all.

Instead, it will appear on a special February 2018 ballot if the petition’s signatures are valid.

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Proponents of I-27 submitted more than 70,000 petition signatures nearly one week before the July 31 deadline. Only 47,000 verified signatures are required. But King County officials say there still wasn’t enough time to process and verify all the signatures or have the initiative considered by the county council, to get it on the November ballot.

The head of that initiative effort told KIRO 7 he hopes this isn’t a delay tactic.

I-27 has been spearheaded by Bothell City Councilmember Joshua Freed. The initiative aims to ban all safe injection sites in King County.

The county’s board of health has approved two such sites – one in Seattle and another somewhere outside the city. The exact locations are not yet known. Bellevue has preemptively addressed the issue by submitting a resolution affirming its city does not approve of safe injection sites and will not welcome any in town.

RELATED: I-27 campaign accuses King County of violating law

County officials say there are currently no safe injection sites planned for anywhere in the county.