City workers clear homeless camp outside Seattle City Hall
Mar 9, 2022, 8:46 AM | Updated: 11:58 am
The removal of a homeless camp outside Seattle City Hall. (Photo: MyNorthwest file)
(Photo: MyNorthwest file)
Alongside dozens of police officers, city workers removed a homeless camp outside Seattle City Hall on Wednesday morning.
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The encampment was located on Fourth Avenue between James and Columbia. The city had previously posted a 48-hour removal notice on Friday, Feb. 18. On the day the camp was scheduled to be cleared, activists and mutual aid volunteers with a group known as Stop the Sweeps Seattle arrived in the area and blocked those efforts.
The group maintained its presence for the days that followed, vowing to remain in the area until shelter and services were offered to those living in the encampment.
The initial plan from the city was to clear the camp without prior outreach, with Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office noting at the time that there is “no requirement for offers of shelter when an encampment is creating an obstruction.” Removing any camps that aren’t deemed to be obstructing public rights of way requires the presence of outreach workers to offer shelter and services, although a vast majority of encampment removals in Seattle do not qualify under the city’s guidelines.
After the arrival of below-freezing temperatures in late February, removal efforts were paused while outreach workers were sent to offer “connections to services and shelter,” facilitating a total of 15 referrals to 24/7 enhanced shelters and tiny homes over roughly three weeks.
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Then, on Wednesday, Seattle police officers arrived in the area, cordoning off the intersection and blocking vehicle traffic before city workers moved in. While most removals come with a notice posted anywhere between 24 to 72 hours beforehand, campers on Wednesday morning were reportedly given just two hours to remove their belongings and leave. The mayor’s office told MyNorthwest on Wednesday that HOPE Team system navigators and Seattle Parks staff were on-site as well.
