Councilmember Strauss says Mayor Wilson broke her promise by vetoing RV permit program

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson signed four of the five RV ordinances passed by the Seattle City Council but vetoed a measure that would have created a new permit program for motorhomes and travel trailers.

Wilson vetoed Council Bill 121283 Monday, citing concerns about its cost, legal risks, enforcement requirements, and potential to increase unsheltered homelessness.

“The council and I share many of the same goals — we want to support unsheltered people in every neighborhood in our city to find paths to shelter and housing,” Wilson wrote in her veto letter. “We want to ensure public space, including right of way, is available to everyone, and we want to address quality-of-life and public safety challenges associated with RVs and unsheltered homelessness.”

Councilmember Strauss says mayor broke promise not to veto

Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss, who sponsored the legislation, said in a news release Monday that Wilson had previously promised not to veto the ordinance and accused her of breaking that commitment.

Strauss said he had worked with frontline service providers and city departments since January to develop the legislation, including months of meetings with the mayor’s office.

“Before we passed this legislation, Mayor Katie Wilson promised me not to veto it and to work together to implement. Now, thirteen days after we passed it, the mayor gave me a call at 4 p.m. to let me know she was breaking that promise,” Strauss said in a statement.

According to Strauss’s office, Wilson’s last direct communication with him before the veto was an Oct. 15 email, five days before the legislation passed. His office said the email followed a meeting in which the mayor’s office promised not to veto the measure.

“If the proposed legislation is adopted by the city council, my office will work with you through the Vehicle Resident Assistance Permitting Program Review Work Group to implement this program,” Wilson wrote in that email, according to Strauss’s office.

Strauss argued that the current approach is failing both people living in RVs and their neighbors.

“The city has few resources, and no strategy for helping people living in their RVs get into safer shelter and housing. We can’t continue to leave people forgotten on our streets,” Strauss said. “That’s why I proposed this legislation, and that is why the council passed it.”

Why Wilson vetoed the RV permit program

Wilson’s veto letter stated that she questioned the complexity and cost of a one-time census of people living in RVs, including how the program would affect future vehicle residents who were not counted.

She also raised legal concerns about requiring proof of RV ownership, immediate impoundment or seizure without notice, and the potential for selective enforcement.

Other concerns included the cost of storing relinquished RVs, hiring staff, and developing interdepartmental technology systems. Wilson also questioned the safety and legal risks of towing occupied vehicles and relying more heavily on Seattle police to enforce the program.

Wilson said city programs must be implementable, cost-effective, and reasonably likely to achieve their goals.

“I am vetoing this bill today because I am concerned that the permit program outlined in CB 121283 does not meet this threshold, and I want to give the council an opportunity to consider an alternative pathway,” Wilson wrote.

Four other RV ordinances signed

Among the measures Wilson signed was Council Bill 121279, which expands the authority of the Department of Finance and Administrative Services director to sign leases and open safe parking lots, storage sites, and other resources for people living in vehicles.

Wilson also pointed to funding in the proposed 2027-2028 budget for two safe lots anticipated to accommodate 182 vehicle residents.

Executive order planned for Tuesday

Wilson plans to announce her own executive order Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.

The order will direct city departments to immediately deploy 2026 funding for outreach to people living in vehicles and accelerate the opening of RV safe lots.

It will also establish a work group involving city departments and community partners to identify improvements and barriers to using existing laws and programs and to address problematic conditions associated with some RVs.

RV proposal drew debate before mayor’s veto

“The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio previously reported that Strauss argued, “doing nothing is not an option.”

However, the proposal drew mixed reactions between KIRO hosts Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill.

Spike supported taking an initial step, even if the plan was imperfect.

“Rather than not do anything because it’s not perfect, I appreciate some progress,” Spike said.

Jake questioned whether the proposed consequences for repeatedly declining shelter would be strong enough.

“If you’re saying that they get five chances before there’s any teeth to this thing, it’s like when they were talking about all those Metro bus ambassadors,” Jake said.

Jake and Spike also raised concerns that the rules could move RVs around Seattle rather than reduce vehicle camping.

“They want to spread the problem around the city,” Jake said.

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