What can be done about squatters in Seattle?

At around 7 a.m. Wednesday, KIRO Radio’s Don O’Neill checked on a vacant house near the radio station. The house has been frequented by squatters recently — one of many concerns in the neighborhood.

The house is supposed to be empty, but property owners have repeatedly attempted to keep squatters out. It’s an ongoing issue.

“The door was wide open (on the vacant house),” Don said. “There was a young girl standing in the driveway, just tweaking out of her mind … she broke my heart as she stood there.”

Squatters set up in Eastlake home near KIRO Radio station

A man from the construction company that monitors the property then came and asked the crowd of squatters to leave.

“I saw 5-10 other people grab some bikes, grab some backpacks, leave the house and head up to (underneath) I-5,” Don said. “All the lights on the house were left on.”

“I asked the girl what her name was, and she couldn’t speak,” he said. “She was foaming at the mouth. She was a complete zombie. I asked her if I could get her help, if I could call a women’s shelter. Then there was a young man who came out and escorted her up to under I-5.”

“This drug; this heroin epidemic in this city is so evil,” he added.

Seattle and squatters

According to a letter to KIRO Radio from Scott Lindsay with the mayor’s office, Seattle has a vacant property workgroup. The group is a partnership between police and the city’s permitting department, and it has been notified of the Eastlake squatter problem.

“We have seen a huge spike in problem activity at squatter houses throughout the city and formed this workgroup to bring police and code enforcement personnel together in order to problem solve just these types of situations,” Lindsay wrote.

In such situations, the city may be able to expedite the demolition portion of development permit. That would essentially remove a vacant building, and removing the reason for squatters to be in the area. But Lindsay also said the squatter house is part of a much larger problem in the Eastlake neighborhood, with known assaults, drug dealing and unauthorized encampments. Homeless outreach teams are reportedly addressing the many Eastlake issues.

“What we would love is for the ability to tear a building down sooner,” said Amy King with Square Peg Construction. “So when we know development is going to happen, we could get a permit to demolish a building ahead of time. Then you don’t have to worry about squatters. You just have an empty lot.”

The way things work now is that plans and permits must be approved by city officials before any work on a property can happen — that includes demolishing a structure.

Square Peg Construction doesn’t own the vacant property in Eastlake, but it is contracted to build the apartment building expected in the future.

“We were asked to help with the squatter situation which we have attempted to do a number of times unsuccessfully, and now we are attempting again,” King said.

Squatters in vacant buildings have become an issue city-wide for the company.

“It’s really hard to keep them out because of the squatter laws in place,” she said. “It’s difficult for us to remove them.”

As for the Eastlake situation, previous approaches have not been successful, particularly because of a drug issue around the property.

“Part of what we do is employ individuals in transition – people released from prison, recovering from addiction, and transition out of homelessness,” King said. “A lot of times those people don’t have a place to live. So there are a number of developers in the area who have graciously offered to let us house our employees in their properties that are vacant. That helps us keep squatters out.”

“This particular property was offered to us, potentially, for that,” she added. “But because of the heavy drug activity, our employees opted not to live there — for their own protection and safety and to remain on the path they are on to recovery.”

Follow @https://twitter.com/DyerOxley