Information from District 1 City Councilmember Lisa Herbold

On Tuesday evening, I joined residents of Arrowhead Gardens for a meeting about plans to resolve the longstanding encampment on Myers Way, hosted and led by the Washington State Department of Transportation.  I have previously written about this encampment here and here. 

The encampment of approximately 48 people is located largely on WSDOT land, although some residents are on City land as well.  The King County Regional Homelessness Authority is working closely with WSDOT on plans to resolve the encampment as part of its State-funded Right of Way program, at my request, which has successfully resolved eight large, complex sites in King County on state land.

Over the weekend, WSDOT posted notice that all operable vehicles must move off the site on both sides of Myers Way.  They are also limiting access to the site for any new vehicles, an important first step to control the growth.  Trash pickup will be ramping up.  Outreach workers are talking daily with residents to understand their needs, which will allow them to line up appropriate housing placements for all 48 people living there.  Lt. Kim of the Southwest Precinct discussed SPD’s role in responding to criminal activity.

While outreach workers with the CO-LEAD program are currently assessing housing needs for the people living there, the resolution won’t begin until WSDOT has identified adequate viable housing and shelter resources for the individuals at the encampment. WSDOT explains that they:

“have some, but not all, of those housing resources in hand, and are establishing a plan for site resolution based on when the needed resources will be available. From experience, we’ve found that relocating the majority of residents at the same time minimizes confusion and anxiety and is safer for the outreach teams. Outreach continues to regularly work with the people at the site to focus on understanding the dynamics and needs in the encampment which informs the housing placement plan.”