On Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, Burien Police/King County Sheriff’s Office removed 25 or so unhoused people from a homeless encampment located on a narrow strip of land behind a Starbucks on Ambaum Blvd. SW and SW 148th Street (map below).
Authorities determined that the location of the encampment posed a public safety risk, prompting the action.
Police said that the relocation is not connected to Burien’s controversial Ordinance 832, which remains tied up in the courts. The ordinance, aimed at addressing homelessness in public spaces, has sparked significant debate and lawsuits, but was not a factor in Thursday’s efforts.
“This is unrelated to Ordinance 832 which remains in the courts,” King County Sheriff’s Office Communications Manager Brandyn Hull confirmed to The B-Town Blog.
Service providers, including the organization The More We Love, were present during the relocation to offer assistance to those displaced. Details on how many individuals accepted services were not immediately available, and we’ve reached out to The More We Love for more information and will update this post if we get a response.
Local authorities emphasized that the relocation was solely for safety reasons, ensuring the fire access road remained clear and functional.
This removal has not yet affected an encampment just a few blocks away on King County property at SW 148th Street & 6th Ave SW, which remains active.
They are now over crowded @ the court house and spilling out into other areas. The lovely (NOT) new addition to 148th is a nice touch Burien. Now we have to deal with prostitution. Will the Community Center still walk the children thru that area on their field trips? PLEASE stop doing that! Our children don’t need to see the back door filth that Burien is seemingly proud of. Are we being punked?!
Police movement… odd. Whats to come with Ordinance 832?? Now, an over-flowing amount of homeless people are camping back around Burien’s court house again….I couldn’t use the sidewalk yesterday and had to walk around many homeless people by crossing into the street with my kid, would that be considered a fire issue, safety issue, ADA issue, or just my own personal issue? (If someone was to get hit by a car because they had to cross over into the street trying to walk through the homeless would that be considered a safety issue?) Sorry just a very average, completely frustrated, long time Burien resident. I don’t understand what happened to law and order, this is the outcome of what happens when there are no regulations in place to prevent human beings from harming themselves & the environment around them in public places…
But there are regulations. Recent ones too put in place by our own democratically elected city council. Ultimately it’s King County that’s not following the law here.
My belief is King County has chosen it’s southernmost, out-of-the-way, and likely most diverse corner of the county as it’s dumping ground for homeless. And homeless is used generously because really it’s an open-air fentanyl market. Meanwhile King County isn’t providing our community any extra support or services.
King County is hoping that we don’t make a fuss about it. As folks would in say Bellevue.
Half our city budget goes to the King County Sheriff for policing. At one point, and maybe still, our city manager was withholding payment because King County refuses to enforce our laws.
It would be expensive, but if we could create our own police department, possibly by teaming up with neighbors like SeaTac and Normandy Park, then the encampment would be cleared. King County would have to come up with a real solution to help those folks.
Thanks for the response but respectfully I’d disagree with one thing you’ve mentioned. there are no regulations in place to prevent anyone from harming themselves or the environment around them when it comes to homeless. (No standardization) You can prove this by simply observing homeless on the street and see how they are able to openly sell illegal drugs, run around the streets at all hours, openly go to the bathroom on the roads and sidewalks, steal merchandise, endorse prostitution and do drugs openly in public places and the cops won’t do anything about it – whether your in Burien or Seattle. ( But if a major sporting event or music event comes to town, where do the go in Seattle? There ‘s an industry inside the homeless. There is money inside the homeless typically from grants through state/federal. ) .. of course its because of Seattle and they are the ones leading this movement. I strongly advise anyone that disagrees to go down to 3rd and Pike in Downtown Seattle and look around and start talking to anyone down there… specifically homeless – ask them the question: why are they there and whats keeping them there? ( You’ll find your answers very quick and what every single homeless member down there said is the homeless community that wants to change their lives do so and get housing, but the ones that don’t want to, choose to live a homeless lifestyle mostly because of the hard drugs there stuck on, but also they don’t want to change what there doing because there is no recourse for doing it – these folks should get intervention if they are “harming” themselves and the environment around them in a public place. There was a homeless man there who moved from New York and was in his 40’s, he worked his whole life in the marine industry and recently moved to downtown Seattle to pursue the homeless lifestyle. He said its the ultimate freedom and he gets to do whatever he wants, when he wants. He chose Seattle because they he said they allow that. So this is becoming an actual option in life now because its been enabled here. Another place to look in downtown Seattle is 3rd and Jackson, this street is the epicenter for the homeless boosting industry (money and drugs and stolen items) and the drugs that get passed throughout our state. Again, the cops are not doing anything about this and are well aware of everything.
I really don’t think it is relevant to ask “how many individuals accepted services”
Normally, when that question is asked, it is in order to place judgment on the individuals, and is almost never asked in order to ascertain if the shelters/services are adequate for this population.
Better questions would be, what services were offered, and what restrictions are involved.