If you’ve been following the recent, contentious growing issue surrounding homelessness in Burien, by now you’ve heard of an offer of $1 million, pallet shelters and other incentives from King County intended to help the City of Burien manage this crisis.
As we previously reported, the city has swept at least three growing homeless encampments over the last few months – from outside the Burien Library/City Hall on Mar. 31, at SW 152nd & 6th Ave SW on June 1, and most recently at Dottie Harper Park last week. A new encampment is now growing on the south side of SW 152nd Street near 4th Ave SW in front of Grocery Outlet.
King County’s June 7, 2023 letter offers to help the City of Burien address its homelessness crisis by providing $1 million, up to 35 pallet shelters and more.
The letter was sent to Burien Mayor Sofia Aragon and City Manager Adolfo Bailon from King County Executive Dow Constantine’s office, and follows up on previous conversations between county and city officials.
“These King County commitments are made with no additional conditions or requirements,” the letter states. “King County remains ready to move forward with any of these offers at moment’s notice if the city moves forward with a property.”
Includes Pallet Shelters
The county’s offer is contingent on the city identifying land for a sanctioned encampment, where pallet shelters could be placed. These 35 shelters are small, modular units that can house one or two people, and are valued at a total of around $350,000.
The letter also states that the county could also accommodate up to 100 parking spaces at its Metro Transit Park and Ride or garage on SW 150th Street, “if the city land provided for the encampment site was currently being used for parking.” These spaces could be traded in a deal with a local car dealership to possibly utilize a city-owned lot on SW 150th Street just east of Chase Bank as a sanctioned encampment.
The offers were made with “no additional conditions or requirements,” and the county said it’s ready to move forward with any of them if the city moves forward with a property.
City of Burien Has Not Yet Responded
However, the city has not yet responded to the county’s offer, and some critics – like Kelsey Vanhee, who is on the Burien Airport Committee – are upset:
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Burien City Council has not yet voted on the county’s $1 million dollar offer. The mention in Vanhee’s Tweet related to a motion made by Councilmember Hugo Garcia that would have ended a property lease with Burien Toyota.
At recent City Council meetings, some of these offers were discussed – with one motion made and denied by a 4-3 vote – but this was before the county put it into writing in a letter – a request some councilmembers requested.
“Regarding next steps – the City Council will be scheduling a meeting soon to talk about different options,” Emily Inlow-Hood, Communications and Public Engagement Manager for the city, told The B-Town Blog. “The meeting hasn’t been scheduled yet, but is on the planning calendar.”
The county’s specific offers outlined in the letter include:
- “Allocate $1 million to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) for the purpose of providing support to Burien residents who are experiencing homelessness. KCRHA has already been in discussions with Burien officials about the needs and opportunities, so we are confident your two entities can work out details regarding service provisions and other issues.
- “Transfer ownership of up to 35 Pallet Shelters valued at ~$350,000 (more details in Appendix 1.). Originally, we had offered 20 shelters, but we have since identified 15 additional shelters for potential use.
- “To the degree that city land provided for the encampment site is currently being used for parking, King County can accommodate up to 100 parking spaces at our Metro Transit Park and Ride or garage.
“We have also already committed to funding the operations of the 95 units of permanent supportive housing that the city previously permitted and are currently under construction,” the county said.
“Together, we believe these measures, in addition to whatever others the city has planned, can help provide unhoused Burien residents a more stable and secure place to live temporarily while they work with case managers to access longer term housing options.”
Text of the full letter is below (download PDF here):
Dow Constantine
King County Executive
401 Fifth Avenue, Suite 800
Seattle, WA 98104
206-296-9600
Fax 206-296-0194
TTY Relay: 711
www.kingcounty.govJune 7, 2023
Mayor Aragon and City Manager Bailon
Burien City Council
400 SW 152nd St., Suite 300
Burien, WA 98166Dear Honorable Mayor Sofia Aragon and City Manager Adolfo Bailon:
I write today to follow up on the offers of partnership that King County has made in numerous conversations with city officials over the past several weeks. There is only one change from previous offers, which is noted below.
Once the city identifies land for a sanctioned encampment, King County has offered to:
1. Allocate $1 million to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) for the purpose of providing support to Burien residents who are experiencing homelessness. KCRHA has already been in discussions with Burien officials about the needs and opportunities, so we are confident your two entities can work out details regarding service provisions and other issues.
2. Transfer ownership of up to 35 Pallet Shelters valued at ~$350,000 (more details in Appendix 1.). Originally, we had offered 20 shelters, but we have since identified 15 additional shelters for potential use.
3. To the degree that city land provided for the encampment site is currently being used for parking, King County can accommodate up to 100 parking spaces at our Metro Transit Park and Ride or garage.
We have also already committed to funding the operations of the 95 units of permanent supportive housing that the city previously permitted and are currently under construction.
Together, we believe these measures, in addition to whatever others the city has planned, can help provide unhoused Burien residents a more stable and secure place to live temporarily while they work with case managers to access longer term housing options.
These King County commitments are made with no additional conditions or requirements. King County remains ready to move forward with any of these offers at moment’s notice if the city moves forward with a property.
Sincerely,
April Putney
Deputy King County Executive
