FOLLOWUP: SW Andover RV 'remediation' next week

Jim June 10, 2022 (12:07 pm)

I’ll believe it when I see it enforced

Zipda June 10, 2022 (4:59 pm)

No parking.(Unless you insist)

snowskier June 10, 2022 (12:25 pm)

Let’s hope this time ‘remediation’ means ‘movement or removal’. 72 hours is pretty clear to understand. If the vehicle runs, move it along after 3 days. If it doesn’t run, tow it away. The junkyard is the spot for broken vehicles that don’t run, not the city streets.

Boinsted June 10, 2022 (12:29 pm)

Such passive BS – move them out. They have had their chance to find alternate resources. I’m tired of the crime – the chop shop – and the harassment when I walk by.

MM June 10, 2022 (1:08 pm)

I agree! Move them out now! I’m tired Of paying for this nonsense!!!
StupidinSeattle June 10, 2022 (1:33 pm)

…and did we mention the two shootings there in the past 5 weeks? By all means, clean this area out – don’t just carry out garbage and leave the RVs and their problems indefinitely.

MyThruppence June 10, 2022 (12:38 pm)

‘ City Councilmember Lisa Herbold had said she planned a meeting with the mayor’s office “to discuss planned enforcement of the 72-hour parking rule at this location” ‘. Yes, let’s discuss also with the vehicle owners that they are not above the law and that for them to maintain their preferred way of ‘living independently’ (i.e. no shelter rules/no shelter lack of permanency/ no shelter lack of self-determination/no shelter lack of privacy) then their vehicles must move every 72 hours just like all of the rest of us. Rights come with responsibilities, just like for all the rest of us. Best of luck to all involved, but making exceptions for people is what has led to this situation. Please take note Ms. Herbold if you want to maintain even the slightest chance of re-election.

nwpolitico June 10, 2022 (3:13 pm)

Well said.
Slc June 10, 2022 (11:55 pm)

Agree!! Thank you for saying this!

mem June 10, 2022 (12:40 pm)

It doesn’t help if they are relocating to 26th Ave, N of Alaska! Cleaning up one neighborhood’s problem to cause a problem in another is not fair to the “new location”. We need to find homes for these people and not just kick the can down the street- AGAIN.

Question Authority June 10, 2022 (12:48 pm)

The immediate placement of ecology blocks is the only guarantee for progress and change at any long term encampment.

oerthehill June 10, 2022 (12:50 pm)

Boinsted: The “alternative resources” several have found are further south from Genesee on 26th behind the park. Disgusting mess already adding up right across the street from several homes and a preschool. And for those judging my comment, I’m not saying all homeless are criminals, but these encampments also attract the crime to them.

Boinsted June 10, 2022 (5:46 pm)

Completely agree. Move them out. And if they need a ride somewhere I will bring my bus down and take them.
- Compassionate solutions June 11, 2022 (10:34 am)
  
  Take them where? Someone else’s neighborhood?

SEADOG June 10, 2022 (12:52 pm)

Aside form the 72 hour parking rule, SMC 11.72.070 states:No person shall park a vehicle on any street or alley, except in an Industrial Zone as defined in Title 23, between the hours of midnight and six (6) a.m. if the vehicle is a truck and/or trailer or other conveyance which is over eighty (80) inches wide.That covers RVs. I attempted to report some RVs on Henderson St using the Find It, Fix it app and after a few days my reports were closed. I later found out that parking enforcement will not remove vehicles which are inhabited (despite the 72 hr rule or SMC violation) due to safety concerns for officers. I was directed to contact the police and they would probably just tell me to contact parking enforcement again.

nwpolitico June 10, 2022 (3:11 pm)

Unfortunately, much of the encampment is zoned industrial, so that part of the municipal code wouldn’t apply. A commenter on a related post suggested changing the zoning to Industrial Buffer so RVs can’t park there overnight. However, that industrial zoning status does not absolve the city of its responsibility to enforce the 72 hour parking rule, as you stated.

On the Henderson piece, that claim about inhabited vehicles should no longer be the case under “full enforcement” of the 72 hour rule. Unfortunately, SDOT has not updated its auto-response when such service requests are filed to remove that outdated information. To escalate Parking Enforcement related matters such as your requests that were errantly closed, contact Sonia.Palma@seattle.gov.
TLC June 10, 2022 (3:16 pm)

OMG thank you for trying Seadog!! I was going to do this as well since one camper that had been gone has now returned – along with about 6 trashed cars. I am *slightly* hopeful as the 2 that were parked on the far East end of Henderson have been removed. Here’s hoping!!!
- Highland Park neighbor June 10, 2022 (7:34 pm)
  
  Ive also reported the RVs and other junk cars on Henderson with no results.

SEADOG June 10, 2022 (1:03 pm)

SMC 11.72.070 states: No person shall park a vehicle on any street or alley, except in an Industrial Zone as defined in Title 23, between the hours of midnight and six (6) a.m. if the vehicle is a truck and/or trailer or other conveyance which is over eighty (80) inches wide between the hours of midnight and six (6) a.m. if the vehicle is a truck and/or trailer or other conveyance which is over eighty (80) inches wide.”Using the “Find It, Fix it” app I reported several RVs on Henderson St. After a few days most were closed. A manager in Parking Enforcement stated that they will not remove RVs that have occupants since there were concerned for officer safety and “the occupants have property rights.” I was told to contact the police, who, thanks to the city council doesn’t do anything anymore.

anonyme June 10, 2022 (2:10 pm)

Seems like the tide is finally turning back in the direction of reason. We’ll see…

Regular Guy June 10, 2022 (2:18 pm)

Great, now maybe I can go to the West Seattle Health Club without the risk of being spit on. That’s what happened to my friend, she was walking there and someone circled her on a bicycle and spit in her face. Unreal.

PP4Life June 10, 2022 (2:29 pm)

But what will they do when they return the following week??? Will we have to wait YEARS to have another remediation? How about making that portion a bike lane to block this nonsense from happening again?

To those that say we are just kicking the can: if the city enforced the rule everywhere and not just a specific location at a time, it would inhibit the rvs from just setting up camp in another neighborhood. These rvs are being offered resources to get out of the rv. They are choosing not to take the resources if they just move their rv to another street. You can’t blame the city for that, only the rv dwellers.

Compassionate solutions June 10, 2022 (10:58 pm)

‘These rvs are being offered resources to get out of the rv. They are choosing not to take the resources if they just move their rv to another street. You can’t blame the city for that, only the rv dwellers.’

Sounds like you must have some very detailed information about what is offered to these rv’ers? Sounds like you know for a fact that a better option than their rv homes has been offered to them and they simply refuse a better situation? Also you must feel if you were living in your own RV and were offered a cot in an open room shelter among hundreds of strangers you would totally accept that upgrade?

Please share more.
- MyThruppence June 11, 2022 (9:11 am)
  
  Who said it was the responsibility of the rest of us to provide a “better option”. Nope. We are offering an alternative that allows them a pathway out of their squalor and misery, while also helping them comply with the law. A side benefit is that women won’t get spit on while they try to go to their gym. (see above). It is NOT our responsibility as fellow citizens to offer a “better option”. We are offering them a chance to not have their vehicles impounded and they themselves not go to jail for non-compliance with the law. How’s that for a better option?
  - Compassionate solutions June 11, 2022 (10:47 am)
    
    Jesus, for one.
    
    We may just have to spiritually and philosophically disagree in some ways.
    
    But aside from that, it would still make sense strategically and fiscally to create and extend better options and resources for people struggling and in these conditions, if you want the conditions to go away. Maybe consider thinking of it in this practical way, if not out of compassion or sense of responsibility?
    
    If people are refusing available services, we should look at why that is, and what needs to change.
Lagartija Nick June 11, 2022 (8:57 am)

Would you trade the relative comfort and security of your rv home for a cot in a dorm with 100 other people? Somehow I don’t think so.
- MyThruppence June 11, 2022 (12:25 pm)
  
  I agree. I would get my RV to some place where I won’t have to end up with 100 other people in congregate housing (jail). We’re not telling them how to live their lives, but we are telling them how they are NOT going to live their lives….around here anyway. Move your heap every 72 hours, or move along to a place where that isn’t the law, or get rid of the RV and accept the help that is being offered, or go to jail and have your RV impounded until you come and retrieve it. Makes no difference to the rest of us.

Mj June 10, 2022 (2:38 pm)

SEADOG – good luck. I for one am tired of the enforcement double standard. For a City that preaches to treat everyone equally I am waiting for equal parking enforcement including issuing citations to be done!

Shmokey June 10, 2022 (4:28 pm)

This is the biggest joke of all time. I have driven by this encampment EVERY SINGLE DAY on my way home from work for multiple years – it is full of violence, criminals, and filth. The only reason I make eye contact with the individuals when driving by is so I can later identify them during the WS blogs next west Seattle crime watch posting..… Solution: have the Nucor Steel plant extend their exterior fence line outward approx 20ft directly to the edge of road, removing any possible “living” space for these dangerous homeless encampments and get rid of Andover encampment for good.

Boinsted June 10, 2022 (5:49 pm)

I will add I have received parking tickets for my pickup truck parked in front of my house because i didn’t move it within 72 hours (didn’t see the tire chalk). Yet the RVs don’t.

Buttercup June 10, 2022 (8:58 pm)

I’m curious, if you only parking option is street parking and you go on vacation how do you ensure that you don’t get a ticket or towed? Been in this situation and always worried me.

Marina June 11, 2022 (12:41 am)

I’ve been wondering this for years!
CarDriver June 11, 2022 (6:25 am)

Buttercup;Marina. What I’ve noticed here on Alki is that if a car is parked on a side street the meter maids don’t notice. They seem to concentrate on arterials and more travelled streets. Also, you could put a sign in your window saying that it’s your home. City will leave it alone.
Sunuva June 11, 2022 (8:16 am)

Unfortunately you can’t ensure you don’t get towed, as I found out a few years ago. Stepped out of the taxi around midnight after a 5 day trip to realize my car was not where I left it in front of my house. Such a sinking feeling. I wasn’t sure if it had been stolen or towed.

When I was able to make calls the next day I found out it had been towed and cost me $350 plus another taxi ride to the impound lot.

I remember this experience whenever I think about these RVs that are allowed to park indefinitely with no consequences and it makes me angry.
- CheeseWS777 June 11, 2022 (7:21 pm)
  
  So something bad happened to you and so that makes you wish it happens to everybody else… You sound like a bright shiny personality that id like to be around
- Jay June 12, 2022 (2:02 pm)
  
  That’s your neighbors maliciously reporting you the moment you left to get the meter maid out there and start the 72 hour countdown and following up with a complain to get you towed. When I lived in Admiral people would be spiteful like that. Just comes down to bad neighbors. The city isn’t that zealous about enforcing the rule unless they get complaints.
Lagartija Nick June 11, 2022 (9:09 am)

Well, according to the majority of commenters on this thread you should absolutely be ticketed and towed because that’s the law and it should be applied to everyone equally across the board. The utter hypocrisy of course is if it was THEIR car that was towed while THEY were on vacation, they’d be complaining it was a horrible miscarriage of justice.
- Sunuva June 11, 2022 (2:29 pm)
  
  Maybe some would, or maybe they’d react like me. I was initially mad at the cost and time it took to get my vehicle back, but I also accepted that I broke the law and didn’t think of it as a miscarriage of justice. Now I get angry that the law is not applied equally, which is what would be fair and just.
  - Compassionate solutions June 12, 2022 (10:05 am)
    
    Imagine if that car was your home and was towed, and you didn’t have the resources to get it back.
    
    The situation with the rv’ers who live in their vehicles is different from housed peoples cars parked while on vacation.
    
    You have to consider all the factors, to be fair and just.

Compassionate solutions June 10, 2022 (11:45 pm)

Concern about homelessness encampments and related issues in your neighborhood is understandable.

However, sweeps are not the best answer. They can be harmful and retraumatizing for people already traumatized. In many cases, it’s just shifting the problem to another location, and causing more hardship for individuals suffering.

What you see as squalor and a trash heap, is someone’s existence, it’s their home that they’ve created for themselves, due to lack of access to a real home, and care. Imagine if all you had was taken from you and shoved into a garbage truck.

There isn’t enough housing for everyone being swept. Not everyone will qualify for a shelter bed either. We should do better for our homeless neighbors.

‘love your neighbor as yourself’

https://m.facebook.com/echohawkforseattle/videos/an-alternative-to-sweeps/167658471875581/

Wseattleite June 11, 2022 (3:17 pm)

Stop calling what is continuing to exist compassion. That is the most in-compassionate lifestyle I can imagine one to ever endorse. Truly mind boggling.
Lisa June 11, 2022 (9:22 pm)

Chief Seattle Club is developing some great low income options but the need is overwhelming. In watching this linked video, I am noting that unfortunately most of the hotel rooms are no longer available and the contract with JustCare ended a few months ago. This means folks are mostly offered “enhanced shelter” spaces (a cot with maybe a curtain between you and the next person). Some will be offered tiny houses and some transitional housing. But it’s unlikely that there will be good options for all these folks, and of course many want to keep their vehicles. So-called “Safe parking lots” in non-residential neighborhoods, with toilets and dumpsters would be a great help and not cost much; hard to understand why this isn’t being implemented.

Pigeonpointres June 11, 2022 (5:22 am)

Folks, they are just doing garbage removal and cleanup. They are not moving the campers. I’ve seen these “remediations” a few times and was hoping it would mean removal of the increasingly negative groups there and my neighbors and I would see less break ins of car and property. However, I noticed these are just clean ups and even feeding the rv residents and not removal of the chop shops and my car was broken into again.

Mj June 11, 2022 (9:13 am)

Buttercup – in theory you could have a friend move your vehicle for you every 72 hours!

Eldorado June 11, 2022 (9:42 am)

It’s been WAAAAAAAY to long

Tommy June 11, 2022 (10:54 am)

Hi there my name is Tommy and I am the man that has unsuccessfully tried to get these RVs and cars out of here for the last almost four years , I’m the one that puts out the no parking signs( for my company National barricade hired by the city) and in the past I’ve been harassed but this last time I was not. I hope it gets done and Hope but that street can be safe once again and just so you know I’m a longtime West Seattle/ White Center resident peace.

Kat June 11, 2022 (2:50 pm)

Last night, 6/10, after dark, I drove home via Andover. The bike “chop shop” was on the move with three guys and three large grocery shopping cart – one with bike tires, one with bike rims etc. I was interested in letting them do their thing and getting home. One of the guys stopped in the on coming lane close to the middle of the street, stared/glared at me and acted like he was going to threaten my car with the shopping cart. They were jay walking. I was going slow. I felt like if I had slowed down or gave eye contact, he would have tried to ram the cart into my car.Additionally, in the last 2 weeks, I have seen multiple live rats even in day light and a few dead one, 2 open air fires under a tree, people who step out almost in front of your car if you drive by, the bike lane blocked by some trailer, sidewalks and new RV trailers dumped on the residential side of 28th AVE SW near the gym… and that is on TOP of the garbage, hoarding, loitering around the neighborhood, and other regular activity – legal and not – that our neighborhood has endured. Time to move them out. We have put up with it for 6+ years. It is only getting worse exponentially. Yes they have been offered a variety of services over the years. Don’t care where they move if they move on… some other neighborhood can enjoy their company and spend lots of energy and effort trying to make things better. Gotta share the luv.Wish them the best.

CheeseWS777 June 11, 2022 (7:26 pm)

For those of you who drive by there and complain every day on here, do you not notice that it is usually the same people who are causing problems every time? The majority of these people are just trying to live their lives. The minority who are yhe troublemakers are messing it up for everybody else yet yall talk about it as if every rver down there is total scum

Lisa June 13, 2022 (9:21 pm)

Exactly. I believe that everyone deserves safe shelter, but for those who believe that only folks who are doing the “right” things should get some help, there’s this: I have spoken with several of the folks living there and not everyone is a thief. Some of these folks actually go to work every day. Said one, “I can support my kids, which maintains them and keeps a good relationship with my ex, or I can have an apartment; I can’t afford to do both.” Said another (who reads WSB and is quite aware of what people think) “All people know is the “chop shop”; they should come here and talk to us so they can see that we aren’t all ‘big, bad wolves’”
Kat June 13, 2022 (9:24 pm)

You have a point. There are a small group of folks trying to just live their lives, but when I think of everything I have noticed in the last couple months, the majority are causing problems and the minority are trying to live their lives. Yes, one individual in particular has caused a lot of issues but a different two people wander all over our neighborhood in the wee hours of the morning. A different person has the illegal fires. Meanwhile, I need to live my life, esp. commuting to and from work. To drive a different way means going out of my way to avoid the area and a longer commute. When I am trying to do my thing, I have had some of these folks step out in front of my car. Recently one individual was suspiciously lurking on our block. I don’t want rats on my property. Places I used to walk either have blocked sidewalks or aren’t really safe to walk anymore. In short, living my life is being effected.

Carol June 14, 2022 (12:44 pm)

WSB, have you received any responses to your request for information about the plan? I live on 26th and as of 12:45pm today there does not appear to be any changes.

WSB June 14, 2022 (1:58 pm)

Only the very generic SPU response, so generic I didn’t bother publishing it. I have not received a response to my inquiry to CM Herbold/staff sent Friday asking about the results of what she had written was a plan to talk with the mayor’s office, which is unusual, so I’m renewing the request today. So we’re reduced to a tactic we have to deploy in many things, “drive by often to see if anything’s happening” (we’ve gone through the area twice so far today, only thing notable is orange tags on all the RVs/trailers, also noted yesterday)…