City promises to ‘resolve’ three South Delridge encampments by mid-February

In an end-of-week email addressed to “Highland Park Neighbors” (with blind CCs including us), the city’s Unified Care Team says it will “resolve” three South Delridge encampment areas in the next month:

Based on the availability of resources, UCT is scheduled to resolve the following locations by mid-February:

*SW Barton St from 15th Ave SW to 17th Ave SW
*SW Barton St to 18th Ave SW to Delridge Way SW
*SW Cambridge St from 15th Ave SW to 16th Ave SW

The email goes on to tell recipients:

We appreciate your patience in the lead up to the resolution of these sites. The City’s contracted outreach partners will be actively engaging at the sites to make offers of shelter and provide connections to services. Due to the region’s limited shelter availability, these connections can take some time, but our goal is to prevent the displacement of high-needs individuals into other parts of the neighborhood or repopulation of these sites.

UCT has been and will continue to provide regular site cleanings to the above sites as well as other areas in Highland Park in hopes of mitigating public impact by removing trash, debris, and dangerous objects like propane tanks. Our teams regularly work in this area, conducting site inspections and continually evaluating sites for resolution as site conditions change and resources become available.

Seattle’s Parking Enforcement Officers (PEOs) are working to address the recent service requests reporting lived-in or abandoned vehicles as well as conducting proactive enforcement of any non-compliant vehicles in the area. City parking ordinances require vehicles to move at least one block face every 72-hours to be considered compliant. UCT works to keep lived-in vehicles moving and in compliance, however we understand that this can be frustrating as vehicles may remain in your neighborhood even if they are moving regularly. If you have submitted a customer service request for an abandoned vehicle that was closed as a duplicate request, please know PEOs will still be addressing the location in your request.

Please note that parking violation and ordinances apply to all vehicles equally – they do not differentiate between lived in and non-lived-in vehicles. However, under Washington state and federal law, there are extra protections extended to persons living in vehicles to protect their privacy interest. Because of that and absent extraordinary circumstances, a law enforcement officer may not enter an occupied/lived-in vehicle without an approved warrant. An occupied, non-compliant vehicle cannot be safely moved without this process occurring.

The Highland Park area will continue to be frequently inspected and reassessed for resolution and trash mitigation services based on the level of activity observed. If you observe new or worsening encampments, please report it using the Customer Service Bureau’s Unauthorized Encampment service request form or submit a service request using the City’s Find It, Fix It mobile app. As always, dangerous or criminal activity should be reported to 9-1-1 including drug use, theft, and trespassing.

Community groups who are interested in potentially activating a public space or public right-of-way in your neighborhood can contact UCT’s community liaison Tom Van Bronkhorst (tom.vanbronkhorst@seattle.gov) to discuss how the City may be able to support you and your neighbors in options for restoring a frequently encamped space for public use.

This arrived too late in the day/week for followup but next week we’ll also be asking the UCT about the status of the 8th/9th/Henderson area, which despite a recent city operation continues to be the area that people most often mention to us.

18 Replies to "City promises to 'resolve' three South Delridge encampments by mid-February"

  • Tim D January 10, 2025 (6:15 pm)

    Great reporting, Tracy… If neighbors call or use the find it/fix it app  sooner rather than later, parking enforcement is able to do their thing and keep the RV’s moving. If no one reports then It takes a lot longer for the UCT to conduct their process. 

  • Bob January 10, 2025 (6:28 pm)

    What about the mess by home Depot? More mess and smoke daily!

  • Eric1 January 10, 2025 (6:32 pm)

    LOL.  I wonder what my boss would say if I told her I would finally do the job I was supposed to do 6 months ago NEXT month.  I understand this isn’t an easy job but at least I wouldn’t continue to feed my boss a line of bull about me actually improving my productivity in the future by actually enforcing the 72 hour parking limit when I haven’t done that job 6 months ago or even 6 years ago. 

  • HP resident January 10, 2025 (7:20 pm)

    UCT continues to be a joke. No faith this latest announcement has any teeth. Cambridge St between 15th and 16th has been a permanent rotating encampment since the pandemic started. The redlining of Highland Park as the de facto homeless zone must stop!

  • Lauren January 11, 2025 (8:40 am)

     Due to the region’s limited shelter availability” until we solve this, we are not solving anything. Housing is a human right.

  • Lu January 11, 2025 (9:22 am)

    Housing is a human right these poor people should be either given a home or left alone.If you’re not going to help kindly step out of the way and helping isn’t purging remember that.It’s winter and these are human beings who need warmth and shelter not rats and vermine for us to “solve”.

  • Ltmmgm January 11, 2025 (10:47 am)

    Read this story I’ve attached. Yes it is from 10/2024 but we drove by this holding/building yard just 3 days ago and all these tiny homes are still just sitting there empty and why? Read the story told by the builder and you’ll get the answers.https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/the-saga-of-seattles-empty-tiny-homes-is-building-to-a-head/

  • Steph January 11, 2025 (11:07 am)

    These poor people should be in a permanent home for sure. One of the previous encampments in these areas housed people who murdered three Seattlites in cold blood. It’s outrageous that the rules are so convoluted. The City and County have plenty of land for these vehicles to occupy where law enforcement and social services might keep a better eye on them and prevent more crime and perhaps create a better living experience for those that want it. I stay as far away as possible and urge everyone to do so for the safety of your family and self 

  • Rita January 11, 2025 (11:22 am)

    First, I want to thank everyone involved in attempting to solve the circular movement of a few lived-in RVs from 8th/9th Ave SW to SW Henderson from 11th through 20th Aves SW, which I believe is a deliberate, knowledgeable choice made by the RV owners. This is a continuous nuisance, causes trash to build-up in large piles in just a few days, and probably scores of missing bicycles and/or packages stolen from porches, poor health conditions, and much more.
    Personally, our household no longer wants to live near this mess. What is the solution? There really isn’t a solution without some laws for protection of property owners — I don’t believe UCT is a joke, but I also don’t believe that UCT has the “teeth” to legally and permanently stop this cirucular movement. What about making living in an RV outside of a campground (or in an occupied neighborhood) illegal. For certain, other states and/or communities have found methods like this or other ways to stop this problem. Or perhaps find a large open field outside of town, dig a well, install a handled water pump, and add toileting facilities. Every one of the RVs and their owners could be required to move themselves, their RVs, and their gear, etc., to that area which would be livable, but would not then be affecting and/or harming children, pets, home values, healthy environments, and so on. The COST to taxpayers for managing and cleaning up areas after RVs are removed is tremendous . . . and that cost isn’t fixing the problem. How about other suggestions?

  • Admiral-2009 January 11, 2025 (3:52 pm)

    Ltmmgm – agreed tiny homes are just sitting there unoccupied and they are a good cost effective option that needs to be expanded.  It’s very annoying this option is not being employed!  

  • Russell January 11, 2025 (6:04 pm)

    We’ll fund a $2 million curb removal, but when it comes to social housing the cities only response is removal of people. Homelessness is a failure of the state, while the state is just punishing people for their own failures.

  • Jeff January 11, 2025 (6:28 pm)

    Housing is a human right. Period. Stop the sweeps!

  • Kyle January 11, 2025 (7:54 pm)

    On Alki they put up a bunch of no parking signs to keep homeless and basically everyone out. Pushed a lot of folks to Highland Park but I guess it’s okay here.

    • WSB January 11, 2025 (9:32 pm)

      No, they did not. A stretch of Harbor Avenue is signed for no parking between 11 pm and 5 am. Unless you’re referring to the Alki Point Healthy Street, which has “no parking” signs but did not have an RV encampment.

  • Longtime HP resident January 12, 2025 (8:17 am)

    Housing is a human right , but what about my right to walk down the street without being threatened, which has happened multiple times by the people in living in trailers right by my house. I’ve been called a f****** b **** for walking by, been told ‘I have a gun’ when my dog barked at someone, seen some really reckless off leash dog action. Seen the sidewalk by the school so full of bikes and trash that families were walking their kids to school in the middle of the street. I actually don’t mind trailers, but I do mind terrible neighbors. There’s no question these people are in crisis, but letting them hang out for weeks or months while they amass trash, pollute the area and engage in criminal behavior is not the answer either. I’m near the old Morningstar deli, and this area should be included in the sweeps, otherwise they will all park along here instead. 

    • k January 12, 2025 (12:48 pm)

      If we gave them housing, they wouldn’t be living on the street, causing these experiences for you.  Two birds, one stone.  Housing first.

  • Admiral-2009 January 12, 2025 (5:32 pm)

    k – are you aware that there are more than 250 never used tiny homes sitting on three storage lots in Sodo?  

    • K January 12, 2025 (8:35 pm)

      Yes, Admiral-2009, I too have the ability to read articles linked in the WSB comments.

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