Encampment site update: Petition to council

Commentary on the controversial encampment site set for Market Street in Ballard has continued, as reported by MyBallard and other Seattle publications, like the Stranger. In addition, citizens have sent letters to City Council, and a Ballard council meeting was held last night Wednesday July 8th in which this topic was addressed.

“It would be helpful if more neighbors participated,” residents of Loyol Heights Shala and Neel Daniel said of their attendance to the Ballard meeting. Even still, parts of the divided community seem to be involving themselves in other ways.

On Thursday, July 16 at 7 p.m. Whittier Heights Involved Neighbors (WHIN) is holding a meeting at the Ballard Church (73rd and Mary) for citizens wishing to discuss their additional concerns about the proposal.

Last week, a Ballard business group letter was met with a response letter by Mayor Ed Murray, Councilmember Mike O’Brien and seven other Councilmembers establishing that the council is not making their decisions about selected locations based on public vote.

On July 6th, Catherine Weatbrook, a candidate for Seattle City Council District 6, sent an additional letter to Mayor Ed Murray and members of City Council requesting a meeting with community members impacted by the proposed transitional encampment location to shed more light on the decision-making process. Her request was not successful as of yet.

Fueled by what they feel is a lack of response, another group has begun an online petition which states: “Don’t let the City Council tell Ballard to shut up.”  As of today, Jul 9, 2015  4:45 p.m. the petition needs under 50 additional signatures to reach the desired 200, which the signers hope will “turn up the heat in City Hall.”

The petition calls the site selection process “cloaked,… exclud[ing] public comment and provid[ing] no neighborhood notification.” It asks the council to:

• Schedule at least two public hearings on weekday evenings to allow for public comment on the proposed homeless encampment sites.
• Carefully consider whether the proposed sites are actually appropriate places for homeless tent encampments.
• Take a public vote on whether the City Council supports the proposed locations.

“Next time could be your neighborhood,” reads the petition. In response, one-hundred neighborhoods are already represented on the petition.