Alternative sites for a Ballard encampment are still being considered, says city

At a city-held meeting at Leif Erikson, a heated Ballard crowd was told that other locations– besides the preferred site at 2826 NW Market Street– have been in consideration for a transitional homeless encampment coming to Ballard.

“While the Market Street site is not off the table, we are with good faith looking at alternative sites,” said Deputy Mayor Kim at last week’s meeting.

Additionally, the director of Department of Planning and Development (DPD) Diane Sugimura reiterated that the city is still considering other sites, according to the Seattle Times. Sugimura adds that there isn’t a hard timeline for a decision on a Ballard encampment location.

At the meeting and in MyBallard‘s public forum, several Ballardites have echoed each other’s concerns about the city’s selection process, and demanded to know where exactly these other sites are located. Recently, a list of all area locations in consideration by the city has been disclosed to MyBallard by Seattle DPD spokeswoman Wendy Shark. The sites are as follows:

• 2826 NW Market Street
• 1121 NW Ballard Way/1120 NW 46^th
• South of 4411 Leary Way NW, east of Ballard Terminal Railroad (BTR)
• Yankee Diner, 5400 block of Shilshole Ave. NW
• South of NW Bright St. b/t Burke Gilman Trail and 8^th NW
• 4421 Shilshole Ave. NW
• Ballard Blocks II (block south of Ballard Blocks I)

“We have met with Ballard stakeholders several times to discuss [these] options,” writes Shark in an e-mail. She adds that research continues into the possibility of alternative sites.

Shark explains that while six other locations have made the list besides the preferred Market Street site, some sites like the Market Street site are more realistic for use than others. Some of the above locations are under a franchise agreement with BTR, while others are considered Right of Way (ROW) and would therefore need a code amendment to be used for an encampment site. One of the sites owned by the Department of Natural Resources would also require this type of code amendment, according to Shark.