The city will begin to start proactively reducing the number of RVs that keep reappearing on Seattle streets after being towed for violations.
A practice known as “car-ranching” has become prevalent in places like Ballard and SODO. So-called “ranchers” have been buying towed RVs and cars at city auctions and putting them back on the streets to rent them to homeless people.
With new city legislation, towed vehicles and RVs deemed hazardous (according to Junk Vehicle state criteria) will now be destroyed, rather than going to auction. And, the city will start to investigate and fine the landlords who rent RVs and cars in poor conditions to vulnerable populations. Remediations of up to $2,000 will go into a restitution fund for vehicle occupants.
“We have an obligation to protect public health and ensure that our neighbors are not living in inhumane conditions. And we will hold accountable those who prey on vulnerable people for profit,” Mayor Jenny Durkan said in a statement. “We will continue to work for holistic solutions and do more to connect people with services and housing – and we will continue to invest in the strategies we know have an impact, like our Navigation Team.”
While he supports cracking down on predatory landlords, City Councilmember Mike O’Brien voiced some concerns over the new legislation — he’s concerned that those living in RVs or vehicles may be forced to move into a less-safe tent.
O’Brien told the Seattle Times he’d prefer to see RV- and vehicle-dwellers in a safe, city-sanctioned parking lot. The city has approved funding the parking lot program, but hasn’t yet found a suitable location.
File photo of RVs on Thorndyke in Interbay
![](https://www.myballard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024-My-Ballard-Tile-Ad-Troop-100.png")
After YEARS of being told that none of these things are problems, and that the “crime rate is lower than 1986” or whatever, now we must “applaud” the city for taking steps to clean up the mess they enabled. Sad! In addition, what sad misuse of the term “rancher”. These scumf*cks, just like the woke morons on the City Council never worked on horseback or plowed a field. Pathetic.
No mention of this incident on My Ballard? Maybe this is a little more important than another dog yoga studio?
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/91-year-old-womans-arm-broken-in-random-ballard-attack/957680709
I agree 100%. It’s not what they tell us all, rather what they leave out that IS the “news”. Can’t bitch about things we don’t know much about, can we? I wonder, when or what will be the tipping point? To me, we are there now. But due to conditioning and being dumbed down, some FEEL otherwise.
The Left in 1990s: facts and science over feelings and superstitions
The Left 2019: facts are bigoted, feelings only matter, everything is open to interpretation based on vague, self-contradictory Intersectional Marxist/Feminist dogma because we all got gubmint jobs.
Good!
Is a tent the only solution? Poor Mike…he’s been so inept that maybe it is. But if they’d get off their collective butts and build FEMA tents with services like, you know, any normal city would do in a DECLARED EMERGENCY, folks would have that better alternative while we build more affordable housing (which needs to happen wayyyyy faster than it is). I’m glad they are clearing out these filthy, dangerous eyesores. Thank you Mayor Durkan!
Thank her for what again? Having big hands? Unless you’re part of the solution, you MAY be part of the problem. She is THE boss. Nothing goes without first going through her offices. Not blaming her too is just plain silly. But then again, ya gotta be nice to the girl.
Lizzy – you really still think this is a affordable housing problem? Pull your head out! It is a drug problem. Why doesn’t the (shameless) City counsel declare an emergency on the heroin entering our area via the border with Mexico? Why should us taxpayers pay for housing for people who would rather do drugs? There is already plenty of taxpayer funded help for those who want it. What needs to happen wayyyyyyy fast is to lower taxes to help with affordable housing for the rest of us and a full purge of the city government.
Don’t use too many facts and reality-based observations. This is Clown World, where we all must perform mental gymnastics like trained seals on a daily basis.
This IS what happens when there is NO opposing opinions and or checks and balances. This IS what unbridled liberalism looks like people. We ARE a giant petri dish, and these ARE the lab results: human feces, needles, tents and shreds of human debris everywhere. Pat them all on their heads and tell them all “it’s not their fault”, and then tax the F out of hard working folks to pay for it all. Quite the scam/scheme. Thanks MOB. Thanks for this huge mess. And guess who’ll be in charge of the clean-up and forging ahead. Not good folks.
No, this is what happens when you have unbridled, crony capitalism. Our country has the available money to fix this problem, many times over, but we prefer to give tax cuts to the wealthy and subsidize corporations.
Good try attempting to blame it on the opposite party though!
“No, this is what happens when you have unbridled, crony capitalism.”
This is actually true, but what Turth still doesn’t understand is that the “cronies” in question in our neck of the woods are corrupt establishment Democrats unopposed by anyone because they spew woke garbage and drape themselves in rainbows. Pathetic!
I can’t believe the City wants to rid us of this beautiful architecture along with the vibrant community members that inhabit these un-rolling works of art! Such a travesty!
It’s ABOUT FRICKIN TIME. Oh my Lord – I so agree with Censorship above. These drug dens are just that – a backdoor for drug addicts to live among us, spread their filth, and generally screw up previously nice neighborhoods.
What about the old woman who got her arm broken? Please do a story on that. Oh no! It may engender “bad feelings” toward these disadvantaged individuals! What about that women, My Ballard? Do you care?
Give me a break, Seattle. You know those creeps you see? They are CREEPS. There was a guy I saw last Saturday, near his RV near Trader Joe’s, yelling “ARREST ME! I DARE YOU!” So scary. Does anyone even bother to call SPD? No. Because THEY CANT DO ANYTHING.
This city is beyond screwed up, and we are supposed to applaud this. Ridiculous.
Please VOTE FOR CHANGE this fall. So important.
Calling it “Clown World” is now “hate speech”. This is how clown world-y it is now.
I love how all these comments have at least one down vote, yet nobody is speaking up in defense of our vulnerable community members! The virtue-signaling SJW’s won’t even speak up for their friends in the tents and RV’s anymore? They’re just gonna downvote you in secret like little babies. Sad!
Down votes from the SJWs are an admittance of the accuracy of the dissenting viewpoint, and the hostility and hatred they have toward plain facts stems from the cognitive dissonance between their conditioning and the world around and how it operates. Not too dissimilar from religious fundamentalists or any other cult, really.
See also: the impact of mass migration of low skilled (often illegal) migrants on wages, affordable housing, safety/community cohesion, pollution, and overpopulation.
They hate the messenger, and would have him/her destroyed.
Some sweaty junkie bumps into me I’m kicking.his.ass.
It’s like if someone came and burned down your house because you kept it messy inside. Kind of a shame.
I’m glad they are finally doing this. I asoI hope this is a catalyst for some of these junkies to get clean.
Yes neat maybe Santa will help them and they can become City Council Members lecturing the rest of us on compassion.
Pretty bigoted comment assuming anyone that is poor is a junkie. Does it make life easier for you to make these assumptions?
Shut it troll, nobody cares what you have to say.
Too bad so many aren’t willing to have an actual conversation on here.
When you decide to bring something intelligent to a conversation, people will respond positively to you, and maybe you’ll even make some friends. But as long as you keep posting unintelligent garbage, you’ll get responses like mine.
How’s that for a conversation?
WORD!
You guys can live in your little bubble of saying that all poor people should be jailed, but that isn’t practical.
Does calling RV dwellers “junkies” count as intelligent conversation?
Many are, so yes. It has been studied and fact that a majority of homeless have addiction issues, including drug addiction. I’m aware that there are many, many people who live in RVs are actually not junkies, but we are talking about the subjects of this story in which most are.
“Pretty bigoted comment assuming anyone that is poor is a junkie.”
Nobody assumed that anyone who is poor is a junkie, therefore your comment is not intelligent conversation.
To be fair, about half of the total population of Seattle is drug addicted/mentally ill. Look at our former mayor, the current city council, and your local Dem caucus for ample evidence of this – so no need to single out the poor RV dwellers.
The City Council is just as batsh*t insane, they just enjoy the luxury of operating under the pretense of legitimacy.
…”all poor people should be jailed.” Who said that? Where? When?
All moron trolls should be banned but that’s just a given.
“All moron trolls should be banned but that’s just a given.”
So spaketh the mighty Progressive Commissar Freja from atop her fire breathing dragon over the razed city as her minions shouted “Yasss Queen, Slay!”
Lol, you are just completely making this stuff up. You alt-right types never have any facts.
Pick your fake news source, but it’s been written about several times
https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/ev9mmz/seattle-area-salmon-are-loaded-with-anti-depressants-and-other-drugs-thanks-to-human-waste
-Take your shoes off in the house.
-No touching.
-No jokes.
Bwaaahahahahhaha! The self proclaimed genius who lives with mommy and gets in trouble at his part time job for being a creep is going to school us all.
Yes well you all keep complaining and blaming but non of you have a real solution to this problem!
The real solution is to enforce the existing laws. Seems pretty easy to me.
By all means, tell us how “enforcing the existing laws” will solve or even make a dent in the homeless/drug/mental illness crisis?
This is true, nothing will help the mental illness problem among the Social Justice Cultists.
This is true, nothing will help the mental illness problem among the Social Justice Cultists.
And apparently nothing can help your illness either.
Hey Truth, did you know the Aztecs were cannibals?
“All cultures are equal!” LMAO
https://www.nytimes.com/1977/03/03/archives/experts-on-aztecs-deny-withholding-cannibalism-facts.html
Put them in a crusher and smash them…and then do the same for the RV’s they are “ranching.”
You’re doing it wrong.
We’re supposed to drone bomb countries and start WW3 with Russia (good liberal causes now) but ridding the streets of junkie sex offenders is “obscene, horrible, unthinkable fascist violence”.
Get woke, Matt!
As inhuman as the RV’s are they safer than living in tents along the streets ! I don’t like the RV’s but living in a RV is safer than living tents for the people living their !