During a heated meeting Thursday, the Seattle City Council voted against overriding Mayor Katie Wilson’s veto of their recently passed RV permit legislation.
The RV bill would have restricted overnight RV parking unless people obtained a permit and agreed to work with caseworkers towards shelter. People parking without a permit would risk having their vehicles impounded.
In her first veto as mayor, Wilson moved to block the legislation last week. She said she agreed with the goal of reducing the number of people living in RVs on the street, but cited concerns about implementation, cost, legal challenges and the bill’s overall effectiveness. As part of her veto, Wilson passed an executive order to expand outreach to people living in RVs and create a work group to come up with alternative solutions.
The original legislation passed with six votes, and the council needed six votes to override Wilson’s veto. But when the mayor’s veto came back to the council this week, Councilmember Rob Saka flipped his vote.
“My principles and values haven’t changed,” Saka said. “What’s changed is that we now have a new path to consider.”
Saka’s flipped vote was a blow to Councilmember Dan Strauss, who sponsored the RV proposal and said he had been working on it for nearly a year. He represents a Ballard neighborhood where RVs have been a persistent issue.
“It’s not leadership to fall over when concerns are raised,” Strauss said. “What is leadership is to say: ‘Let’s work together and make sure the harm you are scared of does not occur.’”
Saka took issue with Strauss’s suggestion that his flipped vote was “duplicitous.” He described the comment as a “Seattle, passive-aggressive, subtle slight.”
“You can take it up with me directly, our offices are right next to each other,” Saka said. “Do not under any circumstances impugn my motives, my character, or my integrity. I don’t do that to anyone else. Don’t do it to me.”
The mayor’s work group will consist of city staff, police and service providers who work with people living in vehicles. It will “incorporate feedback from vehicle resident outreach to inform programs and action” and bring recommendations to the mayor, according to the executive order.
Strauss said that his legislation would have given the city time to incorporate similar feedback and make any necessary changes. He criticized the mayor for not bringing up her concerns earlier.
“Voting to sustain the veto is voting to sustain the status quo,” Strauss said. “It’s voting to plan for a plan and a vote to delay taking action helping people who have been overlooked, under-resourced and left in the cold with the city turning their back on them.”
The RV permitting bill was backed by many local businesses. During Thursday’s meeting, North Seattle Industrial Association President Eugene Wasserman described Strauss’s bill as a “humane way to end the drug dealing in our area.”
Many homeless advocates were opposed to the bill, arguing that it was punitive and could force more people onto the street.
“I lived in my vehicle for a brief time when I lost my housing, and it provided the stability that I needed to keep my job and exit homelessness,” said Jeff Paul, the co-executive director of House Our Neighbors. “A ban that would largely prohibit RVs in the city is super harmful and probably illegal.”
The mayor’s executive order says the work group will bring back recommendations within 60 days, with the goal of bringing legislation to the city council by March.
The RV permitting bill was part of a package of RV-related legislation passed by the council last month. The mayor signed other parts of the package that involved increased outreach and allowing for more safe parking lots into law.
