BURIEN, Wash. — On Monday night, the Burien City Council approved an amendment that will make the city’s public camping ban stricter. The amendment, approved by a 5-2 vote, creates a 500-foot buffer zone around parks, libraries, schools, daycares, and senior centers; the unhoused can no longer sleep overnight in those buffer zones.
Opponents of the amendment said the prohibited camping areas cover wide swaths of public property, further shrinking where those experiencing homelessness can sleep at night. A map from the city shows many buffer zones overlapping.
Supporters of the amendment said this stricter ban will make Burien safer. In the amendment, the city placed several concerns they said their offices received from residents and businesses; all of which dealt with safety.
Some examples included the following: public drug usage, unhoused people using the restroom in front of very young children and their parents, being attacked or threatened by the unhoused, and having unidentified smoke blown in their faces.
The roughly 30 people during public comment, most of them against the amendment, did not sway a majority of the city council.
Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling said the approved amendment had been in the works since last year.
“The city attorney brought this up to us in December and wanted us to do it a little bit earlier, but we had things we're working on at that time. We didn’t think it was the right time to amend that ordinance,” Schilling said.
Many opponents of the amendment connected the timing of it to the public outcry over Council Member Linda Akey confronting unhoused individuals near her condo building. Schilling said he understands the concern.
“I recognize that it’s right at the same time that Council Member Akey had her very public exchange with folks on the street near where she lives,” Schilling said. “However, you just got to get the work done, the business of the city, and not worry about what it looks like.”
Despite pushback from some in the community and a lawsuit against the public camping ban, Schilling said the amendment is what’s best for Burien. He believes it will allow them to better balance the needs of the unhoused and their housed neighbors who have safety concerns.
“The City of Burien leads with services. We offer services at every possible avenue that we can whether it’s a city-directed service or it’s a service around the region. The public should know we’re leading with treatment, not tents. We want to get people into treatment and services, not keep them on the streets sleeping in tents,” Schilling said.
In a prior interview, Schilling told KING 5 the city is doing all it can to create more housing for the people experiencing homelessness.
"We've effectively permitted and zoned for and are in the planning process for 650 affordable housing, supportive units coming online this year and into next year,” he said in a Feb. 27th interview.
The Burien Supportive Housing, set to be run by the Downtown Emergency Service Center, is scheduled to open in May. According to the project website, it will include 95 affordable studio apartments. 25 units will be set aside to house veterans experiencing homelessness.