Exclusive: Seattle council candidate files for city-wide public camping ban

Seattle City Council candidate Rachael Savage is calling for a public camping ban in Seattle.

Savage, vying for the District 8 seat, filed a Seattle-specific version of the Compassionate Public Safety Act — a proposed ordinance in King County to ban unauthorized public camping and mandate directions to available shelter — on Tuesday. It’s modeled after an ordinance by the Quality of Life Coalition of King County, which is currently collecting signatures.

“This is exciting for the city of Seattle, and I think the citizens of Seattle are ready to take action,” Savage said exclusively to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. “They’re tired of waiting for City Hall. They haven’t done enough, and this initiative makes public camping illegal, but what we want to do for people is move them to detox treatment and shelter, and this is going to help the fentanyl addicts and the severely mentally ill get the help they need and give us what we need as Seattle citizens, clean streets so we can get back to business and building our beautiful city and have safety and prosperity for all.”

Majority of King County voters support public camping ban, polls finds

Polling commissioned by the Quality of Life Coalition found 77% of King County voters support a public camping ban with shelter access. The proposed Seattle camping ban comes after similar ordinances passed in Burien and San Diego.

In May, King County Superior Court green lit Burien’s camping ban, finding it does not violate Washington’s constitution, as opponents contended.

The City of Burien prohibits sleeping outside within city limits. Initially, this ruling applied only between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. and was punishable only if there was available room at shelters. But after a 5-2 vote in late January, Burien’s city council ruled that sleeping outside is prohibited at all times.

The decision shortly followed the Supreme Court’s ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson, a case that ultimately led to the decision on whether cities can prohibit sleeping in public spaces. The Supreme Court ruled that cities can, stating that it does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

At least seven other jurisdictions in Washington created or expanded camping bans in the last year, according to The Seattle Times, including Auburn, Bremerton, Chelan County, Lakewood, Washougal, Wenatchee, and Spokane Valley. Approximately 140 cities have enacted similar regulations nationwide.

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