Burien Forfeits $1 Million for Shelter, Will Contract With Controversial Group for Outreach and Hotel Rooms

The latest developments in Burien come as the Supreme Court says it's OK for cities to criminalize homelessness.

By Erica C. Barnett

King County has withdrawn its offer to provide $1 million to the city of Burien for emergency housing after the city spent a year considering and rejecting locations for a tiny house village. Most recently, the Burien City Council considered legislation that would prohibit tiny houses on a lot, owned by Seattle City Light, that they had tentatively approved as a shelter site.

The bill, which the council postponed, would have limited the size of lots where shelter is permitted to a size much smaller than the City Light lot; an amendment, proposed by Councilmember Stephanie Mora, would have also explicitly prohibited tiny houses by requiring that any shelter structure have permanent foundations.

In a letter to Burien City Manager Adolfo Bailon, Deputy King County Executive Shannon Braddock wrote, "we are withdrawing King County's offer of $1 million and 35 pallet shelters effective immediately," in part because the county's formal offer has been on the table for over one year and Burien has yet confirm a site and make use of the funds. In addition, the Burien City Council appears to be actively working to put in place restrictions that exclude pallet shelters on the site selected by the Burien Council.

On top of the $1 million, the county offered Burien the chance to apply for $5 million to fund the operations of the tiny house village, but Burien "chose not to apply," Braddock noted. Council members who opposed the funding frequently complained that it didn't come with any operations funding beyond the initial million dollars. Burien's annual general fund budget is around $36 million.

Braddock told PubliCola in a statement that the county "will now direct the $1 million and pallet shelters to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) to use on outreach and emergency housing for individuals in South King County, including addressing the District Court site in Burien" by providing portable toilets and handwashing stations.

Bailon has complained to the county about an encampment outside the courthouse and "shared [his] outreach team will not be able to service that area," according to Braddock's letter. In his response to Braddock, Bailon said he hadn't asked for the toilets or handwashing stations, but said the city "is pleased to learn that steps are being taken to address the public health issue created by King County"—that is, the presence of homeless people at the courthouse.

In a related development, Burien is preparing to sign a contract for homeless encampment outreach with The More We Love, a private encampment removal company started by Kristine Moreland, a Kirkland real-estate broker who has volunteered with Union Gospel Mission. As PubliCola has reported, Moreland sent a spreadsheet containing private information about unsheltered people to city officials and a private business person.

The More We Love will reportedly use a small private system called Diversion Management Information Services, rather than the Homeless Management Information System used by most homeless service providers, to keep track of its clients' data, including health and service information.

Moreland's group will receive funds originally allocated to other groups. First, they'll receive the remaining funds that were previously allocated to REACH, a countywide outreach organization whose contract Bailon unilaterally terminated earlier this year; the city issued a request for proposals for $380,000 in outreach funding earlier this year. Second, they'll get funding that was originally earmarked for a day center at Highline Methodist Church in Burien, which also hosts a severe weather shelter in the winter.

In addition to the outreach contract, The More We Love will also receive around $200,000 to provide "temporary lodging" at a 116-bed EconoLodge in Renton owned by a company called RebelX. Moreland has previously sent unsheltered people to this hotel, but without services on site, they have been kicked out or had to leave after the money for hotel rooms ran out, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.

The money is all temporary funding through ARPA, the federal COVID emergency program.

Burien received multiple bids in response to its two requests for proposals for outreach and shelter, and The More We Love's reportedly ranked dead last. Bailon has the authority to choose the city's contractors, however, and selected Moreland’s group, as he did for a separate no-bid contract last year.

Manuel Hernandez, a spokesman for the city of Burien, said the county's decision to pull the funds "was premature as the City Council has not concluded its process to amend zoning regulations that address temporary emergency shelters."

The news out of Burien comes in the context of the Supreme Court's decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson this morning. In that ruling, the court upheld the Oregon city's law banning people from using blankets, pillows, or tents for protection from the elements while sleeping outdoors, finding that unsheltered homelessness is not a "status" but an action that cities have the right to criminalize. (The city of Grants Pass imposes civil fines that can escalate to arrest and jail if a homeless person fails to pay them.)

The decision effectively overturns Martin v. Boise, a ruling (honored mostly in the breach) that said cities can't criminalize sleeping outside if there is no shelter available.

King County, which provides Burien's police force, has sued the city over its ban, relying partly on Martin v. Boise; the sheriff's office told PubliCola they were still analyzing the Grants Pass ruling and would have more to say once they have done so. Burien Police Chief Ted Boe quit earlier this month after Bailon said he planned to replace him, complaining, along with a majority of the city council, that Boe and his deputies would not enforce the law.

Burien, which has no general-purpose shelter, bans people from sleeping outdoors if there is shelter available elsewhere in the region; with the decision, the city (along with cities up and down the West Coast) could argue that it no longer has to offer shelter to its homeless residents before sweeping, fining, and ultimately arresting them.