wwwsodoseatlecg S=S~=~S~S* Seattle, WA 98134 WA 98134 Business Improvement Area August 8, 2017, The SODO BIA has serious concerns regarding the Vehicular Living Working Group (VLWG) recommendations which are to be presented to the Seattle City Council on August 9, 2017. When invited to participate, | was hopeful this would be a productive process that would develop recommendations that would both provide necessary support for those living in vehicles and also address the negative impacts that vehicle living has on our district. However, the lack of representation from neighborhoods, businesses and property owners made this goal unattainable. Vehicular living is a significant health and public safety issue in SOD gs eres to the current approach is desperately needed. However, the recommen laces emphasis on items that would further negatively impact the distri sted goal of making homelessness rare, brief and one time. The focus Several solutions recommendatio currently over 300 RVs, and we see on our district. vehiel@land ar ies, which . Assistance for ble rather residents We are also concerned about the recommendations to develop additional recreational vehicle campgrounds. SODO has hosted two of these “safe” parking areas and both have proven to be unsuccessful at moving people in to housing. In both cases, we did not oppose locating the lots in SODO, however the City’s management of the lots did not meet their promises. At the Second Avenue lot, which \was supposed to have active case management and daily visits from officials, we see piles of uncollected garbage and continue to receive reports of active drug sales and open drug use. Permitted vehicles which were supposed to be actively engaged in case management have remained in place well over a year with their residents no closer to finding permanent houRemaining focused on the goal of moving people towards permanent housing, we strongly support the expansion of outreach and support services. We believe that water/sewage service is a perfect example of providing necessary support to vehicle residents while also addressing negative impacts on our businesses. Water theft has increased in SODO over the past year with many businesses seeing increases of thousands of dollars in their monthly utility bills. We also have a significant number of illegal dumping complaints for raw sewage dumped into storm drains that runs directly to the Duwamish. Providing water and removing waste would greatly improve conditions for vehicle residents and remove a burden from the neighboring community. ‘We would also strongly support the standing of a second Navigation Team specifically focused on vehicle residency. The combination of outreach services and enforcement has increased the percentage of individuals accepting services to over 60% while being responsive to neighborhood concerns. Having a team dedi SP residents would allow for better understanding of and response As our City strives ‘ensure that our d that solutions car businesses. To that end, we encour leaders from all Seatt nt Erin Goo Executive