Take Back Our City

Demand Council President Vanessa Kritzer To Resign or Be Removed

Action Items – Demand a Say on Drug Allowed Plymouth Homeless Building in Downtown Redmond

Send emails to Councilmembers at council@redmond.gov and demand that the city council rescind the decision to give away the Cleveland parcel to Plymouth Housing and request that the Council release an open RFP for affordable housing developers to propose projects for the Cleveland parcel and allow the public to have a say in the process, including the selection of the developer. Plymouth Housing has profited from the homelessness industry and seen rapid growth in its assets, and is not the right choice for Redmond.

On January 22, 2024, the Kenmore City Council determined that the Plymouth Supportive Housing project did not meet the city’s goal of providing affordable housing to seniors and veterans in their community and thus rejected it.

On February 6, 2024, the Redmond City Council held a 30-minute behind the door executive session. They then voted on February 13th to approve the transfer of public land, which the city purchased in 2019 for $5.5 million, to Plymouth Housing. The council’s decision paved the way for the relocation of the 5-story, 100-unit, single adult only, drug-allowed low-barrier homeless project to downtown Redmond, only two blocks away from Redmond Elementary, after it was rejected by Kenmore. Despite the public’s request, the City Council did not allow any public input and hastily approved the public land transfer. 

Council President Vanessa Kritzer broke the Redmond City Council’s long-standing “three touches policy,” and rushed the council vote at the special session on February 13 to avoid allowing public comments.

The City of Kenmore went through an open RFP in February 2022, three public hearings, before the council took the final vote in January 2024 and denied the Plymouth Supportive Housing project. The entire process lasted almost two years. In contrast, it only took the City of Redmond less than one month (22 days to be exact) to give a piece of public land to Plymouth Housing for free and roll out the red carpet for the Plymouth Supportive Housing project to relocate to Redmond. 

After approving the land transfer, Redmond City Council holds no further authority over the Plymouth Supportive Housing project in Redmond.

Who does Plymouth Housing serve? According to Plymouth’s own data below, of those they served in 2023, only 11% were veterans, and there was no mention of seniors at all:

59% Substance-use disorder
62% Mental health disability
40% Physical disability or chronic health condition
11% Military service veterans

According to RCW 36.70A.030(31), “Permanent supportive housing” is subsidized, leased housing with no limit on length of stay that prioritizes people who need comprehensive support services to retain tenancy and utilizes admissions practices designed to use lower barriers to entry than would be typical for other subsidized or unsubsidized rental housing, especially related to rental history, criminal history, and personal behaviors. 

The City of Redmond’s FAQ page intentionally misleads people about the true nature of the downtown Redmond Plymouth Housing project. Below is a quick side-by-side comparison. Our Facts Page provides evidence that opposes the misleading or inaccurate details presented by the city.

Internal City of Redmond emails show that Mayor Birney approached King County Executive and invited King County to place homeless facilities in Redmond. Yet, she openly and repeatedly denied any involvement in the decision process. When caught with her lies, Mayor Birney and City staff threw in many road blocks to prevent the City Council from amending Ordinance #3059 and enacting public health and safety requirements in city codes. Redmond’s strong mayor-council form of government gives the mayor too much power without checks and balances. Would you support eleminating mayor, and change Redmond to council-manager form of government? Please participate our online public opinion poll on eliminating mayor at City of Redmond.