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

Please Join Us, Stay Informed, and Demand Public Input and Public Safety!

Key Action Items:

1. This is critical! Send an email to the mayor and council at MayorCouncil@redmond.gov , and copy dwhitaker@komotv.com, jeremyharris@komonews.com , jmoreno@komotv.com , bwakayama@king5.com , jcalhoun@king5.com , chocker@king5.com, apatrick@seattletimes.com , and: request to receive an update on the status of the covenant for the public land transfer to Plymouth Housing. The covenant must be in place before the land transfer can be completed. The city attorney drafts all the land transfer documents, and the mayor signs them.
2. Sign the petition to remove CM Vanessa Kritzer from the Council President position.
3. Tell your friends, neighbors, and co-workers about this public safety hazard drug-allowed project that the city of Redmond brings to the Eastside without allowing any public input. Please urge them to join us to receive critical updates and action plans: https://safeeastside.com/joinus/ .
4. Send emails to Councilmembers at council@redmond.gov, and copy dwhitaker@komotv.com, jeremyharris@komonews.com , jmoreno@komotv.com , bwakayama@king5.com , jcalhoun@king5.com , chocker@king5.com, apatrick@seattletimes.com , and:
   • Demand the City Council rescind the decision to give away the Cleveland parcel to Plymouth Housing. The city should go through an open RFP process to select a reputable developer and operator that has a good track record.
   • Demand the City Council publicly and explicitly declare that disability is not an eligibility requirement for the affordable housing at the Cleveland parcel. Drug addiction qualifies as a disability.
   • Demand transparency and public input. The city is withholding critical information from the public. The public has the right to know the status of the public land transfer. The city should hold public hearings, and allow the public to give input.
   • Demand Planning Director Carol Helland be investigated for her conflict of interest in handling the ARCH-backed Plymouth Housing project. Helland also serves as Chair of ARCH.

Facts:

In a reckless move on February 13, 2024, the Redmond City Council hastily rubber stamped the transfer of the Cleveland parcel, which the city purchased in 2019 for $5.5 million, to Plymouth Housing. This decision paved the way for the “bait and switch” project, rejected by the City of Kenmore, to relocate to downtown Redmond. Despite public requests, the City Council did not allow any public comments before the vote.

Plymouth Housing hands out pipes and needles to its tenants, while the Salvation Army bans illicit drug use in its buildings. If an RFP were held, it would be obvious that Plymouth Housing is not in the best interest of the vulnerable homeless population and the city of Redmond. Yet, the city of Redmond gifted Plymouth Housing land and money without RFP, without allowing public input!. Plymouth Housing’s assets grew from $65 million in 2018 to $321 million in 2022 by simply riding the region’s homeless crisis. In comparison, Salvation Army’s assets remain relatively unchanged for the same period, at only $2.2 million in 2022. The city of Redmond is enriching the already rich NGO.

After approving the land transfer, Redmond City Council holds no further authority over the Plymouth Supportive Housing project in Redmond. At the meeting on February 13, in answering Council President Vanessa Kritzer’s question, Director Carol Helland told her and the rest of the audience that the Operational Agreement “will come back to the Council; it does not require a public hearing, but it will be presented to you for final approval”. She further said that the public will be able to give their input into that “as comments, item from the audience”. This is a BIG FAT LIE! The Operational Agreement for the Plymouth Housing project in Redmond does NOT require the Redmond City Council’s approval. The council has no authority over it. 

From Director Carol Helland and COO Malisa Files bringing the project to Redmond on January 22, the day of its rejection in Kenmore, to the Redmond City Council approving the land transfer on February 13, the entire process took only 22 days. Councilmembers clearly violated their fiduciary duty when they “have not had adequate time to consider, as the council, the outcomes of what this would look like,” yet rushed, without allowing any public input, to approve the transfer of public land to a private entity for the development of a low-barrier homeless building in the heart of Redmond, only 0.5 miles away from Redmond Elementary School.

According to the Mayor’s memo, “If the project and land transfer is not approved the City would release an RFP for affordable housing developers to propose projects for the Cleveland parcel. Plymouth Housing would seek a new piece of land for their project.” An open RFP is the prudent way to use public land for affordable housing. Giving the land away to a provider with horrible track record is irresponsible. Councilmembers’ Duty of Care requires that they “Avoid any behaviors or omissions that could reasonably be foreseen to cause harm to others or the interests of the City.“

According to the Redmond Council Rules of Procedure , the Redmond City Council can bring the Cleveland parcel transfer issue back before the Council in three ways:

• Reconsideration (the timeline for reconsideration has passed);
• Rescind – This is our recommended action;
• Amend – This is an alternative to rescind;

The city tells the public that this homeless building is for veterans and seniors. However, the city refuses to publicly and explicitly declare that disability is not an eligibility requirement. Able-bodied drug addicts will be eligible for this homeless building in downtown Redmond, while low income seniors and/veterans will not be eligible, unless they are homeless and disabled. The City  is lying to the public.

Update #1: Legislators in Olympia took the “bold action” as the City of Redmond asked and appropriated $4.2 million, “provided solely for the Redmond Supportive Housing project”, out of the Transit Oriented Housing Development Fund in the 2024 Capital Budget to close the funding gap that the Plymouth project is facing. This proviso was sneaked in without any discussions, just as they brought the Plymouth Housing project to downtown Redmond with zero transparency and zero public input.

Update #2: The WA legislature passed the 2024 Capital Budget. The state gives Redmond $7.4 million to fund the Plymouth project.

Action Items

Send emails to Capital Budget Committee Chairs Rep. Steve Tharinger (Steve.Tharinger@leg.wa.gov) and Senator Mark Mullet (mark.mullet@leg.wa.gov), and copy Ranking Members Rep. Peter Abbarno (Peter.Abbarno@leg.wa.gov) and Senator Mark Schoesler (mark.schoesler@leg.wa.gov), requesting them to “remove from the 2024 Capital Budget the appropriation items that fund the controversial Plymouth Supportive Housing project in Redmond . Tell them that assisting the City of Redmond in pushing this project into the community without transparency or public input is unacceptable, and reflects negatively on their commitment to government transparency and democracy as elected officials.

Contact the city’s planning department at developmentengineering@redmond.gov , and request to receive the Site Plan Entitlement (SPE) Notice of Application for the 16725 Cleveland Street parcel. The public will have at least 14 days to comment. And only those who have submitted written comments can appeal the city’s decision. According to the Redmond zoning code, 125 parking spaces will be required for a building with 100 units. Internal email shows that Helland wants to allow the building to have less than the required parking space so that they can cut costs. In an email on February 20, 2024, Helland said, “The Plymouth project is approximately one-quarter of the size of the AMLI project and they are proposing very limited parking.”

Sign the petition to remove CM Vanessa Kritzer from the position of Council President.

Send emails to Councilmembers at council@redmond.gov, and copy dwhitaker@komotv.com, jeremyharris@komonews.com , jmoreno@komotv.com , bwakayama@king5.com , jcalhoun@king5.com , chocker@king5.com, and apatrick@seattletimes.com , and:

• Demand the City Council rescind the decision to give away the Cleveland parcel to Plymouth Housing and request the Council “release an RFP for affordable housing developers to propose projects for the Cleveland parcel”;
• Demand the City Council publicly and explicitly declare that disability is not an eligibility requirement for the affordable housing at the Cleveland parcel. The disability restriction will exclude many low income seniors, veterans in our community from getting much needed help.
• Demand Director Carol Helland, who is also Chair of the ARCH, and Mayor Angela Birney, who is also a board member of the ARCH, to both recuse themselves from any involvement in the Plymouth Housing project.  They have not been acting in the best interest of the City. The Mayor’s Duty of loyalty in Council business requires that she “Make all decisions in their powers as fiduciaries without conflict of interest.”

Schedule meetings with Councilmembers. Email or call them and request to set up a meeting with them. Let them know that you are seriously concerned. On 2/20, the City Council recruited people from the homeless industry and nonprofit organizations with close ties to the city to put on a support show at the council meeting. We need to let them know, in person, that those people do not represent us, the people. Below is the councilmembers’ contact info.

Osman Salahuddin
Position #1
City Council
Council Term Expires 12/31/27
osalahuddin@redmond.gov
Phone: 425-556-5845

Steve Fields
Position #2
Council Term Expires 12/31/25
sfields@redmond.gov
Phone: 425-403-9476

Jessica Forsythe
Position #3
Vice-President, City Council
Council Term Expires 12/31/27
jforsythe@redmond.gov
Phone: 425-305-7206

Melissa Stuart
Position #4
Council Term Expires 12/31/25
mstuart@redmond.gov
Phone: 425-588-6550

Vanessa Kritzer
Position #5
President, City Council
Council Term Expires 12/31/27
vkritzer@redmond.gov
Phone: 425-305-9892

Jeralee Anderson
Position #6
Council Term Expires 12/31/25
janderson@redmond.gov
Phone: 425-588-1619

Angie Nuevacamina
Position #7
City Council
Council Term Expires 12/31/27
anuevacamina@redmond.gov
Phone: 425-556-5846

Join the force. Please encourage people to join our email list. Please join our Facebook Group , our Telegram Group.

Attend council meetings, participate in putting up yard signs, and knock on doors. More detail will come.

Resources:

• Flyers
• Call or text 425-588-8011 to request yard signs.
• A short 2-minute video of a neighbor of a homeless building in Seattle tells Redmond residents what they should demand from the city for public health and safety based on her own experiences. 
• Key Facts.
• Lived experience.