A City of Redmond’s internal email to Human Services Manager, Brooke Buckingham, in January stated, “RPD has strong opinions about King County buying hotels and converting to housing for homeless and are worried about if Redmond has plans to incorporate the .1% sales tax and permit one of these conversions. “
According to King County Fact Sheet:
In July 2021, King County purchased its fourth Health Through Housing hotel, the former Silver Cloud in Redmond for a total of $28.25 million. The county’s purchase of the Silver Cloud will house residents experiencing, and at risk of, chronic homelessness. As with all purchases pursued through the Health through Housing Initiative, King County worked closely with Redmond City officials in advance of the purchase.
The hotel in Redmond at 2122 152nd Ave Northeast was constructed in 1984 and contains 144 units. It sits on approximately 1.94 acres.
As part of the HTH program, this building will serve initially as emergency supportive housing and will later be converted to permanent supportive housing (PSH) for people experiencing chronic homelessness.
According to RCW 36.70A.030
(16) “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. Permanent supportive housing is paired with on-site or off-site voluntary services designed to support a person living with a complex and disabling behavioral health or physical health condition who was experiencing homelessness or was at imminent risk of homelessness prior to moving into housing to retain their housing and be a successful tenant in a housing arrangement, improve the resident’s health status, and connect the resident of the housing with community-based health care, treatment, or employment services. Permanent supportive housing is subject to all of the rights and responsibilities defined in chapter 59.18 RCW.
To put things in context, below are all HTH sites King County has acquired to date. The Redmond site has the most units. And the Seattle Queen Anne site is the only one that is currently up and running. Already, an iconic coffee shop in Lower Queen Anne has closed its doors due to the Queen Anne site. Owner of the Coffee shop “says the conversion of The Inn at Queen Anne from a hotel brought more formerly homeless people into the neighborhood.”
Renton – 110 units
Seattle, Pioneer Square – 80 units
North Seattle – Aurora – 99 units
Redmond – 144 units
Auburn – 102 units
Pioneer Square (Seattle) – 80 units
Federal Way – 101 units
North Seattle – Stone – 131 units
Seattle, Queen Anne – 80 units (currently up and running)
According to King County’s FAQ page :
Q: Will drug and/or alcohol use be permitted in the individual units?
A: Providers will use a harm reduction approach, within which drug and/or alcohol use will be permitted in individual units. Staff will provide supportive services to promote housing stability and will work with residents that have substance use disorders in-house and also connect them to resources in the community. Staff working in a harm reduction setting work in partnership with tenants, and are expected to respond directly to unacceptable behaviors, whether or not the behaviors are related to substance use.
Q: Will there be security?
A: All Health through Housing sites will have 24/7 onsite staffing. Permanent supportive housing does not typically have paid security on site, but does have staff awake and on duty around the clock.
Q: Will residents have restrictions on access to come and go from the facility?
A: No. This will be their home and they will come and go as anyone would from their own home.
According to City of Redmond’s FAQ page:
Q6: When did the City learn about the County’s desire to locate a HTH facility in Redmond?
A: In spring 2021, King County informed the City that they were actively exploring locations in Redmond and in late May 2021, Redmond was made aware of the County’s intent to purchase the Silver Cloud Inn. As this was a private real estate transaction, it was kept confidential, as requested.
Q9: When did the Mayor’s Office make City Council aware of this program in Redmond?
A: City Council was made aware of the new legislation supporting this type of program in both the 2020 and 2021 legislative updates by the City’s lobbyist. Mayor Birney called each of Redmond’s seven City Council members on Tuesday, July 6, to notify them of the County’s purchase and intended use of the Silver Cloud Inn in Redmond.
Q11: Why did the City not require community outreach?
A: Neither the purchase of this property nor the permit application requires community outreach. The City did request that the County voluntarily conduct outreach to the neighboring businesses (completed business outreach on 7/7/21 and a virtual business meeting on 7/9/21), to contact major city partners (completed on 7/7/21), and to hold a community meeting (held on 8/2/21) to provide more details on the project to the community.
Comment: In other words, the public were kept in the dark till the purchase was finalized.
Q14: Will the City forbid use of drugs and alcohol at the HTH facility?
A: The City will provide the same policing and uphold the same safety protocols regarding drugs and alcohol as is provided throughout the community. HTH residents will be considered tenants under Washington State landlord/tenant law and as such will have specific rights with regards to their leased space, which are consistent with the rights all tenants have throughout the city. King County will provide a code of conduct that residents must agree upon to remain housed at the facility.
Comment: In other words, the City will allow drugs at the HTH facility. Unlike other tenants, tenants at the HTH facility are on taxpayers’ dimes. If taxpayers are paying for their staying, is that too much to ask for them to be drug free?
According to Federal Way Police Chief Andy Hwang on newly passed SB 5476’s impact:
“In terms of felony drug possessions, a person caught with drugs will be given two warnings before action is taken, Hwang said. There is no statewide warning database, he said, so an individual could receive two warnings in several different cities without getting a third strike for drug use or possession.”