City says Lake City Community Center unsuitable for Tent City 4; church to allow temporary stay while alternative sites sought

Seattle’s Housing and Human Services Committee received an update May 14 that the executive branch has decided the Lake City Community Center is not a suitable location to site Tent City 4, and that the city will partner with regional homelessness providers to identify an alternative site.

Committee Chair Kathy Moore delivered the update. She read from an email from the deputy mayor to a department director, saying, "A decision has been been made by the executive that the Lake City Community Center property is not suitable to site the Tent City 4 encampment," and listed reasons including its location in the heart of Lake City’s commercial district and concerns about alignment with Tent City Forest’s one-year-per-site practice. Moore also told the committee, "The Seattle Mennonite Church has indicated that they would allow Tent City 4 to remain at its current location until an acceptable alternative is identified, provided Tent City 4 requests a lease extension."

Why this matters: Tent City 4 currently shelters more than 100 people and includes families; committee staff reported 104 people in the encampment and said four families are living over capacity. Committee members and multiple public commenters said the site selection question is urgent because of safety, neighborhood impacts and the imminent lease expiration at the church.

Public commenters described neighborhood impacts and urged the council and executive to move Tent City 4 out of Lake City. Erin Birch, who said she lives on Capitol Hill, told the committee, "I am terrified living in Seattle," and described an encampment near her block with open drug use, human waste and blocked sidewalks. Yi Wang, a Lake City resident, said an earlier encampment across from her home in Albert Davis Park included "shootings" and left her child afraid: "My daughter couldn't sleep, and she began to fear for our safety." Other speakers, including local business owners and residents, said they learned about the relocation plan late, and argued the commercial district and nearby services (library, park, farmers market) would be harmed by a permanent siting.

Moore said the next steps described in the deputy mayor’s email are that the Human Services Department (HSD) and King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) will partner to identify appropriate alternative locations and that the city will continue to provide limited funding support while an alternative is found. Moore told the committee the city will continue to fund $45,000 in 2025 through the city’s contract with KCRHA to support maintenance, waste management and utility costs for Tent City 4.

Moore also said some Tent City 4 residents have recently been moved into adjacent vacant space (a dentist building next to the Mennonite Church) and that the city and regional partners are working to house families who are over capacity at the site. Committee members asked for clarification that the church’s permission meant residents could remain while an alternative is found; Moore confirmed the church said it would allow a stay if the group requested a lease extension.

Discussion vs. formal action: the committee did not vote on the encampment siting. Moore characterized the executive decision not to use the Lake City Community Center as an administrative/executive determination; the committee’s role at the May 14 meeting was informational. The committee recorded the executive’s stated intention to support relocation planning and to continue limited contract funding for maintenance and utilities while partners seek an alternative site.

What remains unresolved: Moore said HSD and KCRHA are "partnering to identify appropriate alternative locations," but did not announce a specific next site. She also said the Mennonite Church’s lease with Tent City 4 is due to expire Friday and that the church would follow Tent City 4’s lead about requesting a lease extension.

The committee received multiple public comments opposing siting Tent City 4 in Lake City and asking for alternatives. Moore closed the update by noting the city, KCRHA and the church are working to identify a short-term and long-term solution for the encampment population.