Burien planners begin work to turn state temporary‑encampment law into local rules

Chase Gatson, senior planner, told the Burien Planning Commission on Jan. 8 that staff will draft permanent zoning provisions to implement state law allowing temporary encampments on property owned or controlled by religious organizations and that the City Council will hold a public hearing on the interim zoning ordinance on Jan. 13.

Gatson said the city adopted an interim zoning ordinance on Dec. 9 and "we have 6 months to either adopt permanent provisions or basically get an extension for another 6 months," adding that the interim ordinance creates a permitting path while staff prepares a permanent code draft.

The presentation and ensuing commission discussion focused on how the ordinance interprets the state law (referred to in the staff packet as House Bill 1754) and on operational and safety standards that will be included in Burien Municipal Code chapters added or amended by the interim ordinance (staff cited changes to chapter 19.75 and the creation of chapter 19.90). Gatson said the draft follows many elements of the state statute and treats four temporary‑encampment types: outdoor tent encampments, temporary small homes (sometimes called tiny homes), indoor overnight shelters, and safe resident vehicle parking.

Key provisions described by staff include: a default maximum operating duration of six months in a calendar year for tent encampments and safe parking (with a required three‑month separation between encampments on the same site); a one‑year allowance under the statute for temporary small homes and indoor shelters; a 120 square‑foot maximum for temporary small homes and a prohibition on underground utilities for those units; a 10% cap on parking spaces that may be used for safe parking (the draft allows the memorandum of understanding to deviate from that cap); and a 1,000‑foot separation rule that can limit multiple encampments nearby. Gatson also said the city can waive permit fees and that a temporary use permit for an encampment must be accompanied by a memorandum of understanding between the city and the host organization.

Staff explained the public‑notice and public‑meeting process required by the statute and the draft code: the host organization must hold a neighborhood meeting and the city is responsible for public noticing using at least two of the statutory notice methods (staff said they will list the specific options in a subsequent packet). Gatson said the city will require a code of conduct and criminal registry checks for prospective residents but emphasized that the ordinance does not require hosts to exclude people based solely on registry results: "this isn't to say they have to deny those residents from residing in a temporary encampment. Rather, they just need to do the check," he said.

Commissioners asked about several operational details staff said remain subject to clarification in the permanent draft, including: whether a single site can operate more than one type of temporary encampment at once; how many hours per day a safe‑parking program must operate (staff said the ordinance regulates the permit duration but not the host's nightly operating hours); how sanitation and porta‑potty servicing will be inspected and which health agencies will enforce sanitary requirements (staff said they would follow applicable city, county, and state public‑health rules and follow up with King County Public Health on inspection procedures); and whether the 1,000‑foot separation is measured from property line (staff said it would generally be measured from the property's perimeter).

Commissioners also pressed staff on community notification and transparency. Multiple commissioners and members of the public said ordinary notice methods (newspaper and the city's existing blog) have limited reach; staff said the communications team is preparing dedicated web pages and will use signage and targeted mailings where possible. Gatson said the city hopes to issue a decision on complete applications within 30 days when the process is established and that memoranda of understanding could include provisions allowing streamlined renewal processes for repeat operations.

On safety, staff and the commission discussed fire‑code alternatives the statute allows when older church buildings do not meet sprinkler or two‑exit requirements. Gatson described possible compensating measures that could be written into an MOU or a permit condition — for example, panic bars, illuminated exit signage, operable smoke detectors, a monitoring plan for overnight supervision and other emergency protocols — and said some items would be enforced through separate building, electrical or fire permits and inspections.

No formal action or votes were taken by the Planning Commission on Jan. 8. Staff said the next steps are: a City Council public hearing on Jan. 13 for the interim ordinance, circulating a draft permanent code to the commission in the next meetings, a planning commission recommendation after a public hearing on the draft, and final council action before the six‑month interim period expires (staff warned the commission that if permanent provisions are not adopted by early June the council would either need to adopt a work plan and extend the interim ordinance or complete adoption).

Community members and commissioners raised operational concerns the commission asked staff to address in the draft: clarity on whether multiple encampment types can coexist on a single site, minimum sanitation setbacks (a commissioner questioned a proposed 40‑foot setback for toilet facilities and staff said they would analyze lot sizes and possible alternatives), how changes to a host's operating plan will be handled once a permit is issued, and how offender‑registry checks are facilitated with police. Gatson said staff will follow up with the police chief and the fire marshal and return with clarified language on those points in a future packet.

The commission placed further discussion of draft code amendments on future agendas: staff listed Jan. 22 for housing code amendments and Feb. 12 to revisit temporary‑encampment draft code amendments. The commission did not take a vote on any ordinance at the Jan. 8 meeting.