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Redmond council approves limited safe-parking code change to allow up to eight spaces per site
Summary
The council approved an amended ordinance that increases the allowable number of safe-parking spaces per site from six to eight and deferred other proposed changes such as micro-shelter rules and broader code edits to a future meeting.
The Redmond City Council on Tuesday approved an amended ordinance that raises the maximum number of spaces at general safe-parking sites from six to eight, a change staff said would allow Mountain View Community Development to expand a small number of existing sites.
Housing coordinator Linda Klein and John Edwards, Safe Parking Program operations director for Mountain View Community Development, told the council the nonprofit has operated safe parking in Redmond for about three years and now supports rule changes based on operational experience. "Safe parking ... allows overnight vehicles to camp in designated areas while participants receive stabilizing case management and other services while pursuing stable housing," Klein said.
The amendment the council adopted was narrowly written to increase site capacity from six to eight units in the city code; other proposed revisions were deferred. Councilors expressed questions about site suitability, noise and safety near busy roads and the permitting and inspection processes for any new facilities. Edwards said only a few locations have the logistics to expand to eight spaces and described one example lot as having roughly a 40-by-90-foot usable area where fencing could be extended to accommodate additional vehicles.
Mountain View also requested code language to allow small temporary "micro-shelters" (roughly 8-by-10 stick-built units) with limited electricity and heat, and asked for clarified rules on cooking, property-line clearances and public-notice requirements. Staff supported several clarifications, including allowing propane cooking integral to RV systems and reducing some property-line clearances from 20 to 10 feet for site-approved locations, and recommended codifying an existing 2022 resolution on public participation for public-property sites. The council voted to defer those sections for further review.
Council members probed who would pay for, own and maintain any micro-shelters. Edwards said Mountain View or its partners would purchase and own the units, maintain inspections and perform repairs; he said contracts with participants would specify inspection notice. The city attorney told the council the city maintains separate insurance for each city-owned safe-parking site and outlined options for carving out emergency provisions if the council chose to adopt only portions of the ordinance tonight.
Council moved, seconded and then conducted first and second readings by title only of the amended ordinance. On the roll-call adoption the mayor and a majority of present councilors voted aye; one councilor was excused. The ordinance was identified in the meeting as City of Redmond Ordinance No. 2024-15.
The council gave staff direction to return with the deferred code sections and additional details on permitting, site selection criteria, structural standards for micro-shelters and neighborhood notification procedures at a future meeting.
