(The Center Square) – A business located near Seattle’s newest tiny home village fears the city will leave them to deal with the impacts of a crisis they did not create if funding falls through in the future.
Division Controller Ian Brown and Project Manager Trevor Settlage of Gary Merlino Construction spoke with The Center Square before the Cloverleaf Village in South Park launched Tuesday. The Low Income Housing Institute event included Mayor Katie Wilson, former Gov. Christine Gregoire and other officials.
The city is leasing the site across the street from Gary Merlino Construction and other construction and industrial businesses. Brown and Settlage said the property owner didn’t say anything about the site; they just got a notice, and construction started soon after, despite concerns about theft, break-ins and other encampments.
“I know the property owner who owns this. He didn’t tell any of the neighbors. We got the notice, and then they just started building,” Settlage explained as public officials arrived. “We voiced our concerns, went to all the meetings, and none of them were listened to; we were ridiculed as part of the problem.”
Settlage and Brown said homelessness isn’t really an issue around their businesses, but that once the city and LIHI get the project in full swing, it could invite the crisis to their neighborhood.
LIHI Executive Director Sharon Lee said the village has 90 units and that the first two residents moved in on Monday.
Lee said the tiny home village would have three case managers and two behavioral health specialists.
“These people that are here today won’t come back. They’ll leave us the problem, and the problem for them ends at that gate,” Settlage said of Tuesday attendees. “Outside of that gate becomes our problem.”
The Gary Merlino employees claimed that LIHI Community Engagement Manager Marta Kidane told them in a meeting with neighbors on Monday that two of tiny homes will allow drug use. They said that LIHI told them the two units have cameras and that operators would monitor them for security.
“I’m hoping they’ll have control of what happens in here, but the thing is, they go in there, shoot up. Do you keep them here until they sober up?” Settlage said, but LIHI can’t stop residents from leaving.
Wilson did not take questions from the media during Tuesday’s press event.
The Center Square contacted Kidane on Wednesday, explaining what Settlage and Brown said about drug use in the tiny home village and asked if it was accurate and how it would work out in practice.
LIHI Senior Communications Manager Alexis Diltz responded to The Center Square and said that the village has “two multi-use rooms to sit,” with “books, puzzles, games and comfortable places to sit.” She said it allows residents to move around and meet with other residents and case and program managers.
Other LIHI projects have also faced allegations of drug use being permitted at their tiny home villages.
“We expect program participants to use the room for these purposes,” Diltz wrote, noting that LIHI conducted multiple outreach efforts since May. “We have cameras in all public places to ensure safety.”
Kidane was the last speaker Tuesday and explained that each of LIHI’s villages has a virtual advisory committee so the community can contact operations and case managers.
“The tiny house village will be staffed 24/7 to manage operations and ensure safety,” LIHI explained in a May announcement about the tiny home village. “Participants agree to a code of conduct and engage in case management services to secure supportive services, healthcare, employment, and housing.”
Settlage and Brown said Seattle Police Department officers were at Monday’s meeting and told them to expect secondary encampments outside the village. “There’s no ifs, ands or buts,” Settlage recalled.
Ken Takahashi, director of social impact investing for Seattle Foundation, said private support funded site preparation ahead of the launch and that Seattle leases the land and will fund ongoing operations.
When asked about new federal grant rules that could limit renewal funding for low-barrier projects, he said the city has a contingency plan of about $20 million. He said operations are city-funded. Still, the new grant rules could reduce support for jurisdictions funding low-barrier projects and harm reduction.
Takahashi said he hopes Wilson will use the $20 million if the Trump administration cuts funding. However, the city might have to reprioritize existing revenue among other projects if that happens, and Takahashi told The Center Square that he isn’t part of those discussions.
Lee also told The Center Square that funding isn’t a big concern for her given the contingency funds.
“We got contingency plans,” Wilson said when The Center Square pressed her about the issue on Tuesday. Her team shut her car door when asked directly whether Wilson would tap the $20 million.
Even if she did, King County expects regional impacts of about $22 million under federal grant rules, so the city’s contingency plan could eventually run dry unless the region found a new funding source.
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay’s spokesperson says they’re already exploring revenue options.
“What happens when the funding for this place drops out, and everyone’s still here, and LIHI is no more,” Settlage questioned. “Once that ends, this will just be a homeless encampment with no rules.”
“All these people, who are just here for today, are just there to pat themselves on the back,” he said.