(The Center Square) – Mayor Katie Wilson signed an order on Tuesday to direct available 2026 funding to outreach to individuals living in vehicles, expedite two “safe lots” and address “problematic” RVs.
Wilson announced the plan to reporters after vetoing city council legislation the day before that would’ve required people living in vehicles to park in certain zones after obtaining a permit. She nixed one of five bills that make up the new Vehicle Resident Assistance Program and signed the others into law.
Her executive order directs available 2026 outreach funding toward individuals living in RVs and other vehicles. It expedites the opening of two RV “safe lots,” where people can park, and also establishes a working group with city departments to address problematic RVs and barriers to existing programs.
Councilmember Dan Strauss issued a statement Monday, claiming that Wilson told him she would not veto his VRAP proposal in a meeting five days before its passage, arguing that she broke her promise.
When asked what would change in enforcement under her executive order and whether her alternative would cost less than VRAP, Wilson told The Center Square it’s to be determined.
“We’re going to have to let that work group play out,” Wilson said Tuesday. “Bottom line is that I want to be getting the results that our people, that residents want to see in the most cost-effective way.”
One of the lots Wilson pointed to is Glassyard Commons, which was supposed to open last summer but has been delayed to the end of November. Wilson’s order directs available 2026 funding to expedite that safe lot, which will have 72 vehicle spaces and 20 tiny homes, and another lot planned for 2027.
Wilson’s 2027 budget already proposes $3.5 million for another RV safe lot, but she wasn’t sure of the exact opening timeline on Tuesday, and her order doesn’t identify a date. Her directive also doesn’t change the city’s 72-hour parking rule, nor does it create a permit program or new towing rules.
The University of Washington conducted research to gauge the prevalence of vehicle homelessness in King County in 2026. The report found an estimated 3,967 people were living in vehicles such as cars, vans and RVs across the county when the Point-in-Time Count took place from Jan. 26-Feb. 6., 2026.
“We’ll be, you know, looking at ironing out those details,” Chris Klaeysen, deputy director of the Human Services Department, told reporters Tuesday when asked how many RVs are on the streets of Seattle.
Wilson would not say how much she is willing to spend on a VRAP alternative once the working group develops its recommendation. She said those policy suggestions should arrive within 60 days and that her administration expects council to receive legislation for her alternative by the end of March 2027.
The administration estimated VRAP’s cost at about $10.14 million in 2027 before the council passed it.
That includes $2.6 million in one-time costs and $7.5 million in ongoing costs covering enforcement, towing, storage and administration, obligations that are currently unknown under Wilson’s work group.
In her veto letter, the mayor raised concerns about “the complexity and cost” of a one-time census, how it could impact future residents, verifying ownership, processes allowing impoundment without notice, and enforcement issues with towing potentially occupied RVs and relying on the Seattle Police Department to implement a program “that has a high likelihood of legal liability and personal injury.”
When asked about the alleged promise to Strauss, Wilson said her plans changed after communicating with several stakeholders who raised concerns about his program. She said her office told him about a change in her plans, but Strauss’ statement claims he didn’t find out about it until they called at 4 p.m.
“Before we passed this legislation, Mayor Katie Wilson promised me not to veto it and to work together to implement,” according to a statement he released just before 5 p.m. Monday. “Now, thirteen days after we passed it, the mayor gave me a call at 4 p.m. to let me know she was breaking that promise.”
The one bill that Wilson vetoed would have required RVs and travel trailers to have a permit and park in certain zones between midnight and 6 a.m. Without a permit, RVs would have been prohibited from parking on streets/alleys for over two hours or from midnight to 6 a.m., or they could’ve been towed.
To be eligible, applicants would need to be identified in a one-time census to be taken at a later date and be registered owners of the vehicle. If someone violated the rules, refused shelter several times or failed to engage with their caseworkers, they could’ve lost the permit and had the vehicle impounded.
The council’s three-member progressive wing criticized those details when VRAP passed, while the six more moderate members argued the program would fill a gap in the city’s homelessness response.
The remaining bills after Wilson’s veto expand the city’s leasing authority and vehicle storage when owners are in city-sponsored housing programs or shelters; transfer $216,000 from the Human Services Department to the Seattle Department of Transportation, and revise junk vehicle criteria.
Councilmember Rob Saka, who voted for VRAP, stood by in support of Wilson on Tuesday, applauding her for seeking an alternative. He said his appearance Tuesday doesn’t change his vote and that he supported VRAP because no alternative existed, which he says Wilson is seeking.
“I stand firmly by some, well, all of my positions that I’ve stated,” Saka told The Center Square after the event when asked about his criticism of Wilson’s budget. “What we’ve learned here today is that the mayor has an alternative pathway that could work better, and I think we should give her a fair shot.”
Councilmember Bob Kettle, the public safety chair, told The Center Square that he learned about the mayor’s veto through news coverage and wants to work with Strauss on their next steps. The council could override the veto with at least six votes; it passed the now-vetoed bill 6-3 last month.
When asked Tuesday, Saka didn’t give a clear answer on whether he would support an override vote other than that he supports the executive order and that it doesn’t change his vote from last month.
“I suspect I will have that conversation before the end of the day,” Kettle told The Center Square in passing on Tuesday before the press conference, which he did not attend, when asked if the council is discussing when to hold a potential override vote, “but I have not spoken to Councilmember Strauss.”