(The Center Square) – The Seattle City Council approved a new program on Tuesday that could cost taxpayers $10 million next year to transition people living in vehicles into housing amid concerns about funding and enforcement.
The officials approved Councilmember Dan Strauss’s Vehicle Resident Assistance Program with a slate of bills pairing housing with conditional parking permits and new restrictions for recreational vehicles.
The 2026 budget left $5 million to transition homeless individuals out of their RVs and cars into shelters.
Council staff warned last month that implementing VRAP with that $5 million could leave less available for shelters and “safe lots” for permitted RVs to park.
A fiscal note details costs of $359,000 in 2026, rising to $804,000 annually in 2027 when the program would take effect, but that doesn’t include enforcement.
“The appropriations bill today is only on the 2026 funding,” Strauss said Tuesday, arguing that council shouldn’t wait since it could request additional funding through the 2027-28 budget process. “We need to expand [these RV services], … and we don’t need to do it now; we needed to do it two months ago.”
Alex Hudson, the mayor’s press secretary, told The Center Square on Tuesday that after accounting for administration, enforcement, towing and storage, VRAP could cost taxpayers $10.14 million next year.
About $2.6 million of that estimate would cover one-time costs, with $7.5 million in ongoing expenses.
Strass said during the meeting that 2027 would only cost $8.5 million, with 2028 at $3.5 million, but he acknowledged that the executive departments’ cost estimate is “a little bit large.” Still, he said they find efficiencies to reduce that $8.5 million, given the $175 million general fund deficit for 2027.
“The departments charged with implementing [VRAP] have some significant questions related to how that would happen, which creates some higher than usual variability in the budget estimates,” Hudson told The Center Square. “Council will need to appropriate additional resources as part of their budget.”
Vehicle Resident Assistance Program
VRAP intends to create a conditional permitting process with eligibility based on a single citywide census, to be conducted at a future date. That census must include the person seeking a permit or their vehicle in the data for them to be eligible, meaning anyone who moves to Seattle after can’t get one.
Councilmember Dionne Foster raised this issue on Tuesday after previously proposing a failed amendment that would’ve required additional censuses in the future.
Councilmember Eddie Lin got an amendment through requiring a monitoring plan, effectiveness metrics and annual reporting.
The applicant must be the registered owner with their license plates and vehicle identification number clearly visible from the outside. The program does not require government ID or a permanent address.
“This requirement may potentially leave out a sizable share of people currently living in motor homes or travel trailers,” Council legislative analysts Amanda Allen and Jennifer LaBrecque wrote last month.
Councilmember Maritza Rivera proposed an amendment that would’ve revoked the new permits if the individual is convicted of narcotic, sex trafficking, child exploitation or prostitution related crimes. Still, her narrowed version failed after only Councilmembers Rob Saka and Robert Kettle joined in support.
VRAP allows permittees to park overnight in assigned industrial zones; it is not blanket permission to park anywhere. Refusing shelter six times could lead to revocation, along with other violations, but the city must provide 15 days’ notice with a chance to appeal to the Seattle Department of Transportation.
Parking outside of the assigned area, blocking sidewalks and walkways, littering or storing belongings in rights-of-way, violating noise restrictions, dumping wastewater, hosting gatherings of five or more people, leaving pets unattended in public and violating other laws could also cost people their permit.
“It will be measured by safer neighborhoods, fewer problematic RVs, more people moving into stable housing, treatment services,” Saka said Tuesday. “That’s the most impactful standard of all, and that’s the most impactful standard that we should hold ourselves accountable to.”
If someone doesn’t have a permit, street parking is limited to two hours, with parking prohibited from midnight to 6 a.m.; otherwise, the vehicle could be impounded. Caseworkers will help move folks into “safe lots,” an emergency shelter or other housing services while offering vehicle storage if available.
Next steps
VRAP received mixed feedback from residents, homeless individuals and service providers on Tuesday.
Some residents accused the council of criminalizing homelessness and creating financial barriers for people who don’t have the means to pay for fines or towing without a permit. Others praised the city for addressing public safety issues that have increasingly come under scrutiny under Wilson’s leadership.
Dee Powers, president of Washington Health Outreach, said she went seven years without housing services accommodating her partner and pets. She opposed the census, given that people who move to Seattle after it’s conducted, whether homeless or not, wouldn’t be able to access the program.
“I would not have survived in a tent,” Powers said Tuesday, describing Strauss’ proposal as an RV ban.
Mike Stewart, executive director of Ballard Alliance, said the legislation creates a pathway to housing for people who are willing to accept support, filling a major gap in Seattle’s homelessness response.
“This fills a massive policy hole that currently exists in the city, and at the same time, for those who are unwilling to obtain a permit, the legislation reestablishes clear guidelines, regulations, and enforcement procedures for motorhomes on city streets,” Stewart said Tuesday, urging support.
VRAP alone, however, won’t solve the problem, and the council recognized that. Not everyone was sold on the program being Seattle’s path toward addressing RV camping in the city, but they explained that this is the option in front of council at this point; until there are better solutions, they need to act.
A workgroup has been tasked under the legislation to develop findings and recommended changes by next March to help implement the program. The deadline to develop the permit application process is April 30, with enforcement beginning by July 31.
The first annual report on permits, service offers, violations and more is due the following year on June 1, 2028.
“If you have a better solution, I’m all ears. My doors are open,” Strass said. “We have until April to make some changes, but doing nothing – that’s not an option for us today.”