23.42.056

A Type I Master Use Permit may be issued for a transitional encampment interim use according to the requirements of this Section 23.42.056 . A. The Director, in consultation with the Human Services Director, shall adopt a rule according to Section 23.88.010 that includes but is not limited to establishing: 1. Community outreach requirements that include: a. Community outreach standards that the encampment operator shall comply with before filing a transitional encampment interim use permit application, whether for a new transitional encampment or relocation of an existing transitional encampment. At a minimum, outreach standards shall contain a requirement that the encampment operator convene at least one public meeting in the neighborhood where the transitional encampment interim use is proposed to be established, at least 14 days prior to applying for a permit; b. A requirement that the proposed encampment operator establish a Community Advisory Committee that would provide advisory input on proposed encampment operations including identifying methods for handling community complaints or concerns as it relates to the facility or facility clients. The committee shall include one individual identified by each stakeholder group in the geographic area where the proposed encampment would be located as best suited to represent their interests. The committee shall consist of no fewer than five and no more than ten members. Encampment operator representatives shall attend committee meetings to answer questions and shall provide regular reports to the committee concerning encampment operations. City staff may attend the meetings; and 2. Operations standards that the encampment operator is required to implement while an encampment is operating. B. Location. The transitional encampment interim use may be located on property within any zone subject to the following requirements: 1. Screening shall be installed and maintained along each encampment boundary, including boundaries fronting on an opened public street. The screening shall consist of existing or installed vegetation that is sufficiently dense to obscure viewing the encampment site, or a 6-foot high view-obscuring fence or wall. 2. Except for encampments established prior to February 18, 2020, all encampment facilities, improvements, activities, and uses shall be set back from abutting lot lines, as follows: a. 10 feet from any side or rear lot line that abuts a lot in a neighborhood residential zone; and b. 5 feet from any side or rear lot line that abuts a lot in any zone other than neighborhood residential; except that no setback is required when an abutting lot, which is not in a neighborhood residential zone, does not have an established use. 3. The property is owned or controlled by a private party, an Educational Major Institution, The City of Seattle, or another public entity. 4. The property is within ½ mile of a transit stop. This distance shall be the walking distance measured from the nearest transit stop to the lot line of the lot containing the encampment site. 5. The property is 5,000 square feet or larger and provides a minimum of 100 square feet of land area for each occupant that is permitted to occupy the encampment site. 6. The property does not contain a wetland, wetland buffer, known and potential landslide designations, steep slope, steep slope buffer, or fish and wildlife habitat conservation area defined and regulated by Chapter 25.09 unless all encampment facilities, improvements, activities, and uses are located outside any critical area and required buffer as provided for in Chapter 25.09 . 7. The encampment site is not used by an existing legally-permitted use for code or permit-required purposes including but not limited to parking or setbacks. 8. The property is not an unopened public right-of-way; or designated as a park, playground, viewpoint, or multi-use trail by the City or King County. 9. The property is, as measured by a straight line, at least 1 mile from any other legally-established transitional encampment interim use including encampments accessory to a religious facility or accessory to other principal uses on property owned or controlled by a religious organization. This subsection 23.42.056.B.9 shall not apply: a. To encampments on sites owned or controlled by religious organizations, or b. To any legally-established transitional encampment interim use that provides shelter for fewer than ten persons, or c. When at least one transitional encampment is established in each Council District. C. Operation. The transitional encampment interim use shall meet the following requirements: 1. The encampment may be operated by a private party that shall prepare an Encampment Operations Plan that shall address: site management, site maintenance, provision of human and social services, referrals to service providers that are able to provide services to individuals under the age of 18 who arrive at an encampment unaccompanied by a parent or legal guardian, and public health and safety standards. The operations plan shall be filed with the transitional encampment interim use permit application. 2. The operator shall be included in the qualified encampment roster prepared by the Human Services Director. The transitional encampment interim use permit applicant shall include documentation as part of the permit application demonstrating that the encampment operator is on the qualified encampment operator roster. D. Additional requirements. The transitional encampment interim use shall meet the following requirements: 1. The requirements for transitional encampment accessory uses in subsections 23.42.054.B and 23.42.054.C. 2. The operator of a transitional encampment interim use who receives funding from the City of Seattle shall provide case management and security as established in a management plan approved by the Director of the City of Seattle Human Services Department. 3. The operator of a transitional encampment interim use who receives funding from the City of Seattle Human Services Department or the King County Regional Homelessness Authority shall comply with performance standards in the contract or contracts administered by those agencies for the encampment. 4. The operator of a transitional encampment interim use located on City-owned or -controlled property shall obtain prior to permit issuance and maintain in full force and effect, at its own expense, liability insurance naming the City as an additional insured in an amount sufficient to protect the City as determined by the City Risk Manager from: a. All potential claims and risks of loss from perils in connection with any activity that may arise from or be related to the operator's activity upon or the use or occupation of the City-owned or -controlled property allowed by the permit; and b. All potential claims and risks in connection with activities performed by the operator by virtue of the permission granted by the permit. 5. The operator of a transitional encampment interim use located on City-owned or -controlled property shall, on a form approved by the Director, agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless The City of Seattle, its officials, officers, employees, and agents from and against: a. Any liability, claims, actions, suits, loss, costs, expense judgments, attorneys' fees, or damages of every kind and description resulting directly or indirectly from any act or omission of the operator of a transitional encampment interim use located on City-owned or -controlled property, its subcontractors, anyone directly or indirectly employed by them, and anyone for whose acts or omissions they may be liable, arising out of the operator's use or occupancy of the City-owned or -controlled property; and b. All loss by the failure of the operator of a transitional encampment interim use located on City-owned or -controlled property to perform all requirements or obligations under the transitional encampment interim use permit, or federal, state, or City codes or rules. 6. A transitional encampment interim use located on City-owned or -controlled property shall allow service providers to access the site according to the approved operations plan required by subsection 23.42.056.B.1. E. Permit term and renewal. A permit for a transitional encampment interim use under this Section 23.42.056 may be authorized for up to one year from the date of permit issuance. A permit for a transitional encampment may be renewed for additional one-year terms by the Director as a Type I decision subject to the following: 1. The operator shall provide notice of a request to extend the use in a manner determined by a Director's Rule. The notice shall be given to the Citizen's Advisory Committee and persons who provided the operator with an address for notice; 2. The encampment is in compliance with the requirements of Section 23.42.056 ; and 3. The operator shall provide with the permit renewal application an Encampment Operations Plan that shall be in effect during the permit renewal period and consistent with subsection 23.42.056.A. F. Limit on the number of encampments 1. Maximum number of encampments. No more than 40 transitional encampment interim use encampments shall be permitted and operating at any one time, and each encampment shall not have more than 100 occupants. The limit of 40 transitional interim use encampments shall not include transitional encampments located on property owned or controlled by a religious organization. 2. Existing encampments established by and operating under temporary use permits. Encampments presently operating under temporary use permits issued pursuant to subsections 23.42.040.B and 23.42.040.C may apply for an interim use permit pursuant to this Section 23.42.056 , subject to the limits established by subsection 23.42.056.F.1. The term for operating any encampments obtaining interim use permits in lieu of temporary use permits shall begin on the date the interim use permit is issued regardless of how long the encampment has been established by a prior temporary use permit. (Ord. 126509 , § 28, 2022 [zone name change]; Ord. 126042 , § 3, 2020; Ord. 125163 , § 4, 2016; Ord. 124747 , § 2, 2015.)