Stop Seattle From Turning Our Parks Into Homeless Encampments

After reading Danny Weastneat's article on Monday, and learning of this City Counsel's absurd and potentially catastrophic proposal for my adopted city, it still kept me up all night. So here I am at 5:00 am. Everyone who loves Seattle, must take a day off and/or write in to decry a move that would turn Seattle's Public Parks and Greenbelts into public camping parks. Un-policable, unenforceable, dangerous, destructive, economically absurd, are just a few of the clear and obvious results and descriptions of this proposal. Can the City Counsel not see, or at least guess, that not only the existing local vagrants will be more than happy to accept these parks as their new, manicured, waterfront bases, but it would turn Seattle into a magnet,drawing even more from Portland to Moscow to Bellingham. The more you offer, the more will come, it is not hard to predict this at all; and is NOT solving the current problem here, but creating a score of new ones. Can this counsel NOT SEE the impossible burden this would place on the police, clean up crews, waste disposal management, and every Park it approves this rule for. The City Parks were not made to, and cannot remotely accommodate public camping. A terrible, absurd, ridiculous idea.

Please stop tents in public areas.

Open camping laws caused a significant rise in crimes of opportunity and ruined several city and county parks in Austin, TX where we just moved from. A very popular homeless destination city. Austin now has a 72 hour rule for all camping except specific locations.

I wholeheartedly agree with what is stated in the petition. The planned 'camping' would not provide the needed solution for the homeless but would dramatically decrease property values and be unfair to the many hard-working taxpayers in Seattle.

This is not the solution.

This is not the solution! We have had people camping outside of our house and they were clearly prostituting and using drugs with the amount of men that were coming in and out of the car (two women lived in it) We have to keep our children and families safe. The amount of tents and trash in our city is unbelievable. It has to stop'

Find permanent housing for the homeless not a temporary home in a tent in a park. The parks should be for everyone and we should feel safe and our kids should feel safe!!

Stop the madness

This IS how everyone sees Seattle. The mega liberal stance Seattle takes on most subjects already has the neighbors rolling their eyes, buying their guns and locking their doors. Parks, they are for kids, aren't they?

What makes you brilliant people think it will work here when it didn't work in Portland. Call Utah!

Please reconsider this bad idea!

This is not the solution that makes anyone better off in the long run.

This idea of open camping is ridiculous. Is that the image of Seattle we want the world to see?

Please don't defer. Please do not enact this ordinance and please require the Police to enforce current laws and ordinances. Thanks!

This is not safe! Do not allow drug addicts and criminals to live in parks our children should be able to play in. Because of this dangerous proposal, our neighborhood is no longer safe for our families and children.

Did we learn nothing from Portland?

Save the open spaces for the young and parents to enjoy. Stop this stupid idea.

I am shocked at this proposal. As far as I am concerned money doesn't need to be spent to conduct a study- this is a ridiculous idea. Seattle parks are what make this a greatccity and turning them into homeless camps is not the solution. A year ago I tried to get the city to put a trash can back at the entrance to a park that they had removed and they wouldn't because of budget issues- what would happen to issues of garbage once people are sleeping there. Save our parks. This is bit a solution for our homeless issue. Parks are places to visit not sleep at/live.

Portland already tried and stopped their public lands camping for the homeless - it failed. Seattle does not need to proved this fails too.

Stop this craziness. Our policies are attracting folks from out of area to come camp out in Seattle and thus strain our system and negativity impact the cleanliness, economic health and safety of our city.