Seattle mayor vetoes $10M plan requiring permits for people living in RVs — wants to focus on ‘outreach’ instead. Residents are fuming

“Before we passed this legislation, Mayor Katie Wilson promised me not to veto it and to work together to implement,” Strauss said in a statement.

Wilson signed the other four RV bills but vetoed the permit program. Her office estimated that the program would cost over $10 million by the end of 2027, and she wants the city to focus on outreach instead.

How the permit program would have worked

Without a permit, an RV couldn’t park on a city street between midnight and 6 a.m. If you do park an RV past those limits, without a permit, the city could tow your RV without warning.

To get a permit, you’d have to be counted in a one-time city census of RV residents. And even if you had a permit, you’d still have to follow rules. You’d have to park overnight in an industrial area, follow the same 72-hour parking limit as everyone else and sign up for a shelter or housing waitlist.

In her veto letter, Wilson wrote that a one-time count of every RV resident would be costly and could shut out anyone it missed. She also warned that towing RVs with people still inside could lead to injuries and leave the city legally liable.

Seattle’s been to court over this before. In 2016, the city towed the truck Steven Long was living in after a $44 ticket for parking longer than 72 hours. The initial impound bill came to $946.61.

Long fought it, and in 2021 the Washington Supreme Court sided with him. The court ruled that a vehicle someone lives in is protected under the state’s homestead law, like a house. It also said a person’s ability to pay matters when deciding whether a bill like Long’s is an excessive fine.

What Wilson’s executive order does instead

The order directs the Human Services Department (HSD) to help open Glassyard Commons, a safe lot in West Seattle with room for up to 72 RVs plus 20 tiny homes.

The order also has the city keep a list of people living in vehicles, by name, so it can point them to the safe lot and other help on the way to housing. Wilson said the fear of losing their RV keeps many people from saying yes to shelter. One of the bills she did sign lets the city store their RVs while they try out housing.

And nobody’s sure how many RVs are out there. Strauss says the number is 145, and could even be higher. When reporters asked for a count, HSD Deputy Director Chris Klaeysen said the department is still “looking at ironing out those details.”

Who’s angry about the veto, and why

Even Wilson admits people are upset. “I share the frustrations of residents and of members of the Seattle City Council around this important issue,” she said.

Councilmember Rob Saka is one of them. He says his district has more RV problems than any other part of the city. He voted for the permit program, but now he says he’ll give Wilson’s group time. “Our residents deserve results, not just another process,” he said.

That matters because overturning a veto takes six votes, and Strauss only has five without Saka. The council has until Dec. 2 to vote on the veto. Strauss still wants that vote, and he calls Wilson’s order a copy of his own bill.