The Tukwila city council is preparing to vote on a proposed ordinance that would ban encampments on public property, with the measure on the agenda for the council's evening meeting. While the session begins at 7 o'clock, officials caution that the vote itself may take some time, as the proposal has become one of the biggest talkers in the community and drawn sharply divided opinions from residents on both sides.
The move follows a wave of similar decisions elsewhere in the state. Spokane County created a homeless ordinance earlier this year, the city of Spokane did something similar in 2025, and nearby Burien passed comparable rules in 2025, a debate that ultimately reshaped who sits on that city's council. The broader legal backdrop is the 2024 Grants Pass v. Johnson decision, in which the Supreme Court ruled six to three that each municipality has the choice and the responsibility to enforce camping bans if it chooses to.
On the ground, visible homelessness in Tukwila appears limited. A Fox 13 crew spent about two and a half hours driving across the city, near the Southcenter mall and through trails, parks, community centers and up and down the river bend, without finding any encampments. Records also show only about 50 complaints filed through the city's online reporting tool to Tukwila police over the past three years, which works out to roughly one complaint a month.
The city's police chief estimated that there are between five and ten encampments throughout Tukwila, and predicted that perhaps ten to twenty people are experiencing homelessness in the area. At the same time, the city has no shelter and no shelter beds of its own. It does operate a couple of tiny home villages, but those offer a maximum of only about 35 units, leaving few local options for people living outside.
Public comment has been split roughly 50-50. Among those leading the opposition is Pastor Pam Baruchak, who runs the Riverton Park United Methodist Church. She told city council leaders that she has a 78-year-old disabled man living on her church floor, and argued that the issue is not about criminalizing people who are homeless, but rather that the city is not tackling the problem from the right angle.
On the other side, some homeowners and business owners say action is needed now more than ever. They describe being tired of cleaning up litter, trash and human waste associated with encampments, and framed the issue as more than an eyesore. They pointed to recent flooding, when that human waste came rushing through the region, arguing that the sites have become an environmental problem as well as a neighborhood one.
The stakes of the ordinance are significant, with penalties reaching up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to 1,000 dollars. One council member, Seal, said the measure gave her heartburn, particularly over those consequences and how people already living on the streets could be expected to pay such a fine. The police chief, for his part, said that even if the ordinance does not pass, his main goal remains offering services, outreach and shelter to those camping on public property, leaving the outcome to be decided by the council's vote.