Lawsuit aims to shut down city’s tiny home villages

SEATTLE – A group is suing the city of Seattle over its use of tiny home villages to combat homelessness.

KIRO-TV reports that Safe Seattle, which promotes itself as a nonprofit watchdog for public safety and government accountability, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in King County Superior Court.

Group member David Preston says the group is suing the city and the Low Income Housing Institute “for operating these tiny house villages without proper permitting and without doing the things they need to do to run what are, in fact, assisted living facilities.”

The group hopes to put an end to the shelter program altogether.

Seattle, which is in the midst of a homelessness crisis, has started a handful of tiny house villages to provide people with shelter that’s safer and warmer than tents. The tiny homes are small spaces with beds, heating, and access to water, showers and bathrooms. They also are aimed at getting people into permanent housing.