Mark Harmsworth: Washington cities are taking different approaches to homelessness, and that’s a good thing

Washington state is topping the charts of states with the highest homeless populations (along with California, New York and Florida). And like many Washington cities, Spokane is struggling with a lax approach to homeless camp removal. Spokane has received over 1,000 more complaints about encampments and homeless issues at City Hall in 2023 than in 2022.

The challenge for Washington’s cities is to provide a compassionate option while still enforcing local ordinances and preventing public blight. Numerous cities in Washington are taking different approaches to protecting public spaces and for helping the homeless (at least those who want to be helped) off the streets and into shelters and homes.

For example, Burien and Bremerton are among the latest cities to pass an ordinance that bans camping on public property. Marysville is considering mandatory minimum sentences for drugs and crime, with a “three strikes and 30 days in jail” approach. Pierce County is working toward an Austin, Texas-style tiny home village with services and strict rules for residents.

Even Seattle, the city that has struggled the most in a post-pandemic era, is beginning to re-evaluate its polices. The results of the Seattle City Council pursuing the defunding of law enforcement and ignoring drug possession laws are obvious. Restaurants, businesses and retailers are unable or unwilling to return to the downtown area because of the resulting rampant drug crime that often accompanies homelessness.

Seattle has seen some high-profile businesses leave the downtown area for safety reasons, including Nike and Regal Cinemas. Fentanyl victims and crime are increasing at an alarming rate thanks to the Seattle City Council cutting funding for public safety.

Employers like Amazon are requiring office attendance for employees who have been working at home since the pandemic. While there’s little doubt this will help restart economic activity in the downtown center, the underlying homelessness and crime issues have not been sufficiently dealt with and some employees still don’t feel safe returning to the office.

In a further development, the Seattle City Council is claiming that the city doesn’t have enough tax revenue to fund all the current city services and that any budget cuts would be considered an austerity budget.

If there’s one thing Seattle should have learned by now it’s that throwing money at complicated problems, including those related to homelessness, is no cure. Money itself is no guarantee of success.

Businesses in Seattle want the city to focus on public safety and reduce taxes to clean up crime and stimulate job growth. Without growth and stability, the city will not be able to afford the social services it wants to offer. In late September, the Seattle City Council passed an ordinance 6-3 that effectively classifies public drug use and possession as a gross misdemeanor. I expect the new law will be a good start to cleaning up the streets, but it’s not enough.

A program of allowing the police to enforce newly passed drug laws, arresting criminals, and reducing taxes on business would likely do better and revitalize the downtown core. New York did this in the 1990s and saw a dramatic turnaround in the city.

Spokane should be open to learning from Seattle’s mistakes (and future successes). Burien, Bremerton and Marysville and other cities and counties tackling this issue may offer ideas for Seattle and Spokane to follow.

Seattle offers an ominous lesson for Spokane. Seattle was once envied as the Emerald City for its lack of graffiti, litter, crime and blight. Now it is a national icon for them.

For those on the outside looking in, Spokane is a big city that has retained its small-town charm. Its homeless and addiction problems are serious, but they’ve not yet achieved the normalcy that made them spread and take root so aggressively in Seattle. Spokane cannot afford complacency.

Spokane and other cities in our great state need to keep a close eye on what policies prove effective in dealing with the myriad of complex problems euphemistically described as “homelessness” and which are merely signaling virtue while draining money and failing to provide results.

Not only are lives depending on it, but so also is the quality of life of most our citizens.

Mark Harmsworth is director of the Center for Small Business at the Washington Policy Center. He is based out of Mill Creek, Washington, but only when he’s not working on his property in Cle Elum. Members of the Cowles family, owners of The Spokesman-Review, have previously hosted fundraisers for the Washington Policy Center and sit on the organization’s board.