A new "Homeless Hotel" is planned to open near the Trader Joe's and Vue 22 (formerly Liv) Apartments in Eastside Bellevue. The address is 2122 152nd Ave Northeast, officially in Redmond according to political boundaries, but effectively in Bellevue.

We ask that you take action to terminate this project immediately!

King County worked with the city of Redmond to buy the hotel and convert it into housing for 100+ homeless people, far away from downtown Redmond, right in the middle of residential Bellevue, near our (currently highly-rated) schools, apartments, and shopping.

Shockingly, the official FAQ of the euphemistic "Health Through Housing" program allows alcohol and drug use ("drug and/or alcohol use will be permitted"), even though Bellevue residents have previously prevented similar plans to send heroin-on-wheels "safe injection" vans through our city. This new city-sanctioned drug den will degrade the quality of life and increase crime for those of us who live, shop, and work in the area. 

Also from the FAQ:

Q: "Will there be security?"
A: "...Permanent supportive housing does not typically have paid security on site"

The combination of decreased police funding, lack of security at the homeless hotel, and pro-drug policy is extremely concerning.

One might expect that this project is designed to get people back into a stable situation where they can support themselves. But no, residents of the Homeless Hotel can stay there indefinitely, living off taxpayer money in free housing forever while the rest of us go to work to pay the bills:

Q: "How long can a resident stay?"
A: "There is no limit on length of stay."

Finally, only between 0% and 15% of the residents of the Homeless Hotel are even required to be from the area (see FAQ above) -- King County might end up bussing in homeless, "persons with behavioral health disabilities", etc. from other cities to fill it up! This program is designed to be a magnet for people with problems.

We don't want King County's drug den here in the middle of quiet Eastside Bellevue, and we don't need to import extra homeless people to our city. People move here for a peaceful life in the suburbs where it's safe to raise a family -- not to live in an inner-city nightmare of homeless camps and open drug use.

We urge the Mayors of Bellevue and Redmond to prevent King County from dumping its drug problem on us, and to terminate this ill-conceived project.

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Petition Supporters: I'd also like to direct you to another organization working on this issue: Safe Eastside https://safeeastside.com/

EDITS:

1) This petition incorrectly originally stated that the City of Redmond purchased the hotel; this has been amended above to indicate it was a King County purchase.

2) The language was amended to focus more on King County, which is in charge of the project, rather than Redmond.

3) Added link to https://safeeastside.com/