On May 15, 2025, the King County Superior Court ruled in favor of the City of Burien and upheld the constitutionality of Burien’s anti-camping ordinance.
On January 3, 2024, Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness and three individuals asked the Superior Court to weigh-in on whether the Washington State Constitution allows Burien to enforce its law prohibiting camping on public property.
The Court responded by stating “Burien’s anti-camping law is a constitutionally permissible exercise of Burien’s police powers,” as well as “ruling in the Plantiffs’ favor will not fix this crisis, [and] may well exacerbate it by limiting a potentially effective tool from policy makers, and would be a departure from settled law.”
The City of Burien agrees with the Court that much work remains to be done to address the crisis of homelessness and looks forward to returning its full attention back to these immediate challenges facing Burien.
City staff, along with the Burien City Council, have responsibly used all tools available to help the most vulnerable in our community, including:
- Supporting and working to expand the co-response program partnership with the King County Sheriff’s Office.
- Establishing a dedicated contract with a service provider and re-appropriating funds to make available emergency overnight shelter.
- Securing $1 million from King County in support of the work performed by Mary’s Place and Mercy Housing to provide shelter for the unhoused.
- Taking emergency legislative action to ensure that Mary’s Place and Mercy Housing would not lose $6 million in funding from the federal government.
- Continuing to help those in need by making available programs that subsidize payments for utilities such as water, sewer, and telephone service.
- Allocating over $500,000 annually to support programs and services offered by nonprofits within the scope of human services.
- Updating housing and zoning regulations to ensure that STEP housing (emergency shelters, transitional housing, emergency housing, and permanent supportive housing) is available throughout Burien.
These efforts, and many more, will continue as part of a multifaceted approach to finding solutions and supporting the Burien community.
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