A Tiny House Village for the Homeless Will Close Its Doors in Seattle

The city of Seattle plans to shut down the Licton Springs tiny-house village after March, bringing to an end one of the most controversial city efforts to help house homeless people.

The decision to let Licton Springs' two-year permit expire next spring marks the first time Seattle has closed one of its tiny-house villages since it began opening them in 2015. Seattle, with a ninth village set to open next month, has embraced the tiny-house strategy to fight homelessness as aggressively as any city in the nation

Representatives with SHARE/WHEEL, the activist nonprofit that handles day-to-day management of the camp, were informed of the city's decision Tuesday, according to an organization spokesperson who spoke on background. The group was shocked but will try to persuade the city to change its mind, the person said.

The decision on Licton Springs, and recent moves to cut funding for SHARE/WHEEL shelters in next year's budget, signal a clear evolution in Seattle's approach to the villages, who should run them and how.

Licton Springs opened on Aurora Avenue North in April 2017 as part of the city's effort to address a steep rise in the population of homeless people sleeping outside, many of them dealing with substance abuse. The site was controversial from the beginning because residents are allowed to use alcohol and drugs, something not permitted at the other city-sanctioned encampments.

That was a draw for many of the city's hardest-to-serve homeless people who had previously refused offers of shelter. But it incensed residents of the surrounding north Seattle neighborhood; calls for police service on the block where Licton Springs sits spiked 62 percent in a year, according to a Seattle Times analysis.

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