City of Seattle has yet to fine businesses for eco-blocks meant to keep homeless away

SEATTLE — As the dust settles from the MLB All-Star Game, an issue continues to grip Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood. Thursday morning, city crews began clearing out tents and RVs there. Within just hours of campers’ departures, eco-blocks took their place.

Brian Mahn manages a parking lot that backs up to Third Avenue South. He’s not sure who laid the barricades behind his business, but he’s not complaining. He hopes the blocks keep derelict RVs from returning.

“Illegal or not illegal,” said Mahn, “they’re solving the problem that needs to be solved.”

Seattle Municipal Code 15.04 states placing structures to block public places is unlawful unless a written permit is secured. Violators face fines and citations. The first violation would cost $250, the second would cost $500, and the third would cost $1,000.

In the past couple of years, business owners and concerned neighborhoods from Ballard to Georgetown have taken matters into their own hands, placing these eco-blocks. Hundreds of these barricades were placed across the city. The Seattle Department of Transportation spokesperson Ethan Bergerson reports in recent memory, not a single violator has faced the penalty. No citations or fines were delivered.

“City crews do not typically remove the concrete blocks because each block weighs 1 - 2 tons and is very time-consuming and costly to remove,” said Bergerson. “Over the past few years, we have issued a few dozen warnings related to these concrete blocks and have worked with several businesses and property owners on alternative solutions, not always just in response to a warning but sometimes because they reach out proactively. At this point in time, we have not issued fines for this sort of violation.”

Eco-blocks began appearing outside Fremont Brewing’s Production Facility in Ballard back in the winter of 2021. As of mid-July 2023, the barricades have not moved.

SDOT disclosed that it has persuaded some businesses to remove the blocks themselves. Mediation has led to an agreement in West Seattle, where the blocks were replaced with a bike lane.

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