An Open Letter to the City of Port Townsend from Well Organized Jefferson County
Open letter from Well Organized Jefferson County to the City of Port Townsend and Jefferson County Commissioners:
Dear Council members, Commissioners, and City Manager Mauro,
We write as residents, organizations, service providers, and community partners, deeply concerned about the planned removal of the encampment at Evans Vista, near DSHS, scheduled for November 3, 2025. We respectfully request that the City pause this removal until a lawful, permitted, and accessible alternate site is identified and operational under PTMC 17.62.
We recognize and appreciate that the Behavioral Health Consortium, County staff, and local providers are actively collaborating on site identification, including a GIS-based process to evaluate feasible locations. Those efforts are promising, but they are not complete and cannot be completed by November 3. Proceeding with removal before that work results in an operational, permitted site would undermine the coordination now underway.
State law requires plan and accommodate before displacement
Washington’s HB 1220 and the Growth Management Act require jurisdictions to analyze need across income levels, adopt policies and zoning that accommodate that need, including
emergency, transitional, and supportive housing, and then act with identified placements. A sweep before lawful siting and capacity exist in code and practice is inconsistent with that sequence and may create risk of non-compliance with state law, could lead to administrative appeals, and will result in foreseeable harm to unhoused residents.
The City already adopted the lawful tool: PTMC 17.62
By Ordinance 3335 in 2024, the City created PTMC 17.62, Shelter and Emergency Housing Performance Standards. This chapter enables permitted, managed sanctioned sites and emergency shelter with clear health, safety, and management standards. We are asking the City to use the tool it adopted, and to do so before relocating people from Evans Vista.
Timing and process gaps
Standing up a PTMC 17.62 compliant site requires interagency coordination, staffing, services, and permitting. The County’s RFP timeline, due October 15, and the outreach window did not provide a realistic runway for local providers to propose, coordinate, and mobilize a compliant
site by early November. This reflects timeline constraints, not a lack of willingness. A prudent, lawful step is to pause the sweep and reset the timeline so the current coordination can succeed.
Clarifying the City’s role and accountability
While multiple partners are working in good faith, the City remains the responsible authority under local code for enforcement and permitting under PTMC 17.62. A clear, public statement of the chain of authority, including who decides what and when, could help resolve current confusion between staff, Council, and advisory bodies.
Public health, safety, and fiscal prudence
Dispersal without safe placements leads to loss of medications and IDs, interrupted care, winter exposure, increased EMS and police calls, and displacement into doorways and public buildings. Repeated sweeps will increase public costs and do not reduce homelessness. A permitted, managed site reduces churn, improves safety, and provides a lawful bridge to longer-term housing.
Our specific requests
1. Pause Removal. Pause the November 3 Evans Vista sweep until a lawful, permitted site on City-controlled land is open and staffed under PTMC 17.62, with restrooms, potable water, trash service, lighting, staff coverage, and a basic code of conduct.
2. Coordinate formally with providers. Work directly with the Behavioral Health Consortium, County staff, and local providers, so people are not displaced and scattered as winter begins.
3. Clarify control and accountability. Name who has authority over the November 3 removal and who controls PTMC 17.62 siting decisions, identify who is accountable for responding to these requests and timelines, and publish this chain of authority with a
single point of contact and regular public updates.
Evans Vista is not an abstract policy question. It is where our neighbors sleep, store medications, and try to stay connected to doctors, case managers, and one another. A winter sweep without a lawful place to go will not make Port Townsend safer and will displace people into more dangerous situations. We can meet the law and our shared values by opening a permitted, managed site first.
If people are pushed from Evans Vista without a lawful place to go, they will lose the very things that keep them alive in winter: warm gear, tents, stoves, medications, and the neighbors who watch their backs. Sweeps in cold months raise the risk of hypothermia, infection, overdose, and death. Our first duty is to keep people alive and together long enough to connect them with care and housing.
This is not a confrontation with the City. It is an invitation to act in alignment with the laws and values Port Townsend has already adopted. We are ready to assist with community engagement, accessibility considerations, and on-the-ground logistics to safely and quickly open a managed site.
We ask for a written update by October 24, 2025, on pausing the removal and on the steps and timeline to establish the PTMC 17.62 site. Proceeding without identified, lawful placements could invite administrative or judicial review and additional compliance work.
Thank you for choosing a path that is humane, lawful, and effective.
Respectfully,
Cendre Hunt, Co-Director
Well Organized Jefferson County
Annie Lovato, Board President
Well Organized Jefferson County
Cameron Jones, Co-Director
Well Organized Jefferson County
Sasha Marshall, Board Treasurer
Well Organized Jefferson County
