NEWS GLEAMS | Federal Cuts Affect Housing and Homeless Service Providers; Rainier Beach Hookah Lounge Declared 'Chronic Nuisance'

On April 3, the Seattle City Council hosted its second meeting with the newly formed Select Committee on Federal Administration and Policy Changes, which was focused on housing issues. Local housing and homeless service providers testified that federal cuts in the U.S. Department of Housing and Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Medicaid will negatively impact their ability to continue operating programs at the same size and scale.

Prior to the meeting, Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck (Citywide, Position 8) issued a statement saying, "Our affordable housing system relies on federal dollars. Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, federal block grants, and vouchers all sustain our ability to provide subsidized housing. … Without immediate and bold local action, these federal policy changes will absolutely result in more people being on the brink, with more Seattleites experiencing homelessness throughout the community."

PubliCola reported that federal cuts will impact all levels of affordable housing, as privately financed buildings often use federal tax credits while permanent supportive housing relies heavily on federal support. For instance, the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program allocates around $10 billion annually to issue tax credits that help acquire, rehabilitate, or create new rental housing that serves low-income households. It plays a large role in supporting local affordable housing, but a federal drop in value tied to market fluctuations would affect the program.

Though some cuts have already taken place and others are projected to be inevitable, a number of organizations offered insight into the potential impacts of federal cuts on their services. They included representatives from King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA), Hunt Capital Partners, Enterprise Community Partners, Chief Seattle Club, and Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC). All of the organizations would be affected by cuts in federal support.

Enterprise Community Partners recently learned from the federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that their federal funds were being frozen by HUD due to their supposed noncompliance with President Donald Trump's DEI executive order, which forbids diversity, equity, and inclusion in government programs. Enterprise's senior program director, Jess Blanch, testified that related cuts to Section 8, which helps keep low-income individuals housed, and Section 4, which supports service providers in building capacity, could increase homelessness.

Additionally, entities like KCRHA are now forced to make decisions around their willingness to comply with immigration officials, in part because they rely heavily on federal funding, which is the KCRHA's third largest source of support. KCRHA estimates that federal cuts could put around 2,200 formerly homeless individuals at risk of losing houses or 2,300 people at risk of losing transitional housing or other support.

DESC similarly received a quarter of its support from federal sources, according to its director, Daniel Malone. HHS has since eliminated a federal grant that DESC would have received to support engagement with opioid users, and the organization needs to find a way to fill the gap. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which would have managed the grant, along with managing the 988 crisis line and addiction treatment, has also been absorbed into the HHS. It leaves an uncertain future for the department's previous work.

The local organizations called for additional support from city, county, and state sources to close the gap from a loss in federal funding.

The Select Committee on Federal Administration and Policy Changes' April 3 meeting was an information-gathering session. Additional upcoming committee dates centered on the loss of federal funding are scheduled for May 16 at 9:30 a.m., June 20 at 9:30 a.m., and July 18 at 9:30 a.m.

Following last week's shooting at a Rainier Beach hookah lounge, which left two people dead, Police Chief Shon Barnes has declared the Capri Bar and Restaurant, located at 9232 Rainier Ave. S., to be a "chronic nuisance."

Under the Seattle Municipal Code, properties can be declared a chronic nuisance when they have three or more nuisance activities within 60 days or seven or more nuisance activities within 12 months. The government defines nuisance activities as "assaults, fighting, drug dealing, prostitution, gang, and weapons-related violations." After a site is declared a chronic nuisance property, property owners and operators may be violating the law when they continue to allow such behaviors to exist. The ordinance has been used previously to shut down hotels on Aurora Avenue.

On Monday, April 7, Barnes sent the property owners of Capri a letter that required that they respond within seven days "to discuss a course of action to correct the nuisance." His letter noted that six shooting incidents have been tied to Capri since June 2024.

Should the owners of the hookah lounge not respond within that timeframe or take meaningful steps to correct the problem, the business could face a number of consequences. These include potentially being shut down by the city attorney's office, being subject to a daily $500 penalty until they are no longer considered a nuisance, and a civil penalty of $25,000 for failing to comply with the notice.

Capri's owner, Ashenafi Masabo, was previously charged by city attorneys with two gross misdemeanor crimes of keeping liquor without a liquor license. The first took place during a police visit on March 9, and the second took place following the March 30 dual homicides.

On April 15, the Seattle City Council will discuss an ordinance that was passed last week in its five-member Public Safety Committee. The bill would potentially regulate unpermitted establishments such as Capri, which function as private clubs based on a membership fee and operate between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., after bars are closed. It would also limit after-hours alcohol sales at such venues, which are often not licensed to sell alcoholic beverages.

Former Councilmember Tanya Woo first began working on the ordinance following a fatal August 2024 shooting inside a SoDo nightclub disguised as a hookah lounge.

On April 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., there will be two opportunities to celebrate the Duwamish Alive! Coalition and Earth Day.

Visit həʔapus Village Park and Shoreline Habitat (4500 Duwamish Trail, Seattle) to learn about the archeological, cultural, and ecological significance of the site. The park is located on one of the last original bends of the Duwamish River, which was straightened in 1913 to create a shipping canal. The actions served to tame and control a river that had historically been one of dramatic ebbs and flows, with periods when it overflowed and flooded its banks. Volunteers who attend this event will be able to help with restoration and green stormwater infrastructure tasks.

Duwamish Alive! is composed of nonprofits, community groups, municipalities, agencies, and businesses collaborating to restore the health of the Duwamish Watershed.

An alternate opportunity will take place at Point Rediscovery (10080 Des Moines Memorial Drive S., Burien). Volunteers can participate in restoration work at the Hamm Creek natural area and King County stormwater facility. Local nonprofit Dirt Corps has been working on the site since 2015, engaging with community partners to restore the creek into a salmon-bearing waterway.

Lunch will be provided at both events. Register online via Google Forms for work parties at either həʔapus Village Park and Shoreline Habitat or Point Discovery.

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