Seattle Proposal Would Expand Services, Create New Rules For People Living In Vehicles

Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss has introduced a six-part legislative package that would significantly change how the city responds to people living in vehicles, combining expanded outreach, safe parking and vehicle storage with a new permit system and stricter parking restrictions for some motor homes and travel trailers on city streets.

Called the Vehicle Resident Assistance Program, or VRAP, the proposal would use $5 million already available in the city’s budget to expand services for vehicle residents, including safe lots, outreach and a new “shelter storage” program designed to remove one of the barriers people living in vehicles can face when offered shelter or housing.

“One out of every four people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in our region is living in their vehicle,” Strauss said. “Right now, the City of Seattle does not have a comprehensive strategy to help them build pathways to shelter and housing. We also know that our city’s current approach to RVs is not working.”

The city’s analysis illustrates that gap. Seattle currently has no shelters or safe lots specifically tailored to people living in vehicles and no city-employed outreach team dedicated primarily to vehicle residents, aside from a Seattle Public Utilities pilot team focused on RV wastewater collection. Most specialized outreach is provided through contracts with organizations including the Salvation Army and Vehicle Residency Outreach Program.

The proposed program would treat vehicle residency as a distinct form of homelessness, recognizing that a vehicle may be a person’s last significant possession after losing permanent housing. In addition to food, water, sanitation and housing assistance, people living in vehicles may face expenses related to repairs, fuel, insurance and registration that can affect their ability to remain mobile and legally parked.

One component of the proposal is “shelter storage,” which would allow people entering shelter or housing to store the vehicles they had been living in rather than risk losing them while accepting housing assistance. The package would change land-use rules to make that type of vehicle storage explicitly permissible and expand the authority of the city’s Finance and Administrative Services director to enter leases for storage facilities and other vehicle-resident services.

The legislation would also expand safe lots, designated locations where people living in vehicles could park while accessing restrooms, showers, case management and assistance moving into shelter or permanent housing.

Jen Manlief, Vehicle Resident Programs manager at Vehicle Resident Outreach, said demand for assistance has outpaced existing outreach capacity.

“Vehicle Resident Outreach (VRO) has been addressing the needs of vehicle residents since 2011, and the population and need keeps growing,” Manlief said. “There is far more need than outreach workers currently have capacity to address, and this legislation is a strong step in the right direction to provide the resources needed to help vehicle residents stay safe and legal while they’re in their vehicle, and move toward more stable situations.”

The proposal would effectively create two tracks for motor homes and travel trailers on city streets. Vehicle residents enrolled in the assistance program could receive permits allowing limited street parking while working with caseworkers toward a safe lot, shelter storage, shelter or permanent housing. Unpermitted motor homes and travel trailers would face significantly tighter parking restrictions and potential impoundment.

Eligibility for a Vehicle Resident Assistance Permit would be tied to a one-time census conducted by the Seattle Human Services Department. Only people or vehicles identified through that census would be eligible for the street-parking permits. Those identified after the census would not qualify for a permit, although they could still receive other services, including access to safe lots, shelter storage, shelter and housing assistance.

Permit holders would be required to remain engaged with a city or city-contracted caseworker and maintain eligibility for shelter or housing services.

Permitted vehicles could remain in one location for up to 72 hours under existing parking rules. Overnight parking would be limited to designated industrial zones within a geographic service area specified by the permit, a requirement intended to keep participants connected with outreach workers and services.

Vehicle residents participating in the program would also have to follow health, safety and parking requirements. Vehicles would need displayed license plates and visible vehicle identification numbers. Participants could not block sidewalks, discharge gray or black water onto public property, leave trash or belongings in the right of way, or violate city noise regulations.

A participant who declines six offers of appropriate safe-lot placement, shelter storage, shelter or housing could lose their permit. The proposal provides a 15-day period to appeal the loss of eligibility.

For motor homes and travel trailers outside the permit program, the rules would be substantially more restrictive. Unpermitted vehicles could not park on city streets or alleys for more than two hours or at any time between midnight and 6 a.m.

Vehicles violating those restrictions could ultimately be impounded without prior notice, although legislative documents state the city’s intent is to provide as many as three warnings before taking enforcement action against unpermitted vehicles.

The package would also update Seattle’s 25-year-old definition of a “junk motor vehicle” to provide clearer standards for abandoned, damaged or inoperable vehicles stored on public streets. The proposed changes are aimed at vehicles that are not currently being used as residences, and vehicles with active assistance permits would not be subject to towing solely because they meet the updated junk-vehicle standards.

The $5 million identified for vehicle-resident services is already included in Seattle’s budget. The city’s 2026 adopted budget includes $3.5 million in ongoing funding for programs helping vehicle residents transition to shelter, along with $1.5 million in one-time funding carried forward into 2026.

Implementing the permit system itself is estimated to cost an additional $359,000 in 2026 and approximately $804,000 annually beginning in 2027, including outreach staff and an employee to administer permits. City fiscal documents caution that those estimates do not include all potential costs associated with parking enforcement, impoundment and vehicle storage, additional outreach, or shelter and housing programs.

The proposal calls for the permit application process to be established by April 30, 2027, with the new motor home and travel trailer parking restrictions taking effect by July 31, 2027. An accompanying resolution also calls for removing so-called ecoblocks from city rights of way within six months of full implementation of the Vehicle Resident Assistance Program.

The legislative package is scheduled for an initial discussion before the Seattle City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Aug. 11, with a committee vote anticipated in mid-September. A separate public hearing on the proposed land-use changes for vehicle storage is scheduled for Sept. 8.