Ballard and Interbay residents may end up hosting a disproportionate share of permitted RV parking under a six-bill package that the Seattle City Council previewed Tuesday, Aug. 11.

At least one council member flagged the problem during the Public Safety Committee briefing: restricting permitted RVs to industrial zones could concentrate them in Ballard-Interbay and the Duwamish corridor, the council vice chair said, calling it a "concentration risk."

Council central staff acknowledged they have not conducted a geographic equity analysis and expressed uncertainty about whether sufficient data exists to track where RVs are currently parked, according to a Ballard News-Tribune report on the briefing.

The Vehicle Resident Assistance Program, or VRAP, is a package of six draft bills developed by District 6 Councilmember Dan Strauss. It would create a permit system for motor homes and travel trailers wider than 80 inches. Starting April 30, 2027, unpermitted vehicles of that size would be limited to two hours of parking citywide and banned entirely from midnight to 6 a.m. Permitted RVs could park up to 72 hours overnight, but only in designated industrial zones.

The program would cap enrollment at 400 to 500 people based on a one-time census of every RV on Seattle streets, according to PubliCola.

Only people identified in that census would qualify. A permit would be revoked after six consecutive refusals of shelter offers, according to the draft legislation, though the bills do not define what counts as "appropriate" shelter.

Strauss's Ballard district has dealt with a high concentration of dilapidated RVs for years, generating complaints about crime and drug activity, KOMO reported.

At the briefing, Strauss said "there are no dedicated city teams focused on helping people who live in their vehicles … zero safe lots open … zero services available."

The package relies on $5 million in existing 2026 city funding within the Human Services Department. It would create eight new positions: one permit technician at the Seattle Department of Transportation and seven outreach counselors at HSD. An additional $2 million would go to contracted service providers conducting outreach to vehicle residents.

The ongoing annual cost is estimated at $3.5 million, with a one-time $1.5 million startup investment, according to PubliCola.

Mayor Katie Wilson's office said it is "supportive in principle" of new safe lots and additional outreach but has raised operational and policy concerns about the permit program's details.

Not everyone is on board.

Alison Eisinger, director of the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, called the permit program "punitive and likely unworkable," raising questions about people who miss the one-time census or begin living in an RV after the permitting window closes.

The bills were presented as informational only on Tuesday and were not formally introduced. The package is scheduled for formal introduction on the council's Aug. 18 calendar, with a public hearing and potential committee vote set for Sept. 22. The Public Safety Committee is chaired by District 7 Councilmember Bob Kettle.

If enforcement proceeds on the proposed timeline, warnings would begin April 30, 2027, with full enforcement starting July 31, 2027.