March 19, 2012 Via Electronic Submission Seattle Housing Authority Tom Tierney, Executive Director ttierney@seattlehousing.

org Anne Fiske Zuniga Senior Development Program Manager, Yesler Terrace AFZuniga@seattlehousing.org CC: Seattle Department of Planning and Development Dave LaClergue, Land Use Planner II <dave.laclergue@seattle.gov> Gary Johnson, Land Use Planner IV <gary.johnson@seattle.gov>

Re: Yesler Terrace Public Housing Redevelopment Plan The Yesler Terrace Redevelopment Plan is touted as a way to revitalize the oldest public housing project in the city into a mixed-use/mixed-income development that will revitalize the Yesler Terrace area with new economic opportunity and vitality. Demographically, in many ways, Yesler Terrace community is a Seattle cultural landmark. Yesler Terrace is a unique Seattle community with over 1,100 residents from diverse race, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Yesler Terrace is home to a much higher proportion of households with children than most Seattle communities, and with more persons per household. There are many immigrant families that rely on Yesler Terrace for community and cultural contacts, as multiple languages other than English are spoken there. It is inarguable that racial, ethnic, and economic composition of Yesler Terrace population is unique in many ways. (Yesler Terrace Redevelopment Fact Sheet July 2011; Yesler Terrace Background Report, Prepared for Seattle Housing Authority 2008) 1. Prolonged Temporary Relocation = Permanent Displacement of Vulnerable Youth The Yesler Terrace Plans redevelopment-induced temporary relocation is part of a 5-10 year existing unit replacement phase that, if prolonged, could result in a permanent displacement of vulnerable Yesler Terrace youth and their families. A permanent displacement of housing, either intentionally or by default, would violate the Seattle Housing Authoritys affirmative duty, pursuant to the Fair Housing Act, to avoid discriminatory effects from using its HUD grant money in the Yesler Terrace redevelopment, and would likewise violate multiple other civil rights obligations (including, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; See, HUD PIH Notice: PIH-2011-31/FHEO Notice: FHEO-2011-1 Issued June 13, 2011. ) by its permanent displacement of certain racial/ethnic/national origin resident subgroups, youth and families, and persons with disabilities.

This is why the lack of explicit housing rights safeguards and protections within the Yesler Terrace Redevelopment Plan (the Plan) presents such a threat of harm.

2. Threats of Harm to Yesler Terrace Youth from the Redevelopment Plan The most imminent threat of harm to Yesler Terrace Youth comes from: (i)lost educational opportunities, (ii)increased housing insecurity, and (iii)lost access to family and community services. A. Lost Educational Opportunities for Yesler Terrace Youth At the March 7, 2012, community meeting at Yesler Terrace Community Center, I addressed the Seattle Department of Planning and Development staff, as well as Seattle of Housing Authority official and noted my concern that there seemed to be zero plan regarding the protection of the educational opportunity of Yesler Terrace children. I noted the significance of the absence of any School officials or statements regarding the impact of the Yesler Terrace Plan on its school-age children. Simply, this is unacceptable. B. Increased Risk of Housing Insecurity /Homelessness for Yesler Terrace Youth A state study of Washingtons homeless youth found that generally homeless youth academically performed worse than non-homeless youth, they achieved higher grades and performed better on Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) when they were able to stay in their original school. [WA State Department of Transportation, Homeless Student Transportation Project Evaluation(2006)- http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Research/Reports/600/665.1.htm] Likewise, youth experiencing housing insecurity and forced relocation face traumatic upheaval comparable to that of homelessness, particularly young children. The Seattle School district is already required by law to have a homeless education liaison. According to Seattle Public Schools policy on Homeless Children and Youth (D-118): Students who are homeless and are new to Seattle Public Schools may attend any available school that non-homeless students who live in the same attendance area can attend; .... Students who are homeless, or homeless students who move, may continue their education in their school of origin with transportation provided. If homeless students move out of the Seattle School District, transportation costs will be negotiated with the resident district. The children of displaced families from Yesler Terrace Plans forced relocation deserve no less than the same guarantee from the City and Seattle Schools of similar flexible assistance to ensure educational continuity and that no lost educational opportunity will result.

C. Lost Community Support/Childcare Services For Vulnerable Youth and Families There should be no loss in community services due to forced temporary relocation. The expected prolonged nature of the forced relocation of Yesler Terrace residents (5-10 years) will strain families that in many cases are already at the margins and rely on community services for childcare and additional family supports, such as after-school and adult learning. The Yesler Terrace plan calls for up to 100 interim units, during the redevelopment process. These interim units as well as any subsequent replacement units should have equal access to services and amenities equal to the current site and, ultimately, the redeveloped site. 3. Guaranteed Right to Return for All Current Resident Families and their Children The ultimate threat of harm from the redevelopment plan is the lack of an explicit guaranteed right to return after forced relocation. All current Yesler Terrace public housing residents should be assisted in their relocation to minimize difficulty, their guaranteed right to return to redeveloped units should be explicitly strengthened and clarified with no heightened re-screening for current residents to reoccupy redeveloped units, and Minimize Prolonged Relocation Displacement All public housing rental units affected by demolition or redevelopment should be replaced with new or redeveloped public housing rental units on a one-for-one basis. In the interim, Seattle Housing Authority should diligently provide positive, supportive relocation services with an emphasis on relocation of displaced public housing households with vouchers assistance, rather than the forced transfer of vulnerable families and children to other unfamiliar, public housing sites. Ongoing Tracking of Relocated Current Residents, No "Lost" Families The City/Seattle Housing Authority should identify residents before displacement, and commit to ongoing tracking surveys of where the displaced residents relocated to and their satisfaction with their interim housing. Frequents ongoing surveys of no later than every 6 months to displaced residents within a pre-established schedule, up to and including the completion of the Redevelopment Plans replacement housing units. This will help determine those residents who choose not to return to Yesler Terrace versus those that are unable to return due to other intervening exclusionary conditions, such as heightened screening policies. No Heightened Unreasonable Re-Screening Criteria The Redevelopment Plans implementation calls for only current Yesler Terrace residents in good standing as eligible for returning to the redeveloped units. There should an explicit definition of good standing that does not allow for unreasonable or vague criteria to act as a bar to their return. Nor should any current residents who are considered in compliance with current Seattle Housing Authority policies be disqualified to reoccupy due to heightened standards, such as credit histories.

4. Race/Ethnicity/National Origin/Disability, Families, and Youth Impact Assessment The City/Seattle Housing Authority needs to assess the Yesler Terrace Redevelopment Plans Race, Ethnicity, National Origin, Disability, Families, and Youth Impact at all stages of the Yesler Terrace Redevelopment to ensure that the residents are not disenfranchised of their rights to fair housing opportunities and civil rights. Such an impact assessment is necessary to ensure transparency and accountability throughout the process. Conclusion The primary goal of the Yesler Terrace Redevelopment Plan should be meeting the housing needs of low income families. Failure to assess the racial and socioeconomic impact of the Yesler Terrace Plan increases the likelihood of disproportionate discriminatory displacement and reductions in affordable housing opportunities. Youth and their affected families should be given full education and social services attention so that the social trauma of displacement is avoided. At a minimum, without implementation and adherence to the aforementioned safeguards, the implementation of the Yesler Terrace Redevelopment Plan will likely violate the Fair Housing Act's discriminatory effects standards, multiple other civil rights obligations, as well as the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Rights of existing Yesler Terrace residents unfairly impacted by redevelopment displacement. I appreciate your attention to these urgent matters. Sincerely, /s/ Ernest Saadiq Morris, Esq. Director, Urban Youth Justice Initiative www.UrbanYouthJustice.org Law Office: www.DefendMyRight.com P.O. Box 45637 Seattle, WA 98145 Tele/Fax: (888) 938- 7770 CC: Ron English Acting General Counsel Seattle Public Schools renglish@seattleschools.org Dinah Ladd, Coordinator Homelessness Office Seattle Public Schools djladd@seattleschools.org