The document is a letter regarding the Yesler Terrace Public Housing Redevelopment Plan in Seattle. It summarizes that the plan aims to revitalize the oldest public housing project into a mixed-use development. However, the letter expresses concerns that the plan lacks protections for current residents and may permanently displace vulnerable families and youth. Specifically, it is worried that the planned temporary relocations could last 5-10 years, disrupting education and support systems. The letter calls for guarantees that all current residents have a right to return, replacement of all public housing units, and assessments of the plan's impacts on race, families and youth.

1. 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 Plan’s 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 Authority’s 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.

2. 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 Washington’s 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 Plan’s 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.

3. 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 Plan’s 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 Plan’s 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. 4. Race/Ethnicity/National Origin/Disability, Families, and Youth Impact Assessment
The City/Seattle Housing Authority needs to assess the Yesler Terrace Redevelopment Plan’s
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