DESC Clarifies Good Neighbor Agreement

The City of Burien Has No Input or Control.

by Martin Barrett. DESC has clarified with Burien News that the Good Neighbor Agreement is not between DESC and the City of Burien. It is only an agreement signed by tenants. That means that the City of Burien has no control over what the agreement contains. Then-Mayor Jimmy Matta and Planning Commission Chair Hugo Garcia voted to bring in the 95-room, low-income residence, with no control over the behaviors of the government-funded tenants. DESC is a low-barrier housing project. This means that tenants are free to use illegal drugs on the property. The drugs used in the government-funded property must be brought to the facility by dealers, or purchased somewhere in the area. Not only is it illegal, but it also brings on the criminal behaviors experienced by those subject to their presence. The problem is not insignificant. In 2022 DESC facilities claimed the top three destinations for the Seattle Fire Department and 8 of the top 20. At number 10 is The Estelle, which Matta cited as the place of his due diligence on DESC when he voted to bring the first non-Seattle facility to Burien.The Seattle Fire Department was called to The Estelle almost once daily. These emergency call numbers do not include police; however, in most of the DESC facilities, Fire Department workers will not enter without police escort due to concerns about personal safety.[caption id="attachment_15773" align="aligncenter" width="570"]

List of Top Emergency Calls in 2022[/caption]The 2021 Council voted to bring in DESC based upon DESC's promise of a Good Neighbor Agreement over which the city has no control. Additionally, Noah Fay, Senior Director of Housing Programs DESC, claimed at the March 4, 2024 Burien City Council meeting that DESC has only enforced the Agreement one time. In 2022, DESC had a total of 2,170 Fire Department calls to just five of its facilities, but only one person was removed for violating the Good Neighbor Agreement.Here is the statement from DESC:     "Good Neighbor Agreement: The good Neighbor Agreement to which everyone is referring is not an agreement between the city of Burien and DESC. It is an agreement between DESC and our tenants, which tenants must sign when they lease a DESC apartment. As you can see from the policy Noah shared with you this a.m., it prohibits problematic behaviors in the neighborhood. Should a community member or business suspect that an individual exhibiting concerning behavior lives at the DESC Burien building, they may call the front desk at any time of day or night for a response. We will check on the situation as quickly as possible, and reinforce expectations if the person is a DESC tenant. In the event the person does not reside in the DESC Burien building, we would do our best to help resolve the matter."     -Claire Tuohy-Morgan, Communications & Community Relations Manager, DESCThe Burien DESC facility, set to open in May, has no apparent Good Neighbor Agreement in place. However, here is an example of the DESC Agreement used at the Hobson Place Supportive Housing location.DESC Hobson House Good Neighbor Agreement:[caption id="attachment_15774" align="aligncenter" width="566"]

DESC Hobson House - Good Neighbor Agreement

DESC Burien (image by Katie Kresly)[/caption]