LETTER to COUNCIL: Tell Pushy Tiny Home Village Salesman from LIHI to Go Away

LIHI charges over $150/night to house someone in a Tiny Home Village. LIHI salesman (not from Burien) continues to solicit at council meetings, advising on zoning and location.

This letter was submitted on June 6, 2024 by verified Burien resident Dr. C. Edgar to Burien City Council, City Manager, Human Services Department, and Liz Stead.[NOTE FROM EDITOR: Letters to the Editor do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Burien-News or Daniel Media. If you wish to submit a story, photo, article or letter, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.]Dear Burien City Council,Council meetings are an opportunity for the council to get together to discuss city business, make decisions, and gather information about issues on the meeting agenda. Public comment time is meant to allow input to the council, first from residents, next from Burien business owners, and lastly, from people outside the city. It was never intended for people inside or outside the city topromote sales for their business services to the council or to tell the council what to do on their voting contract decisions.This last council meeting, a man promoting the business he works for, appeared for a third time, trying to sell his business and his opinion about how the council should vote on an ordinance before them. He again disregarded the concerns and wishes of many of the residents, and he does not live in Burien. He did not contribute any new research facts or data on the issue before the council. Like the annoying phone solicitors, he came to the council again on June 3 to try to push the sale of his business services [LIHI].[CONTEXT: LIHI hopes to manage a Tiny Home Village in Burien.][caption id="attachment_13787" align="aligncenter" width="650"]

Tiny Home Village (Source - Low Income Housing Institute)[/caption]Many residents consider this man’s behavior pushy, self-serving, and inappropriate. This behavior would not be accepted from any Burien business owner. It’s time for this sales agent from LIHI to stop trying to sway the council in its land use vote, and stop peddling his contract and trying to dictate where Transitional Housing will be placed in the city.Please stop sales promotions at council meetings.The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) was established by Sharon Lee (in collaboration with CLS, Frank Chopp, and Scott Morrow/SHARE) in Seattle in 1991. Lee has been the CEO of LIHI continuously since then, and she has failed to end homelessness.During that time, homelessness has significantly increased, and the costs for LIHI services has significantly escalated. The cost per night in one of the tiny houses in Tukwila is over $150 per night, as documented on LIHI's IRS 990 tax form. Burien can’t afford to finance this.Additionally, LIHI has been embroiled in political and financial controversy. Attached to this correspondence are parts of two research articles (public domain) about SHARE and LIHI. Please take the time to read them, and if time permits, the entire original articles. They provide a history of homeless housing in King County and Washington State. Respectfully,Dr. C EdgarAttached Articles:

• "Anatomy of a Swindle: How a Rogue Non-profit Captured the Emerald City" https://roominate.com/blog/2016/anatomy-of-a-swindle/ [This 2016 article references SHARE, but it applies to LIHI.]
• "Homeless Inc. Lady Makes Bank" https://roominate.com/blog/homeless-inc-lady-makes-bank/

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