The Ballard Chamber of Commerce has requested a meeting with Mayor Ed Murray to discuss an alternative site location for the proposed Ballard transitional homeless encampment.

Mike Stewart, Executive Director of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, sent a letter to Mayor Ed Murray last week and hopes to meet with City Officials as soon as possible.

“Subsequent meetings with [the Mayor’s Staff ], City department leaders, Councilmember O’Brien and homeless encampment advocates have resulted in identification of a suitable alternative site location in the Ballard area,” wrote Stewart in the letter to the mayor. “This alternative site meets the criteria of the ordinance and could be ready for occupancy as soon as late October.”

Stewart said he is confident the site will be a good fit and praised city officials for working with the Ballard community to find an alternative site. For instance, at a community meeting in August, Councilmen O’Brien said he would consider reopening the ordinance to accommodate a new location under certain conditions.

“Fortunately, Mayor Murray and Councilmen Mike O’Brien stepped-up and worked with us to identify alternative sites. The Ballard community did a significant amount of work to identify the potential alternative site, and I’m hopeful that the mayor will recognize that this is a win-win for the Ballard community and the encampment,” Stewart told the Ballard News-Tribune.

The move comes just weeks after the Mayor’s Office announced last July that they planned to build the encampment on an old Seattle City Light substation on NW Market Street. The substation lies in a major tourist and commercial area in Ballard and directly abuts residential zones.

After the announcement, there was immediate resistance from Ballard residents and business owners. They demanded time for public comment and to collaborate with the city to determine if there were alternative sites in the area.

“From the very beginning, the Ballard community has been very clear that our position is to work with the city and encampment operators to find a better site in a more suitable location,” said Stewart.

Stewart could not name where the alternative site is located just yet, but he indicated that it is in Ballard’s industrial area.

“Because there is a private owner involved, preliminary negotiations with the Mayor are needed. It is in a quiet and safe part of industrial Ballard. There is consensus among the Chamber, Nickelsville representatives and others that this new site is a viable option,” said Stewart.

Stewart noted that the location would be announced if the Mayor decides to move forward with the alternative site.

“We would like to meet as soon as possible to present what we’ve found and to determine what the next steps are. … We are hoping that the city takes a hard look at this alternative site and that they move forward with it.”

The City plans for Nickelsville to manage the Ballard encampment. Stewart said that he and Scott Morrow of Nickelsville toured the site.

“Our on-site examination yesterday resulted in Nickelsville’s agreement that the alternative site is adequate, is in an appropriate location and most likely will accommodate more campers than currently envisioned for the Market Street site,” wrote Stewart in his letter to the Mayor.

The NW Market Street site would house up to 40 individuals. The alternative site has the potential to accommodate more.

However, the City has a goal of setting up the encampment before winter and they are running out of time.

This year the One Night Count counted almost 4000 individuals sleeping outside without shelter. In addition, 42 people have died outside this year.

Nickelsville hopes to be set up and operating an encampment by the end of October before colder temperatures and rains begin.

One thing the City will consider is if the new site would have to undergo environmental remediation, which could take weeks.

The NW Market Street location already underwent remediation, which took longer than expected. Seattle City Light crews found contaminants deeper in the ground and more soil had to be removed.

More time would also be needed to set up the encampment site, which entails laying gravel and position pallets.

“We understand from our conversations with Scott Morrow that the alternative location could allow residents to occupy part of the site right away and others to follow soon thereafter.”