Bellevue Council OKs Ban On Safe-Injection Sites

BELLEVUE, WA - The Bellevue City Council on Monday voted unanimously to amend the city's land-use codeto prohibit safe-injection sites within city limits. The safe-injection sites have been proposed by a King County task force to fight opioid overdose deaths. The safe-injection site issue has been a countywide topic for months, but Bellevue's ban emerged out of a discussion in the spring over the proposed Eastgate homeless shelter.

In April, the city had discussed a ban on safe-injection sites - also called Community Health Engagement Locations (CHELs) - in the Eastgate area and other parts of the city. During a July 23 Council study session, the Council directed city staff to draft an actual ordinance explicitly banning the sites in Bellevue zoning code.

In January, the King County Heroin and Prescription Opiate Addiction Task Force - a county-level 40-member group comprised of police chiefs, health officials, school officials, and tribal leaders - recommended opening two CHELs, along with other heroin mitigation measures. One site would be located in Seattle, the other would be somewhere else in King County.

The safe-use sites - where technically any drug could be used - would centralize social and health services, and that, proponents say, would prevent overdose deaths and better link addicts with resources. But there has been backlash against the idea. There is also an effort afoot to put the safe-injection site issue on the ballot with the goal of banning the sites county-wide.

There are no safe-injection sites in the U.S., although health officials point to one in Vancouver, B.C., as a model for success.

Image via City of Bellevue