At a press briefing this morning, Mayor Mike McGinn addressed concerns about his proposal to locate a "semi-permanent" encampment for homeless people in SODO. Acknowledging concerns expressed by city council member Sally Bagshaw, who suggested that permanent wooden structures might be superior to tents for homeless housing, McGinn said, "We have different options for what type of structures we can build and what qualifies as a tent. I like the idea of having something that's nicer than a beat-up old tent for people to live in."

However, McGinn said the prospect of a lawsuit to stop the project was as inevitable as a challenge to the completion of the missing link of the Burke-Gilman Trail. And he questioned whether city council members are raising questions because they're "trying to make the project work" or because they're trying to kill the encampment proposal. "We're going to work with each council member to find out whether they're concerned because they're trying to make it work, or if they're trying to [kill the plan] by 1000 paper cuts," McGinn said.

McGinn would not say what his plans are if the current Nickelsville encampment in Lake City outstays its legal welcome, which will happen in May.