Seattle Changes Its Mind on Homeless Memorial

A controversial project to build a homeless remembrance sculpture in Victor Steinbrueck Park can move forward, after a city hearing examiner reversed an earlier decision by the Pike Place Market Historical Commission.

On Tuesday, examiner Anne Watanabe said the Commission had wrongly denied the application to build a bronze, 13-foot-high “tree of life” sculpture in the northeast corner of the park. Commissioners had said the project, which includes landscaping and a glass-paneled base, would block views and overly alter Seattle’s famous downtown park. They voted it down 8-0 in January.

The decision had touched off accusations of nimbyism and fear of homeless people from the project’s organizers, the Homeless Remembrance Project Committee.

Via SeattlePI.