In controversial move, Tacoma to review use of rocks to hinder homeless camps
To boulder or not to boulder?
That’s the question that was before the Tacoma City Council this month.
The city’s installation of boulders across Tacoma to deter homeless encampments in recent years has been controversial. Advocates have criticized the approach, saying it doesn’t address the root cause of homelessness. Others say they’ve been essential to providing relief from the “illicit activity” that results from the presence of homeless encampments.
At the council’s April 14 meeting, council members voted unanimously to call for the city manager to study whether the boulders remain necessary – raising the possibility of their removal but not guaranteeing it.
The measure was met with mixed reactions from stakeholders on both sides. Some questioned why the city used the boulders to begin with, and others said the council’s latest resolution was an unnecessary use of resources as the city contends with a budget deficit.
Council members Kristina Walker and Jamika Scott, who sponsored the resolution, were careful to note during the council meeting that the resolution did not guarantee the removal of the boulders. If city staff find that there are boulders installed around the city that are unnecessary, nearby property owners would need to grant approval for their removal, Scott said at the meeting.
The resolution is, Scott told The News Tribune, part of an effort to “activate” the spaces that the boulders occupy instead of keeping them closed off. It seeks to explore whether the city could use other tactics like the installation of benches or small parks to make the space currently occupied by the boulders accessible to people who live nearby.
She said the resolution wouldn’t come as an additional cost to the city – other than in the form of city staff’s time.
City spokesperson Maria Lee said the city has spent $253,000 to procure and install 1,431 boulders across 24 locations in Tacoma. The boulders come from Washington Rock Quarries Inc., and the city uses a separate contractor called Acum Inc. to install them – since the city doesn’t have the equipment to transport and precisely place the boulders.
“We’re trying to be mindful of the fact that we are in a budget deficit and that every dollar matters,” Scott said.
City officials have forecast a $15 million budget deficit in the 2027-2028 budget, The News Tribune previously reported.
Per the resolution, if city manager Hyun Kim identifies any boulders that can be removed, he’ll estimate the costs related to removal and storage of the boulders to incorporate into the city’s 2027-2028 budget.
Lee said the city uses boulders as a last resort when responding to repeated complaints of homeless encampments. Before installing boulders, the city works to add lighting, install fencing or plant more trees and vegetation in response to those reports.
“It is only when these alternatives are deemed physically unfeasible, cost-prohibitive, or ineffective at maintaining a safe, clear right-of-way that boulders are purchased and placed to secure the area,” she wrote to The News Tribune.
Rob Huff, a spokesperson for the Tacoma Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness, said the council’s resolution was a step in the right direction but added the city’s use of boulders in the first place is “counterproductive.”
“They’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on rocks that could have been spent on expanding shelter options or creating small, safe sites where people could go or were allowed to continue to be while they work out their homelessness situation, rather than just telling people to move and then placing rocks that are in their place,” Huff told The News Tribune.
Kristen Wynne is the chair of the Tacoma Business Council, which is supportive of the city using boulders to deter homeless encampments. Wynne said the council’s latest resolution isn’t a good use of the city’s resources.
“We are in a $15 million budget deficit, and staff is a precious, limited resource,” she told The News Tribune. “What we really like to see is staff time devoted to things that can help Tacoma get out of this budget deficit, and not directed towards things that are actually, in large part, really effective addressing some of the underlying issues that plague Tacoma.”
