EVERETT, Wash. — Christina Trechel and her 18-month-old son were forced to evacuate from Clare's Place supportive housing last year after the building became contaminated with toxic drug residue.
"You could smell it. You could taste it," she said. "We don't need to be getting sick and as I'm recovering from an addiction, I don't need to be around it either."
Clare's closed for months in late 2023 and cost millions to sanitize.
That shelter is privately owned, but it serves as a cautionary tale to the rest of Snohomish County.
The county recently bought two motels as low-barrier housing for people experiencing homelessness.
They were supposed to open last year, but because they were found to be so contaminated with drug residue from previous tenants, they will not open until 2025.
It's costing taxpayers millions more for the clean-up.
Wednesday, with a narrow 3-2 vote, the Snohomish County Council approved testing for drug contamination in county-owned buildings.
The goal is to keep what happened at Clare's Place from happening to taxpayer-funded facilities.
The new ordinance does not require testing of people -- only throughout the building. The testing will happen at least once per year.
It's unclear, at this point, whether individual rooms will be tested. That will be determined later when the county hires a provider to manage the two former motels.
Councilmember Nate Nehring sponsored the legislation to keep workers and residents safe.
"I would like you to imagine for a moment that we had to live in one of these facilities with our families. I think we owe the folks who are living and working in these facilities the same dignity we would expect to see ourselves," he said.
Some, however, believe the county should wait for guidance from a statewide work group studying the issue, which is expected in June.
They argue the ordinance says nothing whatsoever about what to do if contamination is actually detected.
"What are the levels for toxicity for somebody living there? What are the levels of exposure for an employee?" Asks Councilmember Strom Peterson. "That work is being done, but we don't have those answers yet. I think this undercuts what we're trying to do here."
Christina has moved back into Clare's Place, but she fears nothing will change unless there is greater accountability.
"Even if they are testing, they're still gonna use in their rooms. All of these people who are fresh off the streets are going to use in their units," said Christina. "I think there should be testing to live here."