SEATTLE -- Mayor Ed Murray now has 90 days to decide where three new homeless encampments will be located in the city under a new law passed by council this week.
Murray will pick sites in industrial and commercial zones, according to an aide in his office.
But along with the three new sites, council members also passed an amendment to approve a study reviewing the possibility of camps in residential neighborhoods.
Councilwoman Kshama Sawant proposed the measure and says it's an issue of housing justice.
"The best approach is to have city regulated homeless encampments equipped with city funding for basic services," Sawant said. "We need to ensure that family and kids in those homeless encampments have a safe environment."
Five other homeless camps currently exist. All are on church properties.
