Seattle Business Owner Sues City for $30M Over Crime, Homeless Policies

The business owner says Seattle's homeless and crime policies have led to one of his properties becoming virtually useless.

   Property owner sues the city for $30 million

 Dennis L. Chinn filed a Federal lawsuit, claiming policies toward homelessness and crime have led to the near-destruction of his 2.5-acre Asian Plaza.

Chinn, a longtime property owner in the area known as Little Saigon, owned several businesses in the plaza on S. Jackson Street. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, Chinn's suit claims city policies turned his property into an unsellable mess.

These images are Google Street views from 2021.

The policies, it says, resulted in some business shutdowns, followed by an invasion of homeless persons, and criminal activity.  The suit describes Chinn's family real estate investment as now being a "center" for the homeless to gather.

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It also claims that activity led to a fire that destroyed several buildings. Now, he says, it also led to the collapse of a potential $21-million-dollar sale of the area.

According to MyNorthwest.com:

"The Little Saigon property owner argued the city’s actions amount to an unconstitutional taking of property and discrimination against a largely immigrant community."

City Officials are dismissive toward the suit, claiming Chinn's issue is with policy differences. Mayor Bruce Harrell did not directly comment on the suit, but claims recent moves by the city have reduced crime and homeless activity in the area.