The Seattle City Council fell one vote short of overriding the mayor's veto of a bill that would have established a permit program for RV residents. Five council members voted to reaffirm the bill's approval; six votes were required.

District 1 Councilmember Rob Saka, who initially supported the bill, voted against overriding the veto. In a newsletter and in council chambers, Saka explained that he did not see supporting the bill and supporting the veto as contradictory.

The measure was one of six bills from north-end Councilmember Dan Strauss dealing mostly with vehicle residency among homeless people. The other five bills will take effect. The mayor vetoed the permit measure and issued an executive order that, among other provisions, establishes a task force.

Before the override vote, Council President Joy Hollingsworth described seeing a mother panhandling on a city street. She questioned why the hundreds of millions of dollars Seattle devotes to homelessness did not seem to be reaching people like her. No answer was offered during the discussion.

There was agreement among those involved on the need for RV safe lots, but Seattle currently has none. An opening date for the first planned site, Glassyard Commons in southeast West Seattle, has yet to be announced.