Residents of Everett motel ‘have no place to go’ after council votes to condemn property

With a 5-1 vote, Everett City Council sealed the fate of the Waits Motel, a property local leaders call a crime magnet. Residents will be forced to move and the property is scheduled to be condemned.

Concerns linger in wake of the decision and Thursday afternoon Everett City Attorney, David Hall addressed those head on.

“It’s been a magnet for nuisance activity, drugs, prostitution, and other crimes for thirty years at least,” said Hall. “There may be a period where things have gotten better but better does not mean pristine.”

But people who have called the Waits home for years aren’t convinced the local government has their best interests at heart. Tracy Kardonsky says he’s called the mid-century motel home for the past two years. She has relied on social security funds to cover the cost of his long-term stay.

“They’re condemning people that have no place to go,” said Kardonsky. “I’ve tried to get into apartments but they want first, last, and deposit. It’s hard to come up with that.”

At one point, Everett Police were showing up at the property nearly 16 times a month. We asked authorities for updated numbers, and it does appear as though things have improved recently -- in March, police were called to the motel just five times, and in June, it was six.

“A year ago this place was pretty crazy -- now it’s quiet,” Waits resident Joe Latshaw told us.

We also spent hours in the neighborhood on Thursday knocking on doors to figure out how residents who live in the area feel about the motel. Some are fed up with how things have been, but the majority tell us that they don’t want the property condemned, and that they don’t want anyone living there to be displaced.

Hall promises Waits Motel residents won’t be thrown out onto the streets. He says in 42 months the City will help pay for any rent differentials, cover the cost of moving, and provide relocation specialists.

“By law, they will end up in a place that is at least as good and very likely better,” said Hall. “Really, it’s almost with certainty that the existing residents will end up with housing that is better than what we have right now.”

That said, the city has been to the property to share those plans with the motel’s manager or the tenants who live there, but they do plan on doing that soon.

As of now, there’s no move out date on the books.