HomeMy WebLinkAboutKing County Comments on Emergency Ordinance Dec. 1 2020 (FINAL) Office of the Prosecuting Attorney CIVIL DIVISION W400 King County Courthouse 516 Third Avenue Seattle, Washington 98104
(206) 477-1120 FAX (206) 296-0191
DANIEL T. SATTERBERG
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
December 1, 2020
Mayor Amondo Pavone Renton City Hall 1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Renton City Council Renton City Hall 1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057 City Clerk’s Office: cityclerk@rentonwa.gov Re: Proposed Emergency Ordinance on Use of the Renton Red Lion for COVID-19 Shelter
De-Intensification Dear Mayor Pavone, and Councilmembers, With this letter, King County is providing additional comments, as requested by City Attorney
Leslie Clark on Tuesday November 24, regarding the City’s proposed emergency ordinance on the use of the Red Lion. King County again asks the City to decline to pass the emergency ordinance, for three overarching reasons.
First, in King County’s view, as currently drafted, the proposed ordinance unreasonably requires King County and DESC to move vulnerable residents out of the Red Lion Hotel on a date certain, regardless of their risk of exposure to COVID-19 in the DESC Main Shelter. We urge you to resist the temptation to engage in the thinking that the pandemic will be over by June 1, 2021 with all that
is unknown over the next few months. Requiring Main Shelter residents to pack up and return during this pandemic is not a valid option and impedes the Local Health Officer’s efforts and authority. King County asks that you decline to approve the emergency ordinance. Second, we at King County see no justification for passing an emergency ordinance, purportedly in
response to the COVID-19 epidemic, which will hinder the Local Health Officer’s authority and efforts to reduce disease transmission via shelter de-intensification. Providing a few additional days for written comment, over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, is an inadequate substitute for the careful, collaborative review the ordinance merits and impacts, particularly regarding requirements for the establishment of permanent homeless shelters. King County would welcome the opportunity
to engage with the City to thoughtfully craft an ordinance to address permanent facilities for those experiencing homelessness.
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Prosecuting Attorney King County
Mayor Pavone and Renton City Council 11/1/2020 Page 2
Third, as currently drafted, the proposed ordinance creates numerous new barriers to ever
establishing permanent facilities for the homeless within the City of Renton. The proposed ordinance would make new facilities more difficult to establish, and not make it possible to address the regional homelessness crisis.
King County both reviewed in advance and contributed to DESC’s proposed redline version of the
emergency ordinance. If adopted, DESC’s redlines would vastly improve the proposed ordinance. Given the limited time for thoughtful review, King County may still object to provisions of the ordinance even with DESC’s redlines. However, if the City elects to pass the emergency ordinance, King County asks that it do so by incorporating DESC’s proposed edits.
Thank you in advance for your consideration. Sincerely,
/s Howard P. Schneiderman Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Counsel for King County, and Public Health – Seattle & King County
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