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Home My WebLink AboutCOR 13 - Declaration of Doug Levy COR 13 Declaration of Doug Levy DECLARATION OF DOUG LEVY IN SUPPORT OF CITY’S FINDING OF VIOLATION – Page 1 Renton City Attorney 1055 S. Grady Way Renton, WA 98057-3232 Phone: 425.430.6480 Fax: 425.430.6498 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 IN PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE CITY OF RENTON HEARING EXAMINER IN RE THE MATTER OF THE REQUEST FOR HEARING BY RENTON HOTEL INVESTORS, LLC AND KING COUNTY NO. CODE‐20‐000321 DECLARATION OF DOUG LEVY IN SUPPORT OF CITY OF RENTON’S FINDING OF VIOLATION REGARDING RED LION DE‐ INTENSIFICATION SHELTER I, Doug Levy, declare as follows: 1. I am competent to testify in this matter and have personal knowledge of the facts stated herein. 2. I am the City’s Regional/State/Federal Affairs and Special Projects Consultant. In this role, on behalf of the City of Renton administration, I coordinated negotiations with King County in the City’s efforts to gain voluntary compliance to correct the violations set forth in the Finding of Violations (FOV) at issue in these proceedings. 3. On or about April 9, 2020, I and the City’s Chief Administrative Officer spoke with Karan Gill, the South King County Outreach Director for Executive Dow Constantine. We informed Mr. Gill that the DESC shelter was not allowed by the City’s zoning and indicated we wished to have King County apply for a temporary use permit so that the City could better understand the nature of the shelter and determine whether the shelter could be allowed on a DECLARATION OF DOUG LEVY IN SUPPORT OF CITY’S FINDING OF VIOLATION – Page 2 Renton City Attorney 1055 S. Grady Way Renton, WA 98057-3232 Phone: 425.430.6480 Fax: 425.430.6498 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 short term temporary basis. At the time, the Mayor had indicated a willingness to issue an emergency proclamation, if necessary, to waive certain procedural requirements of a temporary use permit. 4. The City’s desire to proceed by way of a temporary use permit was motivated by its desire to legally accommodate King County’s stated need to immediately de‐intensify homeless shelters by relocating them to the Red Lion Inn on a temporary and short‐term basis. At that time, it was the City’s understanding that King County’s use of the Red Lion Inn would not exceed 90 days. 5. On or about April 10, Karan Gill informed me and the City’s Chief Administrative Officer that King County would not apply for a temporary use permit. We indicated that we would need an agreement and would like to pursue a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which he indicated the County would be willing to work on with us. 6. It is my understanding that the mayor of any code city, including Renton’s Mayor, lacks authority to contractually permit a land use that is disallowed by a city code. Because the administration lacked such authority, it instead offered to forgo/delay formal code enforcement action so long as King County took steps to mitigate the impacts created by the unpermitted use and relocated the shelter by the termination of its original lease term. 7. The City made such offer on April 10 by proposing the MOU attached and incorporated herein as Exhibit A to my declaration. King County rejected that offer and counter DECLARATION OF DOUG LEVY IN SUPPORT OF CITY’S FINDING OF VIOLATION – Page 3 Renton City Attorney 1055 S. Grady Way Renton, WA 98057-3232 Phone: 425.430.6480 Fax: 425.430.6498 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 offered with an agreement that would require the City to refrain from enforcing its code until after any emergency order was lifted, which could have been several months or more. 8. Meanwhile, King County took a hotel in the commercial core of Renton and converted the property to its exclusive use for non‐hotel purposes. The building is not open to the public and unavailable to rent to the public or even for use by other agencies with similar needs. In fact, Leo Flor, the County’s Director of Community & Human Services, denied a request to accommodate up to 25 unsheltered Renton residents at the Red Lion Inn, writing on April 23 that there “is not available capacity at the Red Lion, and DCHS is unfortunately unable to support this request.” 9. Over the proceeding months, the City made multiple attempts to negotiate voluntary code compliance through various versions of the MOU. However, King County consistently insisted upon versions that would require the City to cede its code enforcement authority indefinitely for so long as King County unilaterally determined its use of the shelter was necessary through emergency orders. The City viewed such requests as unreasonable and contrary to the Mayor’s statutory duty to “see that all laws and ordinances are faithfully enforced and that law and order is maintained in the city.” RCW 35A.12.100 10. It is important to understand that the shelter’s operation at the Red Lion Inn is not a mere technical or procedural violation of the City’s code. 11. The shelter is centrally located in the heart of downtown Renton, adjacent to residential uses, a commercial shopping core, and business and office uses. Neighboring DECLARATION OF DOUG LEVY IN SUPPORT OF CITY’S FINDING OF VIOLATION – Page 4 Renton City Attorney 1055 S. Grady Way Renton, WA 98057-3232 Phone: 425.430.6480 Fax: 425.430.6498 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 residents and business owners were reaching out to the City demanding the City enforce its laws and protect them against the impacts of the code violations occurring at the Red Lion Inn. 12. In our attempts to convince King County to voluntarily comply with the City’s zoning and business licensing laws, we conveyed to it the significant detrimental impacts the shelter guests were having on (1) police resources, (2) Renton Regional Fire Authority first responder and fire marshal resources, (3) surrounding residential communities, and (4) surrounding businesses that are struggling to stay afloat operating under COVID‐19 related restrictions. 13. I provided King County documentation from the City’s Police Department and the Renton Regional Fire Authority documenting that calls for emergency service and crime dramatically increased both within the Red Lion Inn property and the surrounding areas. The documented increases were extraordinary. 14. In light of these pressures, the City intensified its efforts to gain voluntary compliance and a commitment by King County to relocate the shelter by a date certain – or at least make every reasonable attempt to relocate within a reasonable period of time. Unfortunately, King County never budged from its position that it would not attempt to relocate the shelter to a lawfully zoned location until after it determined, in its sole discretion, that the COVID‐19 emergency had ended. 15. In our last attempt to negotiate an agreement that included a provision for King County to make efforts to relocate the shelter to a legally zoned location, the City offered flexibility in refraining from enforcement if the County could agree to define objective DECLARATION OF DOUG LEVY IN SUPPORT OF CITY’S FINDING OF VIOLATION – Page 6 Renton City Attorney 1055 S. Grady Way Renton, WA 98057-3232 Phone: 425.430.6480 Fax: 425.430.6498 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 DECLARATION OF SERVICE I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that on _______________, a true and correct copy of the foregoing document was served upon the parties listed below via the method indicated: Renton Hotel Investors, LLC: Sumeer Singla Williams, Kastner & Gibbs PLLC ssingla@williamskastner.com [X] E‐mail [ ] United States Mail [ ] Legal Messenger [ ] E‐Service King County: Howard Schneiderman Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Howard.Schneiderman@kingcounty.gov Youn‐Jung Kim Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jina.Kim@kingcounty.gov Lena Madden Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Lena.Madden@kingcounty.gov [X] E‐mail [ ] United States Mail [ ] Legal Messenger [ ] E‐Service August 5, 2020 DECLARATION OF DOUG LEVY IN SUPPORT OF CITY’S FINDING OF VIOLATION – Page 7 Renton City Attorney 1055 S. Grady Way Renton, WA 98057-3232 Phone: 425.430.6480 Fax: 425.430.6498 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 DESC: Daniel Malone Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) dmalone@desc.org [X] E‐mail [ ] United States Mail [ ] Legal Messenger [ ] E‐Service DATED this ________ day of ___________, 2020, at Maple Valley, Washington. ___________________________ 5th August /s/ Stephanie Rary Stephanie Rary, Paralegal EXHIBIT A 1 From:Armondo Pavone Sent:Friday, April 10, 2020 5:05 PM To:'karan.gill@kingcounty.gov' Cc:Robert Harrison; 'Doug Levy'; Preeti Shridhar Subject:MOU between the City of Renton and King County re: the de-sensitization shelter in Renton Attachments:MOU - King County - Temporary Use of Red Lion Inn Site 4-10-2020.docx Importance:High Please review the attached MOU for the County de‐sensitization shelter as we discussed this morning. Armondo Pavone Mayor, City of Renton 425‐430‐6500 apavone@rentonwa.gov NOTICE OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE: This e‐mail account is public domain. Any correspondence from or to this e‐mail account is a public record. Accordingly, this e‐mail, in whole or in part, may be subject to disclosure pursuant to RCW 42.56, regardless of any claim of confidentiality or privilege asserted by an external party. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN CITY OF RENTON AND KING COUNTY REGARDING THE TEMPORARY USE OF A SITE FOR A COUNTY DE-INTENSIFICATION SHELTER STRICTLY IN RESPONSE AND LIMITED TO THE DURATION OF THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY This Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) is entered into by and between the City of Renton, Washington (the “City”), and King County, Washington (the “County”) (collectively, the City and the County are the “Parties”) as of and effective on the date last signed by the Parties below. RECITALS A. The Parties, as entities of local government, are focused on response to the COVID-19 emergency, while also looking longer-term as their communities transition out of the emergency. B. On March 5, 2020, City of Renton Mayor Armondo Pavone declared an emergency related to the spread of COVID-19 (the “Proclamation of Emergency”). C. The Proclamation of Emergency authorizes the City to exercise emergency powers to take actions without regard to time consuming procedures or formalities that would otherwise be required by law to the extent so required under the exigencies of the situation. D. King County Executive Dow Constantine and his staff are coordinating a County- wide response in conjunction with cities and the Department of Public Health – Seattle and King County to respond to the COVID-19 emergency. E. As a part of that response, the County has determined that some individuals experiencing homelessness are being sheltered for housing in locations in which the capacities do not meet the nationally- and locally-accepted standards for social distancing necessary in the combating of COVID-19. Accordingly, the County desires to reduce the capacity at such locations to improve the County’s response to COVID-19. The County has targeted locations within the County to temporarily re-house individuals during the COVID-19 crisis. The County has termed these temporary sites as “de-intensification shelters.” F. The County has identified the following property within the City of Renton as a site for a de-intensification shelter: the property addressed as 1 South Grady Way, Renton, which is developed with a Red Lion Hotel & Conference Center (the property is hereinafter the “Red Lion Hotel Site”). (The County’s de-intensification shelter proposed at the Red Lion Hotel Site is hereinafter the “De-Intensification Shelter.”) G. The County proposes to house no more than 200 individuals experiencing homelessness in the De-Intensification Shelter in response to the COVID-19 emergency. The County commenced the process of occupying the Red Lion Hotel Site on April 9, 2020. Memorandum of Understanding Page | 2 H. The Red Lion Hotel Site has not been used for a use similar to the De- Intensification Shelter. Nor has the City had a use similar to the De-Intensification Shelter situated within the broad vicinity of the Red Lion Hotel Site. I. The De-Intensification Shelter is a prohibited land use on the Red Lion Hotel Site. Specifically, the City has zoned the Red Lion Hotel Site Commercial Arterial (CA). The Red Lion Hotel Site has been established as a “Hotel” land use under City permitting records, allowed as a use permitted outright in the CA zone. The City defines a Hotel land use as a use limited to “transient rental for sleeping purposes.” Renton Municipal Code 4-11-080. The De- Intensification Shelter does not meet the City’s Hotel definition because the use is for mid-term (not “transient”) and for living purposes (not limited to “sleeping purposes”). J. Because the De-Intensification Shelter does not meet the definition of the established Hotel land use on the Red Lion Hotel Site, the De-Intensification Shelter would not be allowed to occupy the Red Lion Hotel Site under the City’s zoning laws without first obtaining a permit from the City changing the land use from Hotel to a land use applicable to the De-Intensification Shelter. K. However, there is a further complication. Not one of the land uses recognized in the Renton Municipal Code align with the scope of the De-Intensification Shelter. See RMC 4-2- 060 (complete list of land uses recognized in the City); see also chapter 4-11 RMC (definitions). Moreover, the land use recognized by the City that is seemingly most analogous to the De- Intensification Shelter is a “diversion facility” defined in RMC 4-11-040, and diversion facilities are prohibited in the CA zone. RMC 4-2-060.G. “Any prohibited use is illegal and is a misdemeanor punishable under RMC 1-3-1.” RMC 4-2-050.A. L. Due to the De-Intensification Shelter’s prohibited nature under the City’s zoning laws, under a non-emergency situation, the only lawful means for the County to occupy the Red Lion Hotel Site with a De-Intensification Shelter would be by obtaining from the City a Tier II Temporary Use Permit pursuant to RMC 4-9-240 which allow the temporary siting of activities that “are limited or prohibited in the base zone.” RMC 4-9-240.D.2.a. The County prefers to not obtain a Tier II Temporary Use Permit. M. Based on all of the above, the De-Intensification Shelter remains a use that is prohibited on the Red Lion Hotel Site under the City’s zoning laws. The only option for the County to occupy the Red Lion Hotel Site with the De-Intensification Shelter is under emergency conditions in which zoning laws are temporarily suspended during the duration of the COVID-19 emergency only. N. The City is willing to allow the De-Intensification Shelter on the Red Lion Hotel Site strictly in response and limited to the duration of the COVID-19 emergency, subject to the further limitations set forth in this MOU. The County is willing to accept these limitations in order to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Memorandum of Understanding Page | 3 NOW, THEREFORE, the Parties agree as follows: 1. The above recitals are incorporated herein. Use of the Red Lion Hotel Site During the COVID-19 Emergency 2. The County is authorized to temporarily use the Red Lion Hotel Site for the De- Intensification Shelter without first obtaining a Tier II Temporary Use Permit or other land use permits and approvals necessary to lawfully establish the land use, provided that such use complies with all of the terms and conditions of this MOU. 3. This temporary emergency authorization is strictly limited to the De-Intensification Shelter use necessitated by the COVID-19 emergency and contingent upon findings by the County that use of the Red Lion Hotel Site without obtaining permits, undergoing environmental review, and undergoing public notice and comment is necessary to respond to the COVID-19 emergency and the disregard for applicable zoning and environmental laws is separately authorized under the County’s own COVID-19 proclamation of emergency. The City is not authorizing the County to use the Red Lion Hotel Site for any purpose other than the De-Intensification Shelter and only for the duration in direct and urgent response to the COVID-19 emergency, with duration limits further specified in this MOU. 4. The County’s occupancy of the Red Lion Hotel Site with the De-Intensification Shelter is contingent on the following: a. Within one (1) week of the effective date of this MOU: The County’s delivery to the City of the findings specified in Section 3 above. b. Within one (1) week of the effective date of this MOU: The County’s delivery to the City of an Operations Plan that includes, at minimum, each of the following: i. Description of the De-Intensification Shelter as a voluntary or mandatory commitment facility or both. ii. Description of whether this will be a clean and sober facility or a no barrier facility. iii. Plan for onsite medical and/or security staff, including plan to meet needs of any individuals with pre-existing mental health or behavior disorders. iv. Plan for medical transportation. v. Plan for basic social services and life necessities such as food, water, medicine, laundry, and garbage disposal. vi. Plan for any behavioral rules to be in place and any penalties for violation. vii. Plan for controlled access in and out of facility. c. Within four (4) weeks of the effective date of this MOU: The County’s delivery to the City a “Return of Site Plan” that includes, at minimum, each of the following: i. Plan for returning each individual housed in the De-Intensification Shelter Memorandum of Understanding Page | 4 to his or her place of origin at the expiration of this MOU. ii. Plan for returning to his or her place of origin each individual who departs the De-Intensification Shelter prior to the expiration of this MOU. iii. Plan for immediately returning to his or her place of origin each individual who tests negative for COVID-19. 5. The County shall comply with the Operations Plan and the Return of Site Plan. 6. The County shall be solely responsible for ensuring the De-Intensification Shelter is operated safely, meets the social services and nourishment needs of the individuals housed in the De-Intensification Shelter, and protects the surrounding Renton community from undue impacts. Such responsibility shall include the County providing security and policing necessitated by its use of the Red Lion Hotel Site. 7. To the extent the County will alter the Red Lion Hotel Site in a way that would require building permits from the City, the County shall apply for such permits and the City shall expedite its review and approval of such permits. No costs shall be borne by the City. 8. The City Building Official is authorized to waive technical non-compliance with building codes if such waiver is deemed necessary and is not expected to create an undue risk to public safety. 9. Every one (1) week, the County shall prepare and submit a written report to the City documenting: a. How and affirming that the County’s use of the Red Lion Hotel Site is limited to the De-Intensification Shelter; b. The use is strictly limited to and directly and urgently required by the COVID-19 emergency; c. How many individuals are housed in the De-Intensification Shelter; and d. How many of those individuals have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and how many are awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test. The written report shall be delivered to the City’s Chief Administrative Officer and Community and Economic Development Administrator at the following email addresses: RHarrison@Rentonwa.gov and CVincent@Rentonwa.gov. Return of Site; Expiration of this MOU 10. This MOU shall expire on the date sixty (60) days after the MOU’s effective date. 11. Upon expiration of this MOU, the County shall immediately: a. Discontinue use of the Red Lion Site as a De-Intensification Shelter. b. Implement any remaining obligations of the Return of Site Plan. Memorandum of Understanding Page | 5 This provision shall survive the expiration of this MOU. Miscellaneous Provisions 12. By entering into this MOU, the City disclaims any special relationship or other circumstances that may act as an exception to the public duty doctrine. 13. Except as expressly set forth in this MOU, this MOU shall not in any way be deemed a waiver of the City’s permitting, zoning or other regulatory authority, which the City specifically reserves the right to enforce. 14. The authorizations covered by this MOU shall not be construed as creating a legally vested land use or provide the County or underlying property owner with any vested property rights. Upon expiration of this MOU, the only lawful land use on the Red Lion Hotel Site shall return to the previously-established Hotel land use. Any other land use and any use extending beyond the expiration of this MOU is prohibited, subject to the City’s enforcement and criminal prosecution as a misdemeanor. 15. The County acknowledges and agrees that the City has and retains all rights under law and equity to address any violations of this MOU and/or damages of any kind whatsoever arising from this MOU. 16. The County agrees to release, indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the City, elected officials, employees, officers, representatives, and volunteers from any and all claims, demands, actions, suits, causes of action, arbitrations, mediations, proceedings, judgments, awards, injuries, damages, liabilities, taxes, losses, fines, fees, penalties, expenses, attorney’s or attorneys’ fees, costs, and/or litigation expenses to or by any and all persons or entities, arising from, resulting from, or related to the County’s negligent acts, errors or omissions relating to this MOU or a breach of this MOU by the County, except for any portion of claims caused by the City’s sole negligence. Should a court of competent jurisdiction determine that this MOU is subject to RCW 4.24.115, (Validity of agreement to indemnify against liability for negligence relative to construction, alteration, improvement, etc., of structure or improvement attached to real estate…) then, in the event of liability for damages arising out of bodily injury to persons or damages to property caused by or resulting from the concurrent negligence of the County and the City, its officers, officials, employees and volunteers, the County’s liability shall be only to the extent of the County’s negligence. The provisions of this section shall survive the expiration of this MOU. Memorandum of Understanding Page | 6 17. This MOU may be amended only by an instrument in writing, duly executed by both Parties. 18. The Parties may execute this MOU in any number of counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original, and all of which will together constitute this one MOU. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties voluntarily enter into this MOU. CITY OF RENTON By:_____________________________ Armondo Pavone Mayor _____________________________ Date KING COUNTY By:____________________________ _____________________________ Date Attest _____________________________ Jason A. Seth City Clerk Approved as to Legal Form By: __________________________ Shane Moloney City Attorney