HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 14 - 08-05-2020 - COR - Opening Brief In Support of Finding of Violation Regarding Red Lion De-Intensification ShelterITEM NO. 14
HEX-000101
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 1 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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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
CITY OF RENTON’S OPENING BRIEF IN
SUPPORT OF FINDING OF VIOLATION
REGARDING RED LION DE-INTENSIFICATION
SHELTER
I. INTRODUCTION AND RELIEF REQUESTED
On June 30, 2020, the City of Renton (the “City”) issued a Finding of Violation (the
FOV”) to three entities associated with operating a “de-intensification shelter” out of the
former Red Lion Hotel & Conference Center, located at 1 South Grady Way (the “Property”).
See COR 11 and COR 7 (FOV and the Declaration of Donna Locher). The three entities are King
County (“King County”), the Downtown Emergency Service Center (“DESC”) which operates the
1 All references to “COR #” in this document refer to the numbering of the exhibits that the City offers in this
matter, as further described and produced in the City’s Witness and Exhibit List disclosures.
HEX-000102
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 2 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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de-intensification shelter, and Renton Hotel Investors, LLC (“RHI”) which owns the Property.
Collectively, the three entities are the “Persons in Control” as that term is used in RMC 1-3-
2.B.7.) King County and RHI requested a hearing; DESC did not.
Consistent with past practice for administrative code enforcement hearings, the Acting
Community and Economic Development Administrator (“CED Administrator”) designated the
Hearing Examiner to act on behalf of the CED Administrator to make a final determination.
Now, the City requests that the Hearing Examiner make a final determination consistent with
the FOV that:
1) The de-intensification shelter operating at the Property is a land use not allowed by
the Property’s zoning designation under RMC 4-2-060;
2) The de-intensification shelter at the Property is operating without a required City
business license in violation of RMC 5-5-3.E.5; and
3) Starting on August 9, 2020, daily fines shall accrue in the amount of $250 for each
day any or all of the Persons in Control continue to operate the de-intensification shelter at the
Property.2
III. STATEMENT OF FACTS
A. The Property Is Being Operated As A “De-Intensification Shelter” Contrary To The
Property’s Established Land Use As A “Hotel.”
1. The Property’s only lawfully-established land use is “Hotel,” and the de-
intensification shelter is not a Hotel land use.
2 The requested fines pursuant to RMC 1-3-2.D.2.c are remedial in nature and do not preclude the City from
separately pursuing criminal penalties and/or injunctive relief from a court of competent jurisdiction. See RMC 1-
3-2.B.5 and RCW 1-3-2.F.
HEX-000103
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 3 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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The Property is located at 1 S Grady Way, Renton Washington; King County Parcel No.
3340401630. See COR 8 (Declaration of Vanessa Dolbee), ¶4. The City zoned the Property and
many of the nearby properties as Commercial Arterial (“CA”). COR 8, Exh. A (zoning map). The
CA zone is envisioned as a commercial zone subject to intentional, integrated business and
mixed-use development. See RMC 4-2-020.M (“The purpose of the Commercial Arterial Zone
CA) is to evolve from ‘strip commercial’ linear business districts to business areas characterized
by enhanced site planning and pedestrian orientation, incorporating efficient parking lot design,
coordinated access, amenities and boulevard treatment with greater densities”). Consistent
with the Red Lion’s CA zoning and with its development as a Red Lion Hotel & Conference
Center, the Property has been designated by the City as a “Hotel” land use. COR 8, ¶6. In the
City of Renton, a Hotel land use is:
A building or portion thereof designed or used for transient rental for sleeping
purposes. Hotel structures are at least two (2) stories in height, with lodging
space above the first floor. Lodging space may also be located on the first floor.
Individual rooms are typically accessed from a common hallway. A central
kitchen and dining room and accessory shops and services catering to the
general public may be provided. Not included in this definition are multi-family
dwellings, bed and breakfasts, or motels.
RMC 4-11-080 (emphasis added).
While the Property was operated as the Red Lion Hotel & Conference Center, it was in
compliance with the land use provisions of RMC 4-2-060 which allow a Hotel land use on CA-
zoned properties. COR 8, ¶7. But the Property is no longer operated as the Red Lion Hotel &
Conference Center.
RHI asserts that its hotel business generation dissipated almost immediately after the
State and County issued emergency orders in March 2020 due to the pandemic. COR 5, ¶ 6
HEX-000104
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 4 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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Declaration of Dayabir “Pintu” Bath). When RHI lost its hotel revenue, it was willing to obtain
an alternative revenue source. See COR 5, ¶8. Accordingly, on April 2, 2020, RHI entered into
an agreement with King County (the “Agreement”) under which King County agreed to pay RHI
330, 750 per month to rent the entire Property. COR 10, §6a (the Agreement). Under the
Agreement, King County rented from RHI the entire Property and all of its rooms for an initial
90-day period. Id., §§2, 3. Although King County titled the Agreement a “license,” the
Agreement conveys to King County sole control for perpetual use of the Property and seizes
from RHI (the owner) the ability to hold out hotel rooms to the general public. Id.
King County turned over operation of the Property to DESC. Just one week after the
Agreement’s effective date, DESC began operating a de-intensification shelter at the Property,
on April 9, 2020. COR 2, ¶47 (Declaration of Daniel Malone). The term “de-intensification
shelter” originates, at least in part, with a Local Health Officer Order issued by Seattle & King
County Public Health (“Public Health”). Specifically, on March 31, 2020, Jeff Duchin, who is the
Local Health Officer for King County, issued a Local Health Officer Order authorizing local
governments to use legally available resources to “de-intensify or reduce the density of existing
homeless shelters and encampments” in response to COVID-19:
THEREFORE, as the Local Health Officer for King County, I further hereby ORDER
that King County, through the Executive or his designee, as well as the local cities
and towns, are authorized to use legally available resources to: de-intensify or
reduce the density of existing homelessness shelters and encampments, as well
as other essential programs such as food services and sobering centers; address
hygiene needs of homeless individuals, such as washing, showers, and toilets,
and for increased sanitation services such as garbage removal, pumping out of
septic containers, and collection of sharps, since normal public and non-profit
services are closed or have reduced offerings; disinfecting facilities used for and
by the public; and, provide support for services, such as public supportive
HEX-000105
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 5 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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housing providers and shelter services, who have had enhanced cleaning needs,
personal protective equipment (PPE), supplies, and staffing needs since their
clients are at a higher risk category and need increased support to understand
social distancing, for the purpose of further reducing the spread of COVID-19,
and for those enumerated purposes only; and
Local Health Officer Order, March 31, 2020 (emphasis added). COR 3, Attachments A and B.
Not only did the Local Health Officer Order pertaining to de-intensification efforts limit such
efforts to “legally available resources,” the Local Health Officer Order expressly advises that
T]his Order [does not] authorize illegal means or behavior.” Id.
Despite the Local Health Officer Order’s limitation to using only “legally available
resources” without “illegal means or behavior,” in early April 2020, King County peremptorily
facilitated the relocation of DESC’s main shelter from downtown Seattle across from the King
County courthouse to the Property within the City for use as a de-intensification shelter,
without engaging in any City permitting process. COR 8, ¶8. The location of the main shelter
across the street from the King County Courthouse was associated in the press with repeated
emergency calls. See COR 11, Exh. D (DESC admitted in response to a KOMO news piece: “Yes,
there [were] lots of emergency calls to this location”). By the end of 2019, the King County
courthouse temporarily closed to protect the safety of the court’s employees and guests. COR
11, Exh. G (Seattle Times article titled “Unprovoked street attack becomes ‘catalyst’ to address
crime, security outside King County Courthouse”). Consistent with that reputation, the City and
Renton Regional Fire Authority’s first responders have experienced extraordinary growth in
calls to the property and surrounding area. COR 13, ¶13 (Declaration of Doug Levy). County
representatives insist its use of the Property will continue until King County determines, in its
sole discretion, the COVID-19 emergency has ended. Id., ¶¶7, 9, 14, and 15.
HEX-000106
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 6 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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The operation of the de-intensification shelter out of the same physical structure as the
former Red Lion Hotel & Conference Center does not mean that the new shelter use is also a
Hotel land use. In fact, despite the Agreement’s “contemplation” that the Property would be
used for “temporary lodging” (COR 10, §6c), the following list of facts proves that the de-
intensification shelter that actually operates at the Property is nothing like a Hotel land use:
1) RHI now has a single payor for the entire property, rather than offering for rent
individual rooms or blocks of rooms. COR 10, §2 (Agreement rents “all of the
Rooms” to King County); COR 12, ¶3 (Declaration of Sergeant Russell R. Radke).
2) The shelter’s clients live at the shelter, exceeding the “transient” nature of a Hotel
See COR 2, ¶53 (DESC’s Daniel Malone acknowledges that this housing is part of
DESC’s “efforts to assist people with permanent housing acquisition”).
3) The shelter’s clients receive meal services, medical services, mental health services,
behavioral control services, mail services, and laundry services, exceeding the
limited “sleeping purposes” of a Hotel:
COR 2, ¶51 (DESC’s Daniel Malone: “We deliver pre-packaged meals to
clients in their rooms to minimize the need for clients to go out and seek
food”).
COR 2, ¶52 (DESC’s Daniel Malone: “The entire staff team from DESC’s main
shelter in Seattle has been relocated to the Red Lion for the duration of our
stay there, which includes on-site medical care and case management”).
COR 4, ¶32 (King County’s Leo Flor: “Harborview Medical Center continues
to provide integrated physical healthcare for Red Lion clients”).
HEX-000107
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 7 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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COR 11, Exh. E (DESC describes its services as including “mental health
counseling and chemical dependency counseling”); COR 11, Exh. F (DESC
provides “survival services”).
COR 2, ¶57 (DESC’s Daniel Malone: “DESC communicates to clients
expectations of behavior in the neighborhood surrounding the Red Lion via a
good neighbor agreement,’ which includes prohibitions against unlawful
behavior and also lawful behavior that causes community concerns such as
panhandling”).
COR 12, Exh. A (DESC’s Client Rules and Expectations: “Mail: Use the mailing
address found on your DESC card. Mail will be delivered Tuesdays and
Thursdays”.)
COR 12, Exh. A (DESC’s Client Rules and Expectations: “Personal laundry:
Will be done weekly. You will be given a laundry bag to put things in. You
will be assigned a pickup day.”)
4) The Property has been fenced off, and access is restricted. COR 4, ¶34; COR 11, Exh.
C (Operations Plan, §§3 and 7); COR 12, ¶4.
5) The Red Lion Hotel & Conference Center is listed as “sold out” on its website and
closed” on hotel booking websites. COR 11, Exhs. A and B.
6) The outward indication of the former Red Lion Hotel & Conference Center business
at the Property is gone as a result of the Agreement’s requirement that all Red Lion
signage “remain completely covered” for the duration of the Agreement. COR 10,
6e.
HEX-000108
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 8 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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7) Unlike a Hotel, the Property is not offered to the general public; DESC hand-selects
who lives in the shelter as its clients based upon its assessment of their vulnerability.
COR 11, Exh. H (detailing DESC’s Vulnerability Assessment Tool, which is designed to
ensure it only serves the most vulnerable, many who cope with mental illness and
substance use disorders). The selectivity is so restrictive and the Persons in Control
use of the Property are so exclusive that the Persons in Control denied access to the
City’s own homeless population when the City asked whether the shelter would
accommodate such individuals. COR 13, ¶8.
2. The de-intensification shelter is not an allowed use in the CA zone.
The Persons in Control did not seek any use permit from the City for the de-
intensification shelter. COR 8, ¶8 (Declaration of Vanessa Dolbee). Even when a property
proposes to change from one land use allowed outright in a zone to another land use allowed
outright in the zone, a change of use permit from the City may be required. COR 8, ¶9.
However, here, a “de-intensification shelter” is not a use found anywhere in the Renton
Municipal Code, whether as a use allowed outright, or as a use subject to conditional use
permitting. See RMC 4-2-060 (listing all recognized uses in the City, and not listing a “de-
intensification shelter” or a “congregate shelter” as the Persons in Control have also labeled the
de-intensification shelter).
Moreover, all of the other even potentially relevant land uses are either not allowed in
the CA zone or are not allowed without undergoing a conditional use permit process that the
Persons in Control have never pursued. This is illustrated in the following excerpted zoning use
table which lists the potentially relevant land uses and whether each is allowed outright
HEX-000109
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 9 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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designated by a “P” or “P#”), conditionally allowed (designated by an “AD” or “H), or
prohibited (designated by a blank).
4-2-060 Zoning Use Table – Uses Allowed in Zoning Designations (EXCERPTED):
LEGEND]
Blank = Not Allowed
P = Permitted Use
P# = Permitted provided condition can be met
AD = Administrative Conditional Use
H = Hearing Examiner Conditional Use
AC = Accessory Use
Condition(s)
USES: CA ZONE:
D. OTHER RESIDENTIAL, LODGING AND HOME OCCUPATIONS
Congregate residence3 [Blank]4
Group Homes I AD
Group Homes II for 7 or more H
G. OTHER COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC FACILITIES
Diversion facility and diversion interim service facility [Blank]
Other government offices and facilities H
The de-intensification shelter does not meet any of the above uses’ definitions. (See
attached Appendix for the Renton Municipal Code definition of each of those uses.) For that
reason, the only option for lawfully locating the shelter within the limits of the City of Renton
3 Definition for each land use in this table is found in the attached Appendix.
4 A blank in the zoning use table means that the land use at issue is prohibited in the zone. See Legend, above, and
RMC 4-2-060.
HEX-000110
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 10 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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would have been to follow the “unclassified use” process in which the de-intensification shelter
would be matched to the most similar land use recognized by the Renton Municipal Code and
then would be subject to that use’s zoning standards. See RMC 4-2-050.C.6 (Unclassified Use
process).5
From the information available to the City to date, of the land uses recognized in the
Renton Municipal Code, the de-intensification shelter is most similar to a “congregate
residence,” “diversion facility,” or a “diversion interim service facility.” COR 8, ¶10. Therefore,
the outcome of the Unclassified Use process would have been to categorize the de-
intensification shelter as one of those three uses. See COR 8, ¶11. Importantly, none of those
uses is allowed in the CA zone, not even with a conditional use permit. See RMC 4-2-060
congregate residence” only allowed in Center Village and Center Downtown zones and
conditionally in R-14 zones; “diversion facility” and “diversion interim service facility” only
allowed in Medium Industrial and Heavy Industrial zones if south of I-405).
In sum, the de-intensification shelter cannot lawfully operate at the Property due to the
Property’s CA zoning.
B. The Persons In Control Failed To Obtain A Business License For The De-
Intensification Shelter.
In the City of Renton, it is unlawful for any person to operate a business without a City
business license:
It shall be illegal for any person and/or license holder to fail to obtain or maintain
a general business license and yet engage in business within City limits. Each
5 The Persons in Control could also have sought a temporary use permit, but King County refused to do so. See
discussion in the Declaration of Doug Levy, COR 13, ¶¶ 3–5.
HEX-000111
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 11 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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business enterprise, its owner or agent who fails to obtain or maintain a general
business license, in addition to the fines/penalties contained in subsections 5-5-
3.E.1 or 2 as they exist or may be amended, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and subject to the penalties of RMC 1-3-1, as it exists or may be amended.”
RMC 5-5-3.E.5.
None of the Persons in Control sought a business license to operate the de-
intensification shelter at the Property. COR 9, ¶4 (Declaration of Nate Malone).
DESC did not and still has not applied for a business license to operate its shelter in
Renton. COR 9, ¶ 4. Notably, DESC does have a state business license and business license in
the City of Seattle. COR 9, ¶5.
As to RHI, it has a business license to operate the prior Hotel use at the property. COR
9, Exh. A. RHI did not and still has not applied for a business license for the new shelter
operation. COR 9, ¶4. It asserts that it is continuing under its former business license. COR 5,
18 (Declaration of Dayabir “Pintu” Bath). City business licenses are non-transferable, and that
license was issued to a different primary operator for a different business. COR 9, ¶7.
Finally, King County did not and still has not applied for a business license for the new
shelter operation. COR 9, ¶4.
C. For Months, The City Attempted To Gain Voluntary Compliance From The
Persons In Control Before The City Was Compelled To Issue The FOV.
The City advised King County and RHI of the illegality of converting the Hotel to an
unpermitted land use promptly upon learning of such conversion. COR 13, ¶3. However, rather
than immediately commence formal code enforcement; the City sought voluntary compliance
by King County to relocate the shelter within the initial 90-day term of the Agreement. Id., ¶2-7.
It did so first by offering the opportunity for a temporary use permit with Mayoral emergency
HEX-000112
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 12 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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waivers of certain requirements. Id., ¶¶3-4. When King County declined to apply for such
permit, the City offered a memorandum of understanding by which the City would agree to
temporarily refrain from commencing code enforcement in order to allow King County and
DESC to search for alternative lawful locations. Id., ¶¶5-7. King County refused the City’s offers
and would not agree to search for alternative legal locations. Id., ¶¶7, 9, 14-15.
In sum, the City issued the FOV only after unsuccessfully exhausting attempts to gain
King County’s agreement to voluntarily work on relocation plans where the shelter could be
legally located for the remaining duration of the COVID-19 emergency. Id., ¶16.
D. In Response To The FOV, King County And RHI Timely Requested A Hearing.
DESC Did Not.
The City issued the FOV on June 30, 2020. COR 1. King County and RHI requested a
hearing on July 15, 2020. COR 7, ¶6. DESC never requested a hearing. See id.
III. EVIDENCE RELIED UPON
The City will submit a witness and exhibit list on August 5, 2020, and again on August 12,
2020. The City relies on the witness testimony and other documentary evidence disclosed in
those lists and contemporaneously produced.
IV. AUTHORITY
A. Violation 1: The Shelter Is A Land Use Not Allowed In The CA Zoning Designation .
1. The de-intensification shelter operations do not meet the RMC definition of a
hotel” use.
The de-intensification shelter is not a Hotel use. Hotels offer rooms for transient rental
for sleeping purposes. RMC 4-11-080. Although the term “transient” is not defined in the City
HEX-000113
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 13 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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code, the term “transient rental” should be read in the context of both how hotels are
commonly understood to operate and as those terms are used under related state law.
In Smith v. Dorchester Hotel Co., 145 Wash. 344, 259 P. 1085 (1927), the court construed the
word transient to distinguish between guests and lodgers, noting that the term transient is
used to denote guests and guests have a home elsewhere and do not have a special contract
for their stay. In the court’s words:
The facts in this case clearly demonstrate to our minds that the respondent was a
lodger. If it be conceded that, when he left the family residence on November 2,
1925, it was still his home because he might return there at any time prior to the
divorce, still he did not have any home after the divorce decree of January 22, 1926,
except the home which he maintained at the hotel of appellants. His stay was
not transient in the sense that it is ordinarily used to denote a guest. He was
stopping at the hotel, making it his home until such time as he should, for any
reason, determine to move to another place. He had a special contract for his room
paying therefor at a weekly rate less than the day rate. He lodged at the hotel for
a period of approximately four months.
145 Wash. at 347 (emphasis added).
The City’s use of “transient rental” is consistent with RCW 19.48.010’s tie to the
common law distinction that hotels are held out to the public for rent to transient guests. RCW
19.48.010 defines hotel as follows:
Any building held out to the public to be an inn, hotel or public lodging house or
place where sleeping accommodations, whether with or without meals, or the
facilities for preparing the same, are furnished for hire to transient guests, in
which three or more rooms are used for the accommodation of such guests, shall
for the purposes of this chapter and chapter 60.64 RCW, or any amendment
thereof, only, be defined to be a hotel, and whenever the word hotel shall occur in
this chapter and chapter 60.64 RCW, or any amendment thereof, it shall be
construed to mean a hotel as herein described.
HEX-000114
CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
VIOLATION – Page 14 Renton City Attorney
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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Emphasis added. The Persons in Control are not holding out the de-intensification to be
available to the public for “hire” or for “rental.”
In addition, although RHI understandably asserts that its hotel business generation
dissipated due to the pandemic, economic hardship is irrelevant to defining the nature of the
use. The only thing that looks the same is the physical structure of the building: hotel
structures are divided into segregated rooms that mimic living spaces without significant tenant
significant work required. But the convenience of a de-intensification shelter using a former
hotel building does not render the de-intensification shelter a Hotel land use. The operation of
the de-intensification shelter out of the same physical structure as the former Red Lion Hotel &
Conference Center is nothing like a Hotel use. See discussion in the Statement of Facts, above.
2. The de-intensification shelter’s operations conflict with a Hotel’s economic
development purposes.
For purposes of collecting various forms of hotel taxation – which the City is reliant upon
for general revenue, economic development, and the promotion of tourism – the Washington
Department of Revenue defines the term “transient tenant” in the following context:
Transient tenant defined. The term "transient tenant" as used in this rule means
any guest, resident, or other occupant to whom lodging and other services are
furnished under a license to use real property for less than one month , or less
than thirty continuous days if the rental period does not begin on the first day of
the month. Providing lodging for a continuous period of one month or more to a
guest, resident, or other occupant is a rental or lease of real property. It is
presumed that when lodging is provided for a continuous period of one month or
more, or thirty continuous days or more if the rental period does not begin on
the first day of the month, the guest, resident, or other occupant purchasing the
lodging is a nontransient upon the thirtieth day without regard to a specific
lodging unit occupied throughout the continuous thirty-day period. An occupant
who contracts in advance and remains in continuous occupancy for the initial
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Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
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thirty days will be considered a nontransient from the first day of occupancy
provided in the contract.
WAC 458-20-166 (emphasis added).
Here, King County rented all rooms on the Property for an initial 90-day period, but this
has been extended with King County reserving the right to extend indefinitely pursuant to the
Agreement. King County can perpetually use the Property for exclusive use, depriving the
owners of the Property from holding hotel rooms out to rent to the general public. As a result,
despite the property being established in City records as a Hotel land use, the Property is not
generating sales tax or hotel lodging tax in the way that a hotel would. This form of “rental” is
not a transient hotel room rental within the context of City of Renton or Washington law.
3. The de-intensification shelter does not fit the definition of any land use allowed
in the CA zone.
As described above in the Statement of Facts, the de-intensification shelter does not
meet the definition of a “Hotel” land use which is the only legally established use on the
Property. The Persons in Control label the shelter use as a “congregate shelter” and “de-
intensification” facility (See, e.g., COR 4, passim (Declaration of Leo Flor)), but as explained
above in the Statement of Facts these are not uses recognized in the City, and none of the
potentially analogous uses are allowed in the CA zone.
B. The De-Intensification Shelter Operates Without A City Business License, In
Violation Of The Renton Municipal Code.
The City of Renton requires all businesses physically conducting business within the City
to first apply for a business license. COR 9, ¶ 8. Applications are required even if the business
may be exempt from taxation or application fees. Id.
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1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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Business licenses and registrations are used by the City for many purposes. COR 9, ¶9.
One purpose is to allow the City to know what businesses are operating within the City and to
assist in determining whether such businesses are subject to the City’s business and operations
tax. Id. One of the regulatory purposes of this requirement is to allow the City to check to see
if the business’ planned use of property complies with City zoning and building regulations. Id.
By failing to seek a business license for the de-intensification shelter, the Persons in
Control are operating in violation of RMC 5-5-3.E.5 and thwarting the City’s business licensing
purposes.
C. The FOV Is a Final Determination as to DESC.
Because DESC failed to request a hearing in response to the FOV served on DESC, the
FOV is final as to DESC. See RMC 1-3-2.C.2.b. To the extent that the Hearing Examiner might
take a different view, the City incorporates as to DESC all statements and arguments presented
in this brief.
V. CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, the City respectfully requests that the Hearing
Examiner, acting on designation on behalf of the CED Administrator, issue a final determination
that the Red Lion Shelter (1) is a land use not allowed in the CA zoning designation and (2)
operates without a Renton business license contrary to RMC 5-5-3.E.5.
Consistent with the FOV, the City requests the Hearing Examiner issue an order
imposing $250 daily fines against each Person in Control separately for each day the Property
operates as a shelter starting on August 9, 2020 (the compliance date set in the FOV). This is
the only remedy sought by the City from the Hearing Examiner through confirmation of the
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1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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FOV. The City reserves the right to pursue all other remedies and penalties available to it
separately from the FOV.
Respectfully submitted this 5th day of August, 2020.
By: /s/ Shane Moloney
Shane Moloney
City Attorney
City of Renton
Attachments:
Declaration of Service
Appendix
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Renton, WA 98057-3232
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Fax: 425.430.6498
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DECLARATION OF SERVICE
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that on
August 5, 2020, 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
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1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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DESC:
Daniel Malone
Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC)
dmalone@desc.org
X] E-mail [ ] United States Mail [ ] Legal Messenger [ ] E-Service
DATED this 5th day of August, 2020, at Renton, Washington.
s/ Stephanie Rary
Stephanie Rary, Paralegal
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CITY’S OPENING BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF FINDING OF
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1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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APPENDIX
Potentially Relevant Land Use Definitions (Source: Renton Municipal Code ch. 4-11)
Presented in the Order Listed in RMC 4-2-060
CONGREGATE RESIDENCE: Any building or portion thereof that contains facilities for living,
sleeping and sanitation and may include facilities for eating and cooking for occupancy for other
than a family. A congregate residence may include a boarding house, but does not include a
group home I or II, convalescent center, jail, hotel, motel or secure community transition facility
GROUP HOME I (REHABILITATION): A facility or dwelling unit housing persons, unrelated by
blood or marriage and operating as a group facility household. A rehabilitative group home may
include halfway houses and substance abuse recovery homes. This definition does not include
congregate residential or secure community transition facilities.
GROUP HOME II (PROTECTIVE RESIDENCY): A facility or dwelling unit housing persons,
including resident staff, unrelated by blood or marriage and operating as a group family
household. Staff persons provide care, education, and participation in community activities for
the residents with the primary goal of enabling the resident to live as independently as
possible. A protective residency may include disabled (mentally and physically) persons, foster
child care, abused women shelter, orphanages and other uses where residents are deemed
vulnerable and/or disabled and are not a threat to self or to public health or safety. This
definition does not include congregate residential or secure community transition facilities.
DIVERSION FACILITY: A facility which provides community crisis services, whereby individuals
are diverted from jails, hospitals or other treatment options due to mental illness or chemical
dependency.
DIVERSION INTERIM SERVICE FACILITY: A facility which provides interim or respite services,
such as temporary shelter, medical/mental health treatment, case management or other
support options such as transportation arrangements for patients referred to such a facility
from a diversion facility.
GOVERNMENT FACILITIES, OTHER: Facilities of any unit of county, state, federal, or special
district government. Types of facilities include community centers, vehicle and drivers licensing
offices, public works maintenance facilities, courts of law, school support facilities, and other
types of county, state, school district, special district, or federal facilities. This definition
excludes offices, jails, parks, transit centers, park & rides, sewage treatment plants, schools,
municipally owned golf courses or airports, and libraries.
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1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-3232
Phone: 425.430.6480
Fax: 425.430.6498
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HOTEL: A building or portion thereof designed or used for transient rental for sleeping
purposes. Hotel structures are at least two (2) stories in height, with lodging space above the
first floor. Lodging space may also be located on the first floor. Individual rooms are typically
accessed from a common hallway. A central kitchen and dining room and accessory shops and
services catering to the general public may be provided. Not included in this definition are
multi-family dwellings, bed and breakfasts, or motels.
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