HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchneiderman2 Attachment 1
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.
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