BURIEN, Wash. — King County and the King County sheriff filed a legal complaint to determine the constitutionality of a recent amendment made to Burien's public camping ban.
Last week, the Burien City Council approved an amendment to its existing ordinance that would create more limitations for people experiencing homelessness in the city. The amendment, approved by a 5-2 vote, creates a 500-foot buffer zone around parks, libraries, schools, daycares, and senior centers and makes it illegal for the unhoused to sleep overnight in those areas.
On Monday, King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall filed the complaint with the United States District Court due to "serious concerns" over the amendment. In addition to determining the constitutionality of the amendment itself, Cole-Tindall is asking the court if the King County Sheriff's Office (KSCO) is required to enforce unconstitutional laws, as there is still pending litigation against the ordinance under state law.
The county is also concerned with the speed at which the amendment was passed. The City of Burien deemed it an emergency, so there was no opportunity for public comment. Law enforcement departments who would be tasked with enforcing it were not consulted before it was passed, according to the county.
Currently, Cole-Tindall is instructing the department not to enforce the amended ordinance.
KCSO did enforce the previous version of the ordinance, which required law enforcement to offer services and temporary housing to those who were in violation of it. Now, Cole-Tindall said, officials are expected to arrest people for misdemeanors.
"They did not consult with us prior to passing this ordinance. We have an obligation to avoid engaging in conduct that has been addressed in federal litigation and found to be unconstitutional," Cole-Tindall said at a press conference Monday afternoon.
In a statement, the City of Burien said it was disappointed about the complaint. The statement read, in part:
"The filing of a complaint in federal court has come as a surprise as the City of Burien was actively working to schedule a meeting with King County Sheriff Cole-Tindall later this week, per the Sheriff and King County's request, to discuss the existing issue between our respective agencies.
It is unfortunate that King County and King County Sheriff’s Office have chosen to cast the shadow of a federal complaint over a meeting that was intended to seek a mutually benefiting solution to a complicated issue."
Cole-Tindall said the amendment criminalizes things that people can't help and KCSO does not agree with the City of Burien on where that line was drawn.
"This step is crucial in ensuring the rights of all people within our jurisdiction are protected and upheld and our deputies have the guidance they need to do their work," Cole-Tindall said.
Alison Eisinger, executive director Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, a group that joined Burien residents to sue Burien over the initial ordinance, called it "cruel and unconstitutional." She sent KING 5 a statement that read, in part:
"Last Monday, the Burien City Council amended it to make a very bad law even worse. The King County Sheriff rightly identifies this law as inconsistent with federal law. She said it puts Sheriff’s Deputies (not to mention people who are homeless) in an untenable position. It is *not* a crime to be homeless, but this law goes pretty far in a blatant attempt to make it one."
When the amendment was passed on March 4, supporters argued the stricter ban would make Burien safer. They cited incidents of public drug use, being attacked or threatened by people experiencing homelessness and having unidentified smoke blown in their faces.