The Kennewick City Council has approved a six-month moratorium on new housing for registered sex offenders within city limits, giving local officials time to draft tighter rules. Mayor Jason McShane said city staff had been researching the municipal code to find ways to challenge the placement of such facilities, and that the pause now gives the city six months to get new code into place. He cautioned that the moratorium cannot be extended beyond that window, making the coming months critical.
McShane framed the measure as an opportunity rather than just a stopgap, saying it lets the city continue work that has already been going on in collaboration with other cities and counties. The aim, he indicated, is to develop a clearer local framework before any new facility is proposed, rather than reacting once plans are already in motion.
The decision follows a controversy earlier this year, when a less restrictive alternative home was proposed near Edison Street and 8th Avenue. The plan drew widespread public concern from residents, and although the project was ultimately withdrawn, McShane said it left city leaders with a series of unanswered questions about how such homes are sited.
According to the mayor, much of the alarm stemmed from confusion over what the facilities actually are. He said many residents, and even officials, did not understand the proposal until it arrived in Kennewick. McShane stressed that the people who would live in such homes are not individuals simply released from prison, but added that no formal application is made to the city for approval, which is what the city ran into earlier this year.
During the six-month moratorium, the city could look into changing zoning requirements for the facilities or require a conditional use permit before one is established. Officials hope the additional review time will let them build a legal framework that gives Kennewick more say over where the homes are placed.
A central frustration, McShane said, is that current state law does not give cities enough notice before a facility is planned. He explained that a private property owner could go straight to court, where a judge could make a determination, after which the city would receive only 30 days of notice before a home opened.
Citing that gap, McShane is calling on state leaders to change the law for all Washington communities, not just Kennewick. He said he has asked both the governor's office and the state legislature to review the statute, describing the current situation as completely unacceptable because it does not give communities the protection they need against these types of placements.