FRANKLIN COUNTY, Wash. – In a regular meeting this morning, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners spent over an hour discussing the impacts of a less restrictive alternative planned to house registered sex offenders in Kennewick.
Mayors from Pasco, Kennewick, Richland and Connell attended this morning’s workshop. The Board of Commissioners and Kennewick Mayor Jason McShane noted the failure of eight bills introduced by Tri-Cities lawmakers this legislative session aimed at tightening regulations and addressing housing concerns.
Pasco Mayor Charles Grimm acknowledged their limited options in opposing the housing plan.
“Talking with Mayor McShane earlier this morning, it’s really a wake-up call too,” Mayor Grimm said. “We just may not have the resources, the law, the ability, or just even the codes to even fight this. This is coming down from the state.”
On February 17, the Pasco City Council unanimously voted to declare a six-month moratorium on applications related to “essential public facilities,” including less restrictive alternative housing and secure community transition facilities. This temporary ban allows the city to gather public input and prepare changes to city ordinances.
Kennewick Mayor McShane addressed a question about the moratorium’s actual impact moving forward.
“It depends on what’s being proposed. So, what we understand, and this is the challenge, there’s no moratorium that Kennewick can issue on a less restrictive, or what we call these community housing, because there is no application being provided to us. So what are we putting the moratorium on?” Mayor McShane said.
No decisions were made at the meeting, as it was just a conversation. The commissioners and mayors briefly mentioned the idea of a town hall meeting for residents to voice their input on LRAs across the region as a whole.
The entire board of commissioners meeting can be found here.
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