Washington state accused of attempting to remove restrictions for rehousing sex offenders without local government knowledge

According to documents obtained by The Center Square, the recommendations were included in its 2022 report to the State Legislature and one county called out officials for attempting to remove a requirement for public notice and public comment before permitting less restrictive facilities for violent sex offenders to be placed in neighborhoods.

In the report, the Sex Offender Policy Board (SOPB) recommended that the Legislature remove sections of a statute referring to Less Restrictive Alternatives (LRA) including “applicable state and local zoning and building codes” and “…other considerations identified in accordance with RCW 71.09.315,” even though the facilities are currently required to follow state law “applicable state and local zoning and building codes, general housing requirements, availability of public services, and other considerations,” and within a separate statute requires public notice and a public hearing for any special use or conditional permits for those facilities.

LRAs were pushed by Democrats in the state to be used as housing for level 3 sex offenders, deemed the worst of the worst and most likely to re-offend, as an alternative to confinement at the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island. LRAs include community housing that is operated by a Department of Social and Health Services provider.

A letter from the Thurston County Board of Commissioners sent in May to the SOPB Chair Brad Meryhew obtained by The Center Square stated that the recommendation “strips citizens of their right to be informed, and the rights of local governments to be involved in the placement and siting process. Further, this allows DSHS and the Department of Corrections (DOC) to place SVPs [Sexually Violent Predators] in communities without providing education and the opportunity for citizens to ask questions in a collaborative forum.”

According to the county, no local government association was part of the SOPB subcommittee that wrote the recommendation, adding, “these recommendations are a passive attempt at removing county, city, and community involvement from the process and allows the state to circumvent zoning and building protections.”

In its report, the SOPB also recommended removing state requirements banning LRAs from being located within 500 feet of daycare facilities and K-12 schools which the county stated “adds an extra layer of comfort for those within the community.”

SOPB also claimed in the report that the 500-foot rule and other zoning restrictions undermine the concept of “fair share principles of release,” which was put in place by Democrats so that counties in the state take the number of predators under conditional release in proportion to the number of residents from that county that are imprisoned. The SOPB claimed in the report that the restrictions “make it nearly impossible to place LRA housing in more urban areas, such as Seattle and other cities. This makes it less likely to place people in counties with a higher population density.”

Earlier in the year, residents of Tenino in Thurston County discovered that a privately-run LRA would be located in their neighborhood and slammed officials for not informing them and not following zoning requirements for the facility. The county blamed DSHS for not notifying the public, while DSHS said because the facility was privately run it was not subject to the same regulations as agency-managed LRAs.

According to The Center Square, there is a new SOPB report to the Legislature which was discussed at its June 1 meeting, but it has not been posted to its website.

In a June 2 response to the Thurston County Board of Commissioners letter, Meryhew wrote that “it has been referred to the SOPB full board members and distributed widely to our 5163 Implementation Subcommittee and stakeholders, and will be discussed at our future board meeting(s).”

In September, The Post Millennial revealed that the SOPB was discussing rolling back restrictions and sentence guidelines for sex offenders, claiming “these laws actually undermine public safety, the exact opposite of what lawmakers and the public so confidently assume they accomplish.”

The news followed community blowback from Washington Democrats, including Governor Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, releasing level 3 sex offenders, to other halfway houses in unsuspecting neighborhoods.

Adding to the concern was that at the end of the last legislative session, Inslee line-item vetoed a provision that would have informed neighbors if such an individual was to be placed in their community.

In response to the fallout, Brad Meryhew, chair of the Washington State Sex Offender Policy Board, who boasted about defending sex offenders on his website, told The Center Square, “support for community notification on our board is unanimous. I would not support a proposal to eliminate community notification.” He also claimed that the documents that revealed the plan were routine research “as sort of part of our ongoing work.”