Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that a judge has not yet ruled on the preliminary injunction, rather it has just been filed. The previous version also misattributed quotes from the preliminary injunction.
BURIEN, Wash. – Attorneys for the King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) filed a motion Thursday requesting a judge temporarily block Burien's public camping ordinance.
In early March, 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.
A motion for a preliminary injunction was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court. A judge is expected to rule on the preliminary injunction after April 5.
In the request for a preliminary injunction, attorneys for the sheriff's office wrote, "The ordinance makes basic activities associated with homelessness a crime, including the use of 'nonresidential public property as a living space in Burien at all hours.'"
The KCSO provides police services to the City of Burien under an Interlocal Agreement.
Attorneys for the sheriff's office also argued that the amendment is too broad and views it as an effort by the city to discourage unhoused people from living in Burien. The amendment included a map that covered large parts of the city as "exclusion zones" where the ordinance would be enforced, but that "the city manager may amend it" at any time.
"Ordinance No. 832 fails to codify the locations in Burien that are 'prohibited' versus 'nonprohibited' for the new crime of engaging in 'living space' activities that are 'nontransitory,'" the preliminary injunction reads.
On Monday, King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall filed a legal complaint arguing that Burien's recent amendment criminalized homelessness and, therefore, was unconstitutional. In addition to determining the constitutionality of the amendment itself, Cole-Tindall asked the court if the KCSO is required to enforce the law, if deemed unconstitutional.
The KCSO sent KING 5 a statement and said Cole-Tindall's directive to not enforce the ordinance will stay in place until the court resolves the matter.
KING 5 has reached out to the City of Burien for comment.
