Yakima City Council targets gangs

YAKIMA, Wash. — Gang houses and other problem properties could face stiff fines and extra scrutiny from police under a proposal being considered by the Yakima City Council.

The council held a study session Tuesday morning to consider how to deal with chronic nuisance properties. Members agreed to hold a public hearing soon to gather comments.

City Attorney Jeff Cutter presented the council with a draft ordinance modeled after one recently approved in Seattle.

Although much of the discussion focused on the proposed law’s application to gangs, Cutter said the standards could be applied to other locations “that are magnets for criminal activity or at least involve a lot of response from the police department.”

Nuisance properties would be defined as locations that yield three or more serious police calls within a two-month period or at least seven within a year.

Nuisance activity would be defined as violent crimes, drive-by shootings, prostitution and drug activity, among other examples.

The proposal would cover some of the same ground as legislation put forward this year by state Rep. Norm Johnson, R-Yakima. That measure failed to make it through the Senate over concerns about possible racial profiling and questions about whether parents would be unfairly forced out of their homes because of their children’s activity.

As originally introduced, House Bill 2414 would have classified criminal gang activity as a nuisance and provided a process for neighbors, a public agency or anyone within a one-block radius of a known gang hangout to file legal action to stop the activity.

The American Civil Liberties Union has also expressed concern about whether the Seattle ordinance is too broad, according to a memo from Cutter to the council.

City officials said the proposed ordinance would focus on calls or activity committed at a particular address, rather than criminal activity by residents there.

Police have already identified more than a dozen properties that may qualify for extra enforcement because of gang problems.

But deputy chief Kelly Rosenow and other city staff emphasized that the ordinance would have to be carefully managed and would require significant staff time.

“It’s going to take a lot of work on our part, but we also know we have to do something to take back our neighborhoods,” Rosenow told the council.

Direct expenses would be limited to mostly title searches, about $350 apiece, to verify ownership of a targeted property and mailing of notices.

Property owners would have 30 days to begin fixing issues identified by police — cleaning up the site or evicting tenants, for example — or they could be fined $500 a day. If the case made it to court, they could face a fine up to $25,000.

If the targeted location is a business, the ordinance allows the city to withdraw a business license or decline to renew it.

The council voted 7-0 to move the matter to a public hearing, with a vote on whether to approve the ordinance expected to follow. The date for the hearing has not been set.

Councilwoman Maureen Adkison said Yakima’s work on a nuisance ordinance may help push the Legislature to approve a similar statewide law.

“I think this shows that the city of Yakima is not going to roll over, that we are willing to do something on our own,” she said.


• Mark Morey can be reached at 509-577-7671 or mmorey@yakimaherald.com.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/30/yakima-council-targets-gangs-with-proposed-ordinance