King County’s federal lawsuit over Burien’s public camping ban law dismissed
(The Center Square) – A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from King County and the King County Sheriff’s Office regarding the city of Burien’s ban on public camping.
On Tuesday, Judge Richard Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington granted Burien’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit regarding Ordinance 827, which effectively bans homeless people from living on any public property at any time.
The city added an amendment that creates a 500-foot buffer zone around parks, libraries, schools, daycares, senior centers and makes it illegal for people to sleep overnight in those areas.
King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall and the department said that Burien’s law violates federal case law and that her office would not enforce the public camping portion of the ordinance until the constitutionality of the ordinance was resolved.
The federal court‘s ruling found that the county’s lawsuit lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear the case, highlighting that King County did not establish the necessary standing for federal jurisdiction.
The court also determined that enforcing “generally applicable laws regulating camping on public property does not violate the Eighth Amendment,” which protects citizens from cruel and unusual punishments.
According to King County, it had previously provided feedback on what fixes would be necessary to allow enforcement of the ordinance and that Burien indicated it was interested in addressing the issues raised by the county prior to the court’s decision.
“Unfortunately, the court determined it lacked jurisdiction to hear either lawsuits brought forward by King County or Burien,” the department said in a statement sent to The Center Square. “Still, that decision leaves unresolved important constitutional concerns that motivated the sheriff to pause enforcement of Burien’s ordinance.”
In a press release following the court’s decision, Burien said it looks forward to working with King County to learn when and how to begin enforcement of Burien’s ordinance.
“The executive and sheriff continue to be willing to partner with the city to enact an ordinance that can be enforced without violating the constitutional rights of Burien’s residents and we hope to see a resolution,” the King County Sheriff’s Office said.
SeaTac also has a law that makes camping on public property a misdemeanor that includes a $1,000 fine. Burien’s law does not fine and does not jail, as previously reported by The Center Square.
King County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Eric White previously told The Center Square that SeaTac’s public camping law differs fundamentally from Burien’s recently adopted ordinance because Burien’s laws “include vague terms concerning what the city considers criminal conduct on public property and does not require notice on the locations where camping may be permissible, when no shelter space is available.”
In contrast, SeaTac’s law codifies specific locations where all camping is prohibited and includes terms that the sheriff’s office deems more clearly defined.
