Council supporting chronic nuisance ordinance

The Monroe City Council took steps toward passing an ordinance to bolster the police department’s ability to deal with properties that have a persistent history of unlawful activities.

The ordinance will allow the department to designate properties where repeated violations have occurred as chronic nuisance properties, subjecting them to enforcement and abatement. The first reading of the ordinance took place on Tuesday, Dec. 6, passing unanimously. It was presented to the council by Monroe Police Chief Tim Quenzer after a brief introduction by Mayor Geoffrey Thomas. All ordinances in Monroe must be read twice prior to final passage, unless the council votes to waive council rules and procedures.

The second and final reading is expected on Tuesday, Dec. 13.

Thomas said after receiving public comment about issues related to nuisance properties, he consulted with the department to determine what could be done by the city to curb these situations. Sgt. Ryan Irving presented the chronic nuisance properties concept, a tool used by numerous other municipalities, including Everett, Yakima, Spokane, Bremerton and Seattle.

“The purpose of this ordinance is to deter the establishment of chronic nuisance properties, and facilitate the city of Monroe’s regulation, enforcement and abatement of such properties,” Quenzer said.

Once passed, the ordinance will allow for tougher enforcement on those who perpetrate and permit frequent illegal activities and violations on their properties. The ordinance applies to all persons in charge of the property, including owners, co-owners, lessees, tenants and occupants with control of the property.

One of the advantages to having a chronic nuisance ordinance is the opportunity to address the violations on a cumulative basis, Quenzer said. 

Last year, officers responded to a particular Monroe residence 46 times, the chief said. Although the house was commonly referred to as a “drug house,” only three of the department’s documented responses were directly related to drugs. The bulk of the calls were in response to nuisance-related issues, including illegal dumping of garbage and unsanitary conditions.  

“This ordinance will give us the opportunity to lump all these violations together, including drugs,” Quenzer said.

City attorney Zach Lell was one of the architects of the ordinance, which will apply uniformly to any properties identified as chronic nuisance properties based on the criteria outlined in the ordinance. Should the city choose to adopt the new framework, he said, it would target nuisance properties with a systematic history of violations, allowing the city to abate the property based on the entire body of violations rather than one particular violation. The penalties range from a monetary fine to a civil infraction to potential criminal penalties, Lell said.

“The city would be seeking any appropriate relief that would be proportionate to the nature of the threat and the degree of violation,” Lell said. “It’s a very all-encompassing approach.”

Should the ordinance pass, permitting a chronic nuisance would be considered a misdemeanor, with each nuisance activity constituting a separate offense.

Councilmember Patsy Cudaback asked for clarification between the new ordinance and existing city code relating to public nuisances, wanting to know if it gives the city heightened ability to remedy nuisance situations when they occur.

“It does give us more,” Lell said. “It’s the ability to go to court and have an enforceable order of abatement from the court.”

For more information about Monroe’s chronic nuisance properties ordinance, visit http://bit.ly/2gP9nA1.