CPC — you out of here
The Community Police Commission (CPC) came out against Mayor Jenny Durkan’s move to bring in outside consultants to assess Seattle’s police accountability system, saying that the work “has already been done.”
Using outside consultants to review police accountability “smacks of ‘Seattle process,’ ” according to the release sent June 26, and it will only serve to slow down police reform in the city.
“Instead of following through on commitments made to the community and telling the court by July 15 how and when the city will remedy those, the city apparently intends to deny those weaknesses exist, hire its own ‘independent experts,’ ignore the court’s direction and argue that Seattle’s systems is better than other cities,” said retired Judge Anne Levinson in a press release.
Seattle has been under a federal consent decree since the city signed a settlement agreement with the federal government in 2012. Judge James Robart recently found in May that the city was partially out of compliance with the consent decree with regards to its police accountability components, although it remains in compliance on the use of force provisions.
A sad anniversary
The faith community at Gethsemane Lutheran Church gathered June 28 to honor the ignoble anniversary of the day that Jose Robles took sanctuary to escape deportation.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has a stated policy not to enter houses of worship and other sensitive locations, although they could change that at any time. Two undocumented immigrants, including Robles, have taken sanctuary in churches here in Seattle.
The second, Jaime Rubio Sulficio, claimed sanctuary at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in April 2019. According to a press release, Robles is waiting for the approval of a U-visa, a visa given because a person was the victim of a crime.
Faith communities in Seattle came together in 2017 to declare that they would provide sanctuary to undocumented immigrants that might be deported by the Trump administration.
It took a few years
The City Council voted to loosen rules around permitting attached and detached dwelling units on July 1, a set of land use reforms that was years in the making.
The new legislation allows homeowners to have an attached and detached dwelling unit where they previously had to choose. It also reduces the minimum lot size by 800 square feet and removes the requirement for an on-street parking space.
The legislation makes it easier to build small units on a lot and difficult to build very large ones, also called McMansions.
The new maximum square footage of a home is 2,500 square feet on a 5,000 square foot lot.
Ashley Archibald is a Staff Reporter covering local government, policy and equity. Have a story idea? She can be can reached at ashleya (at) realchangenews (dot) org. Follow Ashley on Twitter @AshleyA_RC
Read the full July 3 - 9 issue.
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