Proposed offender housing near Tenino nixed

Matt Baide | Mar 09, 20230

A proposed sex offender home near Tenino has been canceled, according to the company pursuing the housing.

Supreme Living, the operator of the proposed group home in Tenino, said in a Feb. 28 statement on Facebook that it would not be going forward “due to resources and expense associated with land-use requirements, it will not proceed with providing supportive housing services at its Tenino property.”

According to a news release, local legislators say the cancellation is a relief, but Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, and Rep. Dan Griffey and Travis Couture, R-Allyn, say they will continue to press for bills that would improve community notification procedures and declare a moratorium on the state policy that houses sex offenders in adult group homes across the state.

“Thank you to the active Tenino community members who brought this matter to all our attention and were relentless in making sure their voice was heard,” MacEwen said in a news release. “I am pleased that predators will not be placed in the Tenino community. I also am grateful for the quick action by Thurston County to slow this down. Now it is time for the Legislature and governor to enact meaningful legislation that creates an open process and ensures the safety of all of our communities.”

In 2021, lawmakers passed SB 5163, which concerns the placement and treatment of conditionally released sexually violent predators (SVP). The final 2021 bill report states an SVP’s mental condition must be assessed and if it is determined it has changed for the person to no longer be considered a SVP, or if conditional release to a less restrictive alternative is in the best interest of the person and conditions can be imposed that adequately protect the community, then the state Department of Social and Health Services must authorize the person to petition the court for unconditional or conditional release. The state then bears the burden to prove the person continues to meet the definition of an SVP and that conditional release to less restrictive alternatives would be inappropriate.

The law does not have special notification requirements on the state when sex offenders are housed in group homes. MacEwen introduced SB 5544 to improve community notification procedures; Couture introduced companion bill HB 1734. Griffey and Couture introduced HB 1813, which would put a moratorium on the siting and use of secure community transition facilities. Griffey and Couture released a statement about HB 1813 directed at Gov. Jay Inslee, calling on him to step forward and “protect the most vulnerable in this crisis, our children and survivors of sex crimes.”

“Waiting is a game of Russian roulette,” Couture and Griffey said in a news release. “We are asking that Governor Inslee use his authority to put this moratorium in place in defense of those who cannot defend themselves. He has generously acted in the past and we expect no less now. It is imperative that the task force has an opportunity to really dig into this issue and be allowed the needed time to come back with proper proposals that both ensure the constitutional rights of SVPs are respected and that the safety of all Washington communities is prioritized.

“For now, accommodations can be made on McNeil Island by repurposing existing facilities as LRA housing throughout the moratorium to meet constitutional requirements, while protecting our communities from predators that have been deemed highly likely to reoffend. We are willing to partner with the governor, concerned citizens and those running the needed facilities. We must put all differences aside for the sake of the people we serve. We cannot afford to look back and say to ourselves that we could have done better when the opportunity to do so is with us now.”